Bellevue, Iowa
August 29, 2019
Dear Family & Friends:
Today was a special day because my dear friends, Steve and Barbara Harris, visited me in Bellevue.
I enjoyed a quick trip from Dubuque to Bellevue and arrived at Lock & Dam No. 12 at 2:50pm. In Dubuque, I exited Wisconsin and entered Illinois. Iowa is on my right and Illinois is on my left. I’ll be in Illinois for a very long time. While I waited for Steve and Barbara to arrive, I sat in a swing above the River, had a sandwich for lunch and watched the River flow.
Steve and Barbara live in Illinois. Steve is a professor at Chicago Kent Law School. We have been close friends for decades. We worked together on many law reform projects when I was practicing law. Barbara is a retired educator. They have two grown children-Jacob and Molly. Steve and Barbara arrived in Bellevue at 4pm. Fortunately, it was a beautiful day and the city along the River is old-style clean and quaint with lots of shops, restaurants and bars that line Riverview Drive.
After I booked a room above a bar and secured my canoe, we drove back into Dubuque to have dinner at Marcos, a family owned Italian restaurant. The food was authentic and excellent. We had a nice chat with the owner, waitress and chef. Many of them immigrated to America from Italy. What a great Italian family and restaurant.
All-in-all, a super fun day on the River.
Tomorrow, I will lock down Lock No. 12. I hope to make it to Clinton, Iowa.
Bill
One of our summer cabins
A tow pushing 15 barges
Watching the River go by
Steve & Bill in Bellevue
Barbara & Bill
Marco’s in Dubuque
Marco’s owners & staff
Riverview Road, Bellevue
Hawkeye breakfast at Granpa’s Parlour
What a wonderful diversion from storm prep! Thanks Bill, its also a great geography recap of the great USofA….
love traveling along, not only River, but small town USA-great trip….Enjoy the ride
Dear Bill,
I am so thankful for your blog-and you! Life has been a bit hectic so it’s been a while since I last replied to any of your fun and newsy posts, and I’m looking forward to catching up on all the stories about your adventures canoeing on the river.
Needless to say, I am very saddened to hear about your grandson Dan, he sounds like an amazing young man.
I’m glad for you that you’re on this terrifically exciting journey “living like Dan” and travelling well with “Ollie Power”. Two wonderful and inspiring grand children-no doubt you’ve been a great role model for them, Bill.
I’m learning a lot reading all about your travels here-wishing you all the best!
Stay safe! Have fun! 🙂
Judy
Bill, fabulous food and good friends– a successful day!
Bill
Pretty cool you got to meet up with old friends. Curious about the cost of that Hawkeye breakfast. Looks pretty hardy!
Mark Priest
Bill…another big win for CDM over a good team from Norther California.
Go Sea Kings!
Paddle on!
John
🙂