Um..there is a spare room in Dubuque that is available.
And we can stop to see friends!!!
Real possibility, Swimp. 'Specially if we stop at Davenport. How far is that?
Just checked, seems to be about an hour and a half... hmm... was hoping it was closer.
It's only a little over an hour from the interstate. All four lanes, speed limit will be 70 soon. It's doable...really.
Do 'buque. (hardy har har)
Are you mistaking me for Debbie?
I can't seem to work it out so it wouldn't add 2 hours to total travel time (including just going to Sioux City from Dubuque), and we're going to be wanting to shave off every minute we can. We'll see, though.
I bought a portable DVD player for The Lovely Bride about a year ago
(got a good price on a Polaroid). She absolutely loves it. As a suburban
Mom, she does a lot of waiting in the car for someone or other. Now she
can watch a movie while she waits.
The patiodoggie's presence jogged my memory (ouch), here's a previous discussion of DVDs in cars and the perils of strapped-in-ness:
http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9017
Really would make a difference if she could roam around, I think. Love the puppet show idea for example (so cool!)
We just made two trips with Ya-ya. A six-hour drive and a four-hour drive (each way).
We found a portable DVD player at Costco for right at $200. Came with a case, car adapter, battery, etc. It did a great job of entertaining her.
(Of course, she now asks for Elmo everytime we get in the car....)
(Incidentally, I've also learned how to mix colors to make other colors!)
Peoria is a big hassle to drive in on I-74, Soz. If you take I-70 to Indianapolis, and then switch to I-74, i would recommend going past Peoria, and looking for lodging in the Galesburg area. You're more likely to find something there, and it might well be less expensive. Galesburg is about half-way from Peoria to Davenport, only an hour more beyond Peoria, if even that long.
Oooh, thanks for the tip, Set. I just plugged destination and origin into Yahoo maps -- know next to nothing about the route.
You just run down to I-670 west, which is south of you, and take I-70 to Indianapolis. From there, if your route is through Peoria, you take the beltway around Indianpolis to I-74 west. I'd say avoid Peoria like the plague. East Peoria across the river wouldn't be too, bad, but it's still a problem with an old interstate with heavy traffice (Caterpillar Tractor Company's world headquarters in Peoria, and huge manufacturing plants across the Illinois River on the east side). Either stop in Bloomington an hour east Peoria, or Galesbur, an hour west--that's my advice, an' i'm stickin' to it.
Dubuque is in really beautiful country, both on the Iowa side, and the Illinois-Wisconsin side. Davenport is one of the "Quad-cities," which are Davenport and Bettendorf on the Iowa side, and Rock Island and Moline on the Illinois side. That part of the Mississippi used to be all shoal water at Rock Island, until Robert E. Lee and the Corps of Engineers fixed it. The countryside on either side of the river north of there is palisaded bluffs and wooded ridges that run down to the river, all the way north to La Crosse, Wisconsin. Truly beautiful farm country. An aunt of mine briefly lived in Dubuque, and then moved up river to the east side at De Soto, Wisconsin.
My route is to Sioux City, as per Yahoo directions it takes me through Indianapolis, Danville, Urbana-Champaign, Peoria, Galesburg, Davenport, Iowa City, Des Moines, North Omaha, Sioux City.
More or less.
When I was in elementary school, we'd take yearly trips to Decorah, IA. My 1st-3rd grade teacher was from there, we'd do a Laura Ingalls Wilder unit and then visit the museum and I think her/ a dugout. Lovely area.
Then i advise staying either in Bloomington-Normal or Galesburg--avoid Peoria just because of traffic hassles and high lodging prices you don't need. Why don't you look at some lodging rates for Bloomington-Normal and for Galesburg. (Galesburg is the home of Carl Sandberg--you might do a little morning visit to his birthplace. Edgar Lee Masters'
Spoon River Anthology was done from the epitaphs of tombstones in the valley of the Spoon River, which is about halfway between Peoria and Galesburg.
Here's a guide to Knox County, Illinois (Galesburg).
Here's a guide to McLean County, Illinois (Bloomington-Normal).
Usta be, i had kin livin' out that way.
Don't mean to get pushy but Sioux City is a direct shot on US 20 from Dubuque.
and patiodog- phffffttt!
Sozobe - I traveled NC to MO several times while the kids were little all by myself. About 20 hours each way actual driving. The kids were soooo unbelievably good about it. Stopped alot for bathroom breaks, run around at Discovery Space, roadside rest areas if they were high traffic / safe.
At this age she can count cows, red cars, or whatever you see a lot of. When I was growing up you lost all of your cows/red cars if you passed a cemetary, but no need to put that part of the game in at this age.
You're actually making we want a road trip!
squinney wrote:Sozobe - I traveled NC to MO several times while the kids were little all by myself. About 20 hours each way actual driving. The kids were soooo unbelievably good about it. Stopped alot for bathroom breaks, run around at Discovery Space, roadside rest areas if they were high traffic / safe.
At this age she can count cows, red cars, or whatever you see a lot of. When I was growing up you lost all of your cows/red cars if you passed a cemetary, but no need to put that part of the game in at this age.
You're actually making we want a road trip!
Who;s this we? You got a mouse in your pocket?
Yeah, she's making me itch for a road trip too.
The furthest road trip I've taken with Mo is to the beach or to the mountains - only about an hour to either.
We did take a 5 hour plane flight - what a disaster -but we're doing it again this summer and may plan a trip to DC in the fall. I will be culling ideas from this thread for both.
