A trip to Illinois/Iowa Part 1

Well, you can never keep the Halls in one place for very long. Over the 4th, we trekked over to western Illinois/Iowa with my parents and had a fantastic trip! On Saturday, we visited the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium, in Dubuque, IA, which was just awesome! After that, we went looking for the funicular, or the 4th Street Elevator. My dad remembers riding this when he was a kid (we think he probably paid 10 cents to ride it then!). Story goes, that a banker in the 1800's lived on the bluff, worked in town and had an 1 1/2 hour lunch break. It took him 30 minutes to go 3 blocks around the bluff to his home, which did not leave time for him to have 30 min for lunch 30 minute nap and an hour round trip of driving. So, originally, this elevator was for his personal use, but through many friends asking for rides, it eventually became a public elevator.

doesn't Bryce look like such a big kid here? Oh I want to freeze time!!

The view from above.

We stopped and got ice cream at a cute little shop after the elevator...and Reagan was ready to have tea with Mickey and Minnie!

Keep reading for more fun details of our trip!