4th of July with Lisa - Fireworks in Dubuque 2010

Dubuque? Sure, vacation hot spot of the Midwest. Well, maybe not, but certainly a good 2 up ride with decent roads for that overnight getaway with the Mrs. The planned route was under 400 miles total taking the long way. Ultimately, it was 4th of July and we were looking for some fireworks away from the kids.

Number one son has his license, so the kids were left with money for a movie and dinner, left with explicit directions of “go nowhere else” and “no one comes over,” and let a neighbor know to watch the house.

We were off. Using my father’s day gift Iron Horse rack bag, we stopped at the local dealer to check the strapping 10 miles out from home. All good and the bag performed flawlessly the whole trip in all weather.

Heading West, we saw some of those storm clouds in the forecast. Crazy bad looking, but we kept on til the Mississippi and no rain fell on us.

Checked in and started looking for those fireworks.  The view from above.

A little side pic here. The hotel was hosting this group. I couldn’t help but think that once the sign is up, anonymity is pretty much gone.

There was still time to explore, so we rode the bike around town. We went to the Fenelon Place Elevator. It is a funicular from the 1800’s. Best I can tell, it was an easy way for the affluent folks on top of the bluffs to get to work in town. I guess there are only a handful in the country. Cool, kitchy stuff here, boy.

Here's how to use it:

At the top.

The view.

Off to dinner at the old Star Brewery. Though no longer brewing, a very cool restaurant, wine bar, micro brew, hangout spot on the river. Pretty cool. The food was great. Took the shuttle and left the bike under cover.

Cool old brewery stuff like this. Evidently, this brewery was used in F.I.S.T. and Take This Job and Shove It – movie making must be rare here …

A goofy dude by the beer can wall.

I had a beer can collection when I was a kid, so many of these labels brought some fond memories. The rains finally came. Luckily, we took the shuttle for dinner because it came down hard!

The morning brought drizzle and wet roads in Dubuque. But, as we crossed the river, the rain stopped and the roads were pretty dry. We stopped in Galena, IL - a widely known tourist town in this part of the world. Blocks and blocks of anything you could want from coffee shops to candy stores to restaurants to bars to interior design to arts and craps stores. Oh, the humanity of it all. Quick pics and back out.

 Nice roads home.

Views like this.

And this.

So, here’s the deal. I have a 5.3 gallon tank. But, I guess I don’t know how to pack it full. Sitting in a restaurant later, I did the fuel mileage math (I was getting 38 mpg 2 up and fully loaded – and did on this tank too). For some reason, after 4.74 gallons, the bike did the old cough, cough, pop, silent. Bummer – user error. Stranded on the side of the road 10 miles from a town. Perhaps the love was fading, but she was a good sport.

Carlie and her son were nice enough to stop and get us to a station AND bring us back. Wow. She didn’t want her “picture made,” but I snuck this one through the windshield. Good folks.

After a nice meal, we came home to 5 kids (we only have 3) and a warm welcome. A little too warm. Something must have happened that we won’t hear about for years.

We had a great ride, a nice two days away, and, as far as I am concerned, plenty of fireworks. Fourth of July has certainly moved up on my list.

The bike at the end of the day --- with plenty of gas in the tank.

Good ride!