We left Waco at 6am on Sunday morning (11.04.2012) and drove about 1,000 miles in 17 hours, non-stop, to Dubuque, Iowa. The length of the drive was memorable, not the gas stations that we stopped at in-between.
We drove into Dubuque around 8:55pm. We found a restaurant that was still open called, Houlahan’s at a Hilton hotel. The maps application on the new operating system for the Apple iPhone told us to park on the street and hike a quarter mile to our destination. Fortunately we didn’t listen and drove through an expansive parking lot to the front door to park.
That night we stayed at what we hope was our last Motel 6. During the night I heard a vehicle without a muffler pull up outside the door of our room followed by loud voices. The next morning, Caylan found a note, presumably a note that fell out of someone’s purse or pocket. The note explained that a good Muslim family had been robbed and they needed car repairs and a place to stay. We have no further information on this family.
We went to Dubuque because Caylan met with a board of directors of a new co-op. The board was composed of well-to-do 40-50 year olds. They were organized and peppered Caylan with tough questions. He thought the meeting went great and found the group inspiring.
While Caylan met with the board members I found a copy/business center to fax completed forms for my new job. Be safe, Winona, for I shall be covered by malpractice insurance.
After Caylan’s meeting we headed to Madison, WI. We stopped in Mount Horeb, WI to visit another potential food coop client and to see an old friend of Caylan’s. We made it to Madison in the late afternoon. Caylan lived in Madison for a few years and still has lots of friends there. We were staying at his friends’ home, Chris and Ruth, but they were still working. We walked around the UW campus and shopped on State Street. It was snowing in Madison, so we bought two hats (that are reversible) basically BOGOBOGO (by one get one). We ate spicy pickled eggs at the Old Fashioned and visited a small grocer that is a CoPOS client. We were exhausted and sought refuge in a movie theatre for a screening of Loopers, a sci-fi movie that garnered good reviews. I learned that time travel is Caylan’s favorite movie genre. In case you’re wondering, my favorite is musicals. One day we will find a time-traveling musical and life will be complete.
Tuesday morning it was still snowing and we ran Jane by the lake. We were near a voting site and we saw people from all walks of life partaking in democracy. We window shopped at Century House, an upscale, modern Scandinavian furniture showroom. We shopped at a few other places and ate at the Maharaja Restaurant, an Indian lunch buffet.
Since the beginning of our road trip we had been looking forward to spending election night in Madison. Caylan had watched the results in 2008 at a dive bar there and he was looking forward to sharing the experience with me. From what I hear, a Madison dive bar is infinitely better than any other cities dive bars because in Madison, the tap beer and food are usually delicious. However, a client emergency kept us from going out. Instead, Chris and Ruth invited a few others over and we spent the evening together drinking wine, laughing at the television, going between Fox News and CNN, playing with interactive graphics on the NYTimes Politics page, and eating Thai food. We are most excited that the proposed Minnesota constitutional amendment to define marriage between a man and a woman failed. The failure of this amendment did not give anyone rights, but gives this civil rights issue momentum. This is one example of Minnesota Nice.
We left Madison after breakfast at Iron Works cafe. Madison is known for its chocolate filled croissants so I needed to have one before I left. Yum.
We spent our first night in Winona in 28 days. But only one night! We left for Grand Forks on Thursday to visit family and pick up Caylan’s car that’s been in the shop for months. We stayed in Grand Forks until Tuesday morning and now we’re finally returning to Winona on Tuesday night. There is a big thanksgiving pot-luck at Ed’s No Name Bar in Winona. We are eager to spend more than one night at our comfortable home.
Jane has a new jacket. She loves it. She is also sporting a new red flashing light on her collar for our evening walks. Safety first.
We drove into Dubuque around 8:55pm. We found a restaurant that was still open called, Houlahan’s at a Hilton hotel. The maps application on the new operating system for the Apple iPhone told us to park on the street and hike a quarter mile to our destination. Fortunately we didn’t listen and drove through an expansive parking lot to the front door to park.
That night we stayed at what we hope was our last Motel 6. During the night I heard a vehicle without a muffler pull up outside the door of our room followed by loud voices. The next morning, Caylan found a note, presumably a note that fell out of someone’s purse or pocket. The note explained that a good Muslim family had been robbed and they needed car repairs and a place to stay. We have no further information on this family.
We went to Dubuque because Caylan met with a board of directors of a new co-op. The board was composed of well-to-do 40-50 year olds. They were organized and peppered Caylan with tough questions. He thought the meeting went great and found the group inspiring.
While Caylan met with the board members I found a copy/business center to fax completed forms for my new job. Be safe, Winona, for I shall be covered by malpractice insurance.
After Caylan’s meeting we headed to Madison, WI. We stopped in Mount Horeb, WI to visit another potential food coop client and to see an old friend of Caylan’s. We made it to Madison in the late afternoon. Caylan lived in Madison for a few years and still has lots of friends there. We were staying at his friends’ home, Chris and Ruth, but they were still working. We walked around the UW campus and shopped on State Street. It was snowing in Madison, so we bought two hats (that are reversible) basically BOGOBOGO (by one get one). We ate spicy pickled eggs at the Old Fashioned and visited a small grocer that is a CoPOS client. We were exhausted and sought refuge in a movie theatre for a screening of Loopers, a sci-fi movie that garnered good reviews. I learned that time travel is Caylan’s favorite movie genre. In case you’re wondering, my favorite is musicals. One day we will find a time-traveling musical and life will be complete.
Tuesday morning it was still snowing and we ran Jane by the lake. We were near a voting site and we saw people from all walks of life partaking in democracy. We window shopped at Century House, an upscale, modern Scandinavian furniture showroom. We shopped at a few other places and ate at the Maharaja Restaurant, an Indian lunch buffet.
Since the beginning of our road trip we had been looking forward to spending election night in Madison. Caylan had watched the results in 2008 at a dive bar there and he was looking forward to sharing the experience with me. From what I hear, a Madison dive bar is infinitely better than any other cities dive bars because in Madison, the tap beer and food are usually delicious. However, a client emergency kept us from going out. Instead, Chris and Ruth invited a few others over and we spent the evening together drinking wine, laughing at the television, going between Fox News and CNN, playing with interactive graphics on the NYTimes Politics page, and eating Thai food. We are most excited that the proposed Minnesota constitutional amendment to define marriage between a man and a woman failed. The failure of this amendment did not give anyone rights, but gives this civil rights issue momentum. This is one example of Minnesota Nice.
We left Madison after breakfast at Iron Works cafe. Madison is known for its chocolate filled croissants so I needed to have one before I left. Yum.
We spent our first night in Winona in 28 days. But only one night! We left for Grand Forks on Thursday to visit family and pick up Caylan’s car that’s been in the shop for months. We stayed in Grand Forks until Tuesday morning and now we’re finally returning to Winona on Tuesday night. There is a big thanksgiving pot-luck at Ed’s No Name Bar in Winona. We are eager to spend more than one night at our comfortable home.
Jane has a new jacket. She loves it. She is also sporting a new red flashing light on her collar for our evening walks. Safety first.
Please post a pic of Jane and her new outfit.
Love,moma