Mississippi Road Trip Day 7: Dubuque to Davenport

The Rundown
High point of the day: The Smithsonian Institute runs the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa, and it's world-class. All of the bits and pieces we have learned about the river along our river road trip are pulled together under one roof with exhibits on river otters, snapping turtles, barges, flooding, locks and dams. My husband enjoys watching a film on the history of the river narrated by Garrison Keillor, my kids like turning a paddle boat wheel, and I'm delighted to flirt with Mark Twain (pictured above).

Sound bite of the day: Helen Bolf, a volunteer at the River Museum, welcomes visitors when they walk through the door and helps direct them to exhibits.

Low point of the day: We spend too much time at the River Museum, so we're pressed for time when we arrive in Galena, across the river in Illinois. Some 1,000 buildings in town are on the National Register of Historic Places in this former lead-mining town that had a population of 15,000 while Chicago had only 1,200 in the later 180ss. We want to get out and walk around, but we only have time for a game of tag on the front lawn of a home (pictured above) where Ulysses S. Grant lived for two years.

Photo of the day: What does a family of four on a tight budget do in Davenport, Iowa, on a Friday night? Cheer on the Quad Cities River Bandits minor league baseball team at Modern Woodmen Park that sits right on the river. We pay $5 for tickets, fill up on pulled pork sandwiches for only $4, and take in the views.

Quote of the day: "How do you win at ping pong?" my 4-year-old son asks as we're watching the baseball game. It seems he confused his sports.

Miles: 110

Total miles: 1079

Hours in car: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Total hours in the car: 23 hours

Weather: Gorgeous, 80 degrees, not too hot. (I'm beginning to wonder why people who live in the Midwest complain so much about the weather.)

Expenses

Hotel: $100.79 (Best Western Midway Hotel/friendly service, spacious rooms with comfy beds, tropical indoor pool)

Breakfast: free with hotel (scrumptious hot breakfast with bacon, eggs, yogurts, juices, bagels)

Museum admission: free (our hotel stay comes with four free tickets to the Mississippi River Museum)

Pressed penny: 51 cents (souvenir at the museum)

Lunch: snacks (crackers and granola bars packed from home; apples taken from hotel breakfast)

Ice cream cone: $1.99 (Country Style in Moline, Ill.)

Gas: $10

Dinner: $19.50 (We eat at the baseball game)

Baseball game: $20

Total for the day: $152.79

Total for the trip: $967.91