A Little Cabin in Iowa

A few months ago, we planned a short family get-a-way.  We assumed it would be after things slowed down for Derek at work.  It didn't work out that way, since for various reasons, Derek still hasn't hired his replacement editor.  So he's still editing Bowhunter while also covering his new position as head of post production.  He did still manage to get a couple days off, so we headed to Dubuque, Iowa, where we'd reserved a cabin for two nights.

Derek's family lived in Dubuque from 1987 to 1989, when Derek was six until eight years old.  So Miles' current age to Cooper's current age.  When we got to town, we drove by the house they lived in for those two years. 

Derek was disappointed the "lizard wall" had been removed from the landscaping.  He has great memories of catching lizards in the railroad tie wall behind him in the photos below.

After our 'old house tour', we headed to another attraction that Derek remembered as a kid.
The Fenelon Place Elevator. You can read the history of why it's there from that link.  Abbreviated version: Rich man wanted to go home for lunch faster. Ha!

We got in at the bottom and started our ride up.

Owen wasn't sure about it.

At all. 😂

But that only lasted about 12 seconds and then he was fine.

And he was rewarded with the view from the top!


We all enjoyed the view.  From the top lookout you can see Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin.

And of course, a great place for a photo op. 😏

We enjoyed it for a while then took our ride back to the bottom.

Where I talked the boys into another photo. 

There are cute little shops and boutiques lining the street below, so we stopped in an adorable coffee shop.

For a little something to warm us up.

And, you guessed it, another photo! 😊

Next we stopped at the biggest, brand new Aldi I've ever been to (that's an attraction, right?) before we went to settle in at the cabin.