I returned to La Crosse on a Tuesday evening. After 9 straight days of hard travel, it was nice to be home! I developed a cold in my travels, so a couple days of down time were in order. Amy has been in Illinois for meetings. Friday was car stage day. I took off for Keokuk Yacht club Friday morning to stage my car, and also stage Amy's parent's car. We all returned to La Crosse with Amy's car. After settling in, we ran out to Timmer's 10 Mile one last time for a great Friday night Fish dinner!
Saturday saw Amy and her dad make a provisioning run, while I prepped Toscana for travel. I had tools to pack up, and tidy things up in the engine room from the new Inverter/Charger install. Toscana got a spider web wipe, and a light wash. The cold was starting to settle in so I really wasn't interested in getting to wet.
We all took our showers in the afternoon and got ready for a very special birthday party at Texas Roadhouse... Grandpa turns 39 again... well so he says. He really turns 99!
It was great to cap off the time we got to spend with him for his birthday. At this age, it's getting less and less likely he will have another one. That was the driving force behind us doing the Upper Mississippi this summer. We are hopeful he is able to come see us next summer on Lake Michigan!
Sunday morning, we secured everything, and headed out of North Bay Marina, after over two months. We had an amazing time visiting with Grandpa and other family, as well as reconnecting with several classmates and well just plain having a great time.
We said good bye to La Crosse, and headed south. The trees on the bluffs were about near perfect here the first couple days. Amy's dad spotted several Bald Eagles, and even grabbed shots of a few of them.
We anchored near McGregor, Ia the first night. The next morning gave us some breathtaking photo opportunities with the sun just starting to shine on the Iowa shores.
We anchored just a bit south of Dubuque, Ia the second night. In such a short distance we were getting ahead of the peak colors, but still very beautiful!
The third day we made the short trip to Sabula, IA. A frost was in the forecast so we wanted to be at a marina plugged in go some heat!.
Wed morning we did awake to frost, the gray is black canvas with frost on it.
The fall colors were still wonderful as we cruised on to Lindsay Park Yacht Club in Davenport, IA. We will be spending a few days here visiting with the crew of Wild Goose that completed their loop earlier this year! We had met them last fall at the AGLCA Rendezvous in Alabama.
We capped the evening off with some drinks and a great dinner out for ribs with John and Kim
We will have more about our stay in Davenport next week. But before we close things out this week, we ask everyone to offer a brief moment of silence for those who must winterize their boats...
See you next week!!
