Hello friends and family,
I have finished up day #2 of my trip and haven't had to turn back yet. I began my day in East Peoria as I checked out of the Par-A-Dice Casino Hotel. Below is a picture of the riverboat casino and you can see downtown Peoria on the other side of the Illinois River.
Weather started off pretty gloomy this morning with some light rain. My first order of business this morning was to explore Grandview Drive. There are some scenic views of the Illinois River from the bluffs along the road.
It was a pretty drive. The river on one side and lots of very stately homes on the other. I love the house in the photo below.
My hotel didn't serve me a free breakfast this morning so I was hungry. I grabbed an early lunch at Chick-fil-A before hitting the road.
I didn't have far to travel today as I ended my day in the Quad Cities. I got to Rock Island, Illinois shortly after noon. I visited Schwiebert Riverfront Park on the banks of the Mississippi River. A very swollen Mississippi River. Below is a picture of the Centennial Bridge which connects Rock Island, Illinois with Davenport, Iowa.
The picture below was taken from the same place looking at the Davenport city center from across the mighty Mississippi.
Next I drove across the Centennial Bridge into Davenport. I was going to take the scooter for a spin along the Riverfront Trail but the whole area was either still flooded or a big mess from having been flooded. All the streets were closed near the river. So I crossed back over the river to my hotel in East Moline, Illinois. I am staying at a brand new Hyatt Place along the Mississippi River. It's so new my GPS couldn't even figure out where to send me.
It was a very early arrival. I had originally planned to leave on my trip today and to drive here from home. At the last minute I added Springfield, Illinois to my itinerary and left yesterday instead. Spending last night in Peoria. That shaved 200 miles off today's drive. I was glad I could get into my room when I showed up here around 1:30.
Weather cleared up quite nicely as I was leaving Peoria. It is beautiful outside right now. Unfortunately the weather forecast for my drive across Iowa does not look too good. It looks like this area's flooding problem is not going to be ending anytime soon.
I just got back from dinner at the local Applebees. I did the carside to go and brought it back to the hotel. I had grilled chicken and garlic mashed potatoes. Time to sign off for today.
Have a good Memorial Day weekend,
Tim
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