Tom woke up earlier than me, yet I noticed that when I woke up the second time he was waking up the second time as well…that usually means rain. Today was no exception. When I pulled back the drape, the window was speckled with raindrops. We decided to take our time, get things together, I did some online work, writing an earlier promised review of a motel where we stayed, and then we went to breakfast. The Library wasn’t open this morning, so we headed to Smyth to share another good omelet with roasted potatoes (must try to replicate those when we get home…mmm!) We drank our usual gallon of coffee, talked about our travel plans for the day, and when we did decide to go, it had mercifully stopped raining.
We took off on I-43 making our first stop at Delavan, searching for a statue of Romeo the Killer Elephant. It seems that this town at one time was the Mecca of circuses, housing as many as 26 at one time. And with all those animals roaming about, it only makes sense that one would go rogue—that would be Romeo. According to the information I read on Weird Wisconsin, Romeo was a serial killer of sorts, killing some 5 different people. That obviously deserved a statue and, right on the main drag, there is a huge, brightly painted concrete Romeo rared up into the air with a goofy clown standing in front of him, somewhat oblivious to the killer getting ready to put a sixth victim notch into his belt. Needless to say, this odd scene more than deserved some photo ops. After playing with the fiberglass animals, we headed out of Delavan and back onto I-43.
Once we got past Beloit, we continued on hwy 51 for a bit and then over to hwy 2, taking a break in Dixon, IL for some Benadryl gel at the local Walmart. (The Iron Horse was a “boutique hotel” that had some high-powered fragranced soap, lotion, etc. Although I’ve never had a reaction to anything like that, I have some interesting patterns of really itchy blotches where my clothes had landed juuuust right.) And, of course, Dixon isn’t known just for its life-saving Walmart; it’s wall to wall Ronald Reagan as well, being his birthplace and all. We didn’t stick around for the tour…LOL.
We stopped at four more H-D dealerships today and Tom is the proud owner of a dip dot and three poker chips, including his first pink one…ooo la la! I went crazy at the House of Harley and bought chap stick AND an ear cuff…I think all our souvenirs so far would fit into a deck of cards box…we’re travelin’ light .
Our final stop for the day found us at Muscatine, IA. After traveling by way of Clinton, IA on some interstates and some two lanes, Muscatine looks like a pretty place. We found our motel—The Muskie Motel nonetheless—and got settled in. A shower, an air-conditioner than gets cold, and pizza delivery made up our evening. Oh, that and the Benedryl…a temporary set-back, but tomorrow will be a new day with new adventures in exploring Muscatine, taking a scenic route along the Mississippi River, and ending up in Hannibal, MO. Ttyl
Photo stream: http://picasaweb.google.com/weisman.asai/DayEightWisconsinTrip?authkey=Gv1sRgCI2ayb-Bu4XmOQ&feat=directlink
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