A very nice campground with interesting options for accommodations like a caboose:
I was enjoying sitting outside during the evening listening to Pirate's baseball on my SiriusXM radio when both of my batteries went dead so I called Allstate Roadside Assistance the next day:
After the batteries were juiced up we took a ride into Omaha. We checked out Lauritzen Gardens Park where two of the largest locomotives ever built are on display:
The massive locomotives are a tribute to Omaha's role in the completion of the transcontinental railroad and the linking of the east and west with a ribbon of steel.
We took a ride through Omaha's Little Italy section which is marked by a 15 foot tall fork twirling spaghetti:
Next it was off to the Old Market District:
Omaha served as a hub between eastward and westward traveling trains and the Old Market was the was where goods were traded. Now it is a collection of shops, bars, and restaurants.
Next stop was Sandy Beach Campground in Iowa on August 25. It is an Army Corps of Engineers facility which are usually very nice and very inexpensive:
We were about half way between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. We stayed for a week to catch up on laundry, grocery shopping, and trailer repairs. The snap clip on my hitch bent so I looked for a place to either fix it or replace it. I ended up finding a metal shop that was able to bend it back into shape.
Asia and I hanging out:
We found a nice retro dinner place in Cedar Rapids:
Not much to see or do in the middle of Iowa but we found a National Historic Site called Amana Colonies. Amana Colonies is an isolated village founded by German immigrants that were fleeing persecution in the late nineteenth century because of their religious beliefs. They shunned modern ideas and lived by a principle of sharing the wealth. They wanted to be left alone and found Iowa ideal for farming and living self-sufficiently. Ironically it is now a tourist hot spot.
Wineries and microbreweries plus shops and furniture makers and all the usual ways to spend your money.
Doreen after a couple of samples from the brewery:
The Chicken Dance song was playing in the background and early afternoon beer went right to her head!
Our next stop was Pine Country in Belvidere Illinois on September 1
We had a nice time here over the Labor Day holiday and met some great locals camping behind us. We joined them for the fish fry at the lodge and they gave us a recommendation to go for a good Chicago dog.
Portillos is a Chicago Land institution:
Next stop was Bear Cave in Buchanan Michigan:
We had a scenic site along the St. Joe river but only had water and electric hook up. The next day a full hook up site opened up and we moved there.
An interesting campground but a little run down. I found the game room and had a flash back to the early 1980's:
Ms. Pac-Man was still 25 cents so I proceeded to put the high score up and then top that about four times.
Lake Michigan was only 12 miles away and we took a ride:
Had to make a stop for beverages and smokes:
We stumbled on a small town called Bridgman:
Two beer tastings and a wine tasting later it was time for dinner:
That wraps up the trip from South Dakota to Pennsylvania. The Midwest is fairly unremarkable. We did not visit Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, and North Dakota. I don't know if we will visit those states but Doreen wants to fill in our map:
That will have to wait until next year. I am anxious to return to Florida for the winter. I still have a post for the PA visit and that will be soon.
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