Trying Out A Tri-State Trip

Last weekend, L. & I went on a quick journey to Dubuque, IA, which became a tri-state trip due to its proximity to both Illinois and Wisconsin. Our purpose for this trip was two-fold: first, to give L. a symbolic and physical break in between her library assignments; second, to meet up with some online folks, all of whom I haven't seen in many years. I was also looking forward to what I hoped would be a harbinger of autumn, particularly when mixed in with the terrain of the Driftless Area. We left around 1:30 PM on Friday, October 16, driving on interstates from St. Louis to the Quad Cities. Once we were a bit north of Davenport on I-80, we joined US 61 for the remainder of the drive. Had we left earlier, we would have driven along the Great River Road between the Quad Cities and Dubuque, but we reserved that option for the return trip on Sunday. We arrived at our hotel in Dubuque around 7:30 PM, and met up with two out of the three folks in our party in the hotel lobby. Once we…