This fair city, the oldest in Iowa, is situated at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region locally known as the Tri-State Area. It is home to the world’s shortest, steepest scenic railway, known as the Fenelon Place Elevator, as well as the fifth largest collection of Tiffany glass in the world. With the Field of Dreams movie site just 26 miles west, Dubuque is also a great jumping off point for baseball fans planning a visit.

With our first sunny day as motivation, the four of us were up, fed, and on the 9:00 o’clock bus ready to explore downtown Dubuque. We were particularly intrigued by the Tiffany glass, so our first stop was at Saint Luke’s United Methodist Church, famous for being Iowa’s earliest congregation. In 1834 the faithful built a 20 by 26 log structure at the cost of $255. The large limestone church we visited today replaced the original church in 1897.

A fabulous docent was waiting to share her enthusiasm for the church, its windows, and its Corvette gold pipe organ. She explained that members of the church attended the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 looking for innovative ideas for the church they were planning to build to replace the log structure. They were smitten by the Tiffany display and decided on the spot that the new church windows should be Tiffany. When the new church was finished it included five large and 90 small Tiffany windows. Two were added in 1916 and two more in the 1930s. The fun docent explained how innovative Tiffany was in terms of layering glass for certain effects (to create shadows, for example), creating a couple thousand colors of glass, and using small pieces.

As a complete change of pace we headed to the Fenelon funicular. Sure enough it is not only short at 296 feet and steep with a rise of 189 feet, it has a fun story. Most of what is now downtown Dubuque is in the flood plain. Anyone who could afford to do so worked in town but lived at the top of a bluff out of harm’s way. Mr. Graves was one of the fortunate ones. Dubuque was what was known as an hour and a half town meaning everything shut down at noon for an hour and half so folks could go home for their midday meal. Mr. Graves’ buggy ride up the hill was 30 minutes and another 30 to get back down the hill which hardly allowed time for a meal and a short nap. Why not build a one-car cable like those in the Alps? In July of 1882, Mr. Grave’s gardner let him down the hill in the morning for his two and a half block walk to work and back up at noon and back down after his short nap and back up at the end of the day. Problem solved.

This private shortcut slowly morphed into a neighborhood shortcut at $0.05 a pop to a community lift at $0.10 a pop. We rode up and back for $2.00 each way in what was remodeled in 1977 and enjoyed nice views and a chat with the fun, overall-clad station master.

Determined to cram in two more stops before lunch, we headed first to the Julian Hotel, named in honor of the French Canadian fur trapper for whom the city is named, Julian Dubuque. Beautifully restored and decorated, it has been a luxury landmark in town since the 1930s famous for hosting the likes of Abraham Lincoln, Buffalo Bill, Mark Twain, and Al Capone.

No time to doddle, so off we went to the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium where we enjoyed two videos and saw interesting displays about the history, science, and wildlife of the Mississippi.

Lunch, like all of our other meals, was delicious. My three wingmen went back downtown to shop after wiping out their bread pudding and ice cream and I stayed behind to read and relax before the 4:00 o’clock presentation on the golden era of the steamboat.

Our day ended with dinner, a preview of tomorrow, and entertainment.

… Fun Facts about Dubuque …

One of the two casinos in town is a nonprofit. Really.
Annual profits are split equally between the city, the casino, and local outreach programs.

Some of the windows in the White House were made here back in the day.

The courthouse has a gold dome visible from all over town.

There is no record of what St. Lukes’s paid for its famous windows less the last one.
The bill of sale for it said $3,000 less 10% if paid in cash.

Nothing like a lazy day on the river. It demands sleeping late and easing into the day, so that’s exactly what we did.

I joined Cyd and Rick this morning for a poignant celebration of those among us who are or were first responders, served in the military, and supported on the sidelines as steadfast family members. After the formal part of the program (please stand if you …. ), the floor was open to anyone who wanted to speak. Quite a few heeded the call and gave moving tributes to family members past and present. One man spoke of an uncle at Iwo Jima and another on the beaches of Normandy. Another spoke in recognition of the walking wounded whose traumas are not visible but nonetheless real and debilitating. A woman spoke on behalf of the thousands of unrecognized women whose service and sacrifice were at times denied by our own government. A nurse gave a brief tribute to Vietnam era medics, 90% of whom were killed in action, and yet another recognized the human loss when the Pentagon was hit on September 11. A man shared the story of his grandmother who sent five sons to war, all of whom returned. The whole celebration was beautifully done and moving. Had Dan chosen to attend he would have been the one who served the longest, 34 years. His closest contender was 29 years.

The day was overcast and warm, so I enjoyed relaxing on the top deck before an al fresco turkey wrap lunch. The ride was smooth and quiet all day. A well used train track runs along the west side of the river. We passed quite a few grain barges being pushed up river, saw lots of birds, and passed an enterprise where grain was being loaded onto barges. From what I could tell, today it was corn. The shoreline is a brilliant green smothered in trees and the water a muddy brown.

A presentation on wildlife along the river took us to happy hour followed by dinner, a stroll along the riverwalk at our next dock, and finally the evening’s entertainment, Travis Turpin. All in all a nice down day that’s left us rested and ready to explore tomorrow.

Who wouldn’t want to explore the city that got in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the Most Bars on a Single Street? With an even greater number of brothels back in the day, you can image what a lively river town this had to have been. Just like most of the towns along the river that were negatively impacted by the popularity of rail transport, La Crosse faded into the background for quite a while. Riverboat and Great River Road travelers, tourism, eco-tourism, and forward-thinking civic leaders have breathed new life into this quaint, ultra-tidy small city with a population of 50,000.

We were docked at a lovely and welcoming waterside park before sunrise and had all day and half the night to explore. Dan and I chose a city tour for our morning activity. Our guide looked just like a page out of a Huck Finn book. He told us to be prepared for beautiful, old, well designed architecture as well as what he called prison chic or Soviet Block atrocities which are high on concrete and right angles and low on windows and anything that resembles inspired design. Sure enough, as soon as we passed the post office and a few other public buildings we were on the same page. Thankfully these uglies are outnumbered by new and old homes and buildings that we all agreed were far more attractive.

We made two stops on the tour, the first at the Hixon House, home to La Crosse’s first power couple. Mr. Hixon was a very successful businessman (think lumber) and politician and Mrs. Hixon was a philanthropist who made La Crosse the center of her good works. Their home, built in 1858, was lived in by family for 100 years. Ninety percent of the contents are original to the home. The Hixons traveled the world and decorated in a way that showed off the lovely things they treasured from their travels. Having nothing to do with travel, we were particular intrigued by the huge built-in, walk-in refrigerator cooled with ice blocks that were loaded from the outside and a large cast iron stove that could be fueled by gas, coal, or wood.

Our second stop was on Granddad Bluff which was destined to be quarried for its limestone but purchased by Mrs. Hixon and made into a bluff-top park. From the top we had a nice view of the inner city marsh, half man made and half preexisting, as well as views of the city and river below.

This city that Money Magazine lists among the top 50 cities in the country was a white pine forest when under the stewardship of First Nations people. Beer, lumber, railroads, and sawmills turned it into what we see today. We drove past the impressive homes of the enterprising few who lead the charge and were made wealthy by their industriousness.

Today La Crosse is known for being home to a satellite Mayo Clinic and Gundersen Clinic as well as two universities, and …wait for it Cleone… Kwik Trip.

By the time we digested all this information we were ready for a relaxing lunch on board before heading back out to take advantage of a hop on/hop off bus. First was a quick stop to see a statue of the patron saint of beer, King Gambrinus. Seriously! Then off we went to a small, beautifully maintained car museum owned by the Dahl family which has been in the car biz here since 1911. The original Mr. Dahl received Model T car parts by rail. It was his responsibility to assemble the cars, sell them, and offer driving lessons. Today the Dahls have 14 stores that represent eight brands.

La Crosse has a small Heritage Center which has displays highlighting the city’s past. Three things were of particular interest to me. First was the button industry that harvested freshwater mussels for their shells. For 33 years there was a button factory here that produced, at its height, 3,000 shell buttons an hour! The second thing I was fascinated with was the Leona. A woman-owned business designed and produced an undergarment, the Leona, that was worn next to the skin under a corset. And lastly, the Center displayed intricate story cloths that tell the story of the Hmong people over the centuries. La Crosse first welcomed Hmong refugees in 1976. They now represent 60% of the Asian population in the county.

We strolled slowly through the downtown area back to the dock. I went ahead and Dan stayed behind to shop and explore the side streets.

Cyd and Rick did exactly the same as we but the hop on/hop off in the morning and the city tour in the afternoon. One thing we all missed was a garden complex near the dock. It has a small section installed by each of La Crosse’s sister cities around the world. After dinner we decided to stroll down and check it out.

We all agreed it was a great second day on the water. It wetted our appetites for what’s ahead.

… Cheese …

Much to our amazement we learned that Wisconsin is the third largest producer of cheese
in the world behind Germany and France and just ahead of Italy.

90% for Wisconsin’s dairy is used to make cheese.

80-90% of the labor in this industry is documented and undocumented immigrants.

We cruisers were bused one hour south to Red Wing where our vessel, American Cruise Lines’ American Melody, and crew were waiting for us. Our arrival coincided beautifully with lunch. We pulled away from the dock at 2:00 and spent the afternoon connecting to the cruise portal, getting on Wi-Fi, unpacking, and attending an orientation.

Before we knew it, it was time to strap on the ole feed back again. In honor of Flag Day, the Army’s 250th birthday, and Rick’s service during the Vietnam War, Dan brought table decorations, treats, and a small gift for Cyd and Rick. Had we known there’d be a WWII vet (97 years old) and his Korean War vet neighbor (93) on board, Dan would have brought a few more flags and gifts.

Dan and I cruised the Lower Mississippi a few years back and are excited to see this section of the second longest river in North America. In most ways I anticipate it to be a total contrast. Where the Upper is forested with rolling hills, bluffs, and clear water, the Southern is flat with bayous, floodplains, swamps, deltas, and consistently murky water. The Upper has four distinct seasons with snowy winters and cool springs while the Southern is hot and humid with mild winters. The Upper was influenced largely by Scandinavians and German-Americans while the Southern has strong African American, Creole, and Cajum cultural influences. The alligators, herons, and catfish of the south will be replaced by river otters, bald eagles, and deer in the north.

The guest lecturer confirmed some of my suspicions during her fabulous lecture this afternoon plus had a load of fun facts about the Mighty Mississippi. For example, we now know folks were here as long as 12,000 years ago. The headwaters of the river are in Minnesota, 230+ miles north of our starting point. There is only one natural fall in the river. Nature spent thousands of years creating the Lower Mississippi. The presenter explained the underwater walls called wingdams that were installed in certain places to self-dredge the river. On and On she went with explanations of all sorts of things from locks to fuel charges to the tributaries feeding this river.

Before calling it a day we had a delicious red snapper dinner, took advantage of an overview of tomorrow’s port, and tapped along to a lively Do-Whopping Along the River performance by a young local duo. Popcorn and ice cream sundaes were offered to tide us all over until breakfast tomorrow.

We headed to bed excited to explore a few stops along our 611-mile journey that will take us past five states and through 24 dams.

... The Mississippi Dams …

The purpose of the dams and locks is to hold back water to maintain a nine foot channel.

There are no locks and dams south of Saint Louis.

If you’re going to go all this way to hop on a riverboat, why not come a day early and rest up for the big event? Our thought exactly!

Besides the chicken and wild rice soup at lunch and the nap after, the highlights of yesterday revolved around three fun people. The first two were our flight attendants who were friendly, hard working, well meaning, and funny. The lead attendant started the flight by suggestion we embrace her word for the day: kindness. She said it spreads easily … just like peanut butter and jelly. The other flight attendant did not have a word for the day but she was bubbling over with good humor and enthusiasm for her job.

The other fun guy was our Somali cab driver. Dressed in a grey dishdasha and speaking Way Too Loud for the size of the cab, he started in on how he has lived the American Dream the last 28 years, raised four children, college educated professionals one and all, and lives in a sate of gratitude. He explained that Saint Paul/Minneapolis has the largest Somali community in the country, and a vibrant and supportive one it is. He turned the conversation from him to us by asking where our trip began. When we said Virginia the floodgates opened! In summary and to put it mildly, President Trump is Not His Guy! Oh boy, has the president not heard of the “balances and checks” intentionally designed into our system of government? We had a lot of laughs during the short ride and assured him we’d do what we could when we got home. As we parted he left us with a loud, “Vote! Share the message to VOTE!”

We rounded out the day with a short walk in the rain, a stop at Walgreens, and a shared meal in the hotel. A relaxing start to the trip.

Today, cruisers continued to arrive at our downtown hotel, The Saint Paul Hotel. It was built in 1910, has been beautifully maintained, and is famous for having hosted the likes of five US presidents, royalty, gangsters, movie stars, and athletes. Mother would give it her personal seal of approval knowing Lawrence Welk played here back in the day. Gene Autry’s week-long stay would have Cleone’s stamp, and Dan has given it his stamp of approval because of the chicken pot pie he had for lunch today. He followed that with a wedge of carrot cake the size of Minnesota.

The day was cool, wet, and windy, not the kinda day that inspires much exploring. Dan did venture to the cathedral a mile and a half away, one might say to work off the humongous pot pie and cake. I on the other hand chose to relax in the beautiful hotel with my book and iPad.

Two of the new arrivals this afternoon were Cyd and Rick, our travel buddies this trip. They arrived in time to settle in before we met for a fun dinner in the hotel bar. We made it an early night, so we’d have ample time to organize our bags for a 7:00 AM pickup tomorrow.

Up at 6:00.
Light grab-and-go breakfast at 6:30.
Left the ship at 7:00.

Since we had the morning to kill we decided to join a tour of Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego which is seven miles west of Ushuaia. We went from the ship to the park in a bus filled with fellow cruisers also killing time. The weather was on par for the area with rain, fog, wind, and rain the first half of the tour and full sun the rest. On with the gloves, hats, and coats … off with the gloves, hats, and coats.

The park is a total contrast to the white landscape in South Georgia and Antarctica; it is a lush green with zillions of beech, lenga, and coihue trees, many coated in a fuzzy green moss that thrives in this climate. It looks a lot like Spanish moss but not nearly as long. There are trails, tourist yurts, wild horses, and camping sites. The southern terminus of the Pan-American Highway is located within the park. We made two stops, one at the visitor’s center where we enjoyed a quick snack and one on the shore of the Beagle Channel where we were free to stroll along the water’s edge.

Arrived at the Ushuaia airport at 11:00.
Boarded our three-hour flight to Buenos Aires at noon.
Laid over in Buenos Aires for six hours, two of which were spent in immigration and waiting for the United counter to open. The other four were spent in the lounge where we enjoyed dinner.
Boarded our 10-hour flight to Houston at 10:00 PM. We skipped dinner but had breakfast before landing.
Arrived at 4:45 AM Houston time.
Immigration and then a second breakfast in the lounge.
Boarded our three-hour flight east at 7:30 AM. Enjoyed a third breakfast on board.
Landed at 11:30.
Got home just in time for lunch. Not! We were too full of breakfast to even consider lunch.

Talk about a trip of a lifetime! Everything from the expedition ship to the food, sights, crew, staff, sites, lectures, and activities exceeded our expectations. Dan’s favorite parts of the trip were the stop in the Falklands and the zodiac landings. I have three favorites. The first is the total silence and remoteness of South Georgia and Antarctica. With the exception of the penguin and seal rookeries, there is no noise. While on land or sea, everything moves silently including the huge whales. The second is seeing the animals and birds going about their business as if we were not there. And the third is the flat-as-a-pancake sea ice as well as the ice flows that looked like lace floating on water.

I’ll close with the captain’s farewell jokes.
How do you know Santa is good at karate?
Duh, he wears a black belt.

A man called in sick over the Christmas holiday.
His manager reprimanded him for missing work.
The man replied, “Actually I didn’t miss it at all.”

… Fun Facts …

Ushuaia is not on mainland Argentine, it’s on the island of Tierra del Fuego.
This island is split with half being owned and governed by Chile and the other half by Argentina.

Using Australia as a model, prisoners were sent to Ushuaia in 1902 as forced labor
to work in the timber and to build the city, the prison, and a railway into the forest.
The prison closed in 1947.

In 1994, 40 years after it had been closed as a prison train, the track and train were revived, modernized, and used as a heritage train running from Ushuaia to the Parque Nacional del Tierra del Fuego.
It’s casually referred to as the End of the World Train.

The 19,000 mile Pan-American Highway runs all the way from Prudhoe Bay near the Arctic Ocean
in Alaska all the way here! Well, almost all the way.
The Darien Gap between Panama and Columbia has no roads, so the intrepid traveler
has to find a workaround for that 99 mile stretch.
Anyone up for a road trip?

Happy New Year’s Eve and Happy New Year! Two days rife with the potential for extreme seas and weather are ahead of us. Everyone on board was a little anxious to see what luck, or not, we would have.

The Drake Passage is famous for shipwrecks, more than an estimated 800 of them, actually, resulting in at least 20,000 deaths. Pre-Panama Canal (1914), trade ships had no choice but to sail around the tip of South America which meant taking their chances in the stormy seas and icy conditions while rounding Cape Horn through the Drake Passage. Today’s ships and technology have brought the risk way down which is not to say the crossing is risk free. Two years ago one passenger died and eight others were injured after a breaking wave hit our sister ship, Viking Polaris, shattering eight state room windows and causing major damage.

So what’s up with this area? The Pacific, Atlantic, and Southern oceans converge here creating a zone of climatic transition where cool, humid conditions clash with dry, frigid conditions. Add to that the lack of any landmass to create resistance. Pile on the possibility of high winds, strong currents, and rogue waves. If the cards are all stacked against ya, everything can combine to make for an exhilarating 48 hours.

Needless to say, we have been hoping for bathtub-calm seas and blinding sun. Just in case, we came fully prepared for rough water with ginger tea, ginger gum, ginger chews, and a stash of Dramamine and anti-nausea pills. The weather gods were smiling on us Big Time. Sun all day yesterday and calm seas!!!! Today, our last at sea, is overcast with light drizzle and calm seas.

Once it looked like we would not be nauseated nonstop, we leaned into these last two days. After we finally got out of bed each morning we had a few administrative details to attend to. Boots had to be turned in so they could be inspected and cleaned for the next cruisers. The waterproof pants were also on loan, so we gave them back too. (The rain over-jacket and puffy liner are ours to take home.) There were surveys to fill out, packing to do, and our final bill to be settled. The days were easily filled with a galley tour, lectures, documentaries, a New Year’s Eve show, tour of the bridge, an 8:00 AM stop in front of Cape Horn, a polar plunge (with ice brought from Antarctica) for those braver and heartier than I, a recap of the cruise, a hands on plankton demonstration, and three meals a day.

We arrived in Ushuaia at 5:30 this afternoon to a welcoming 68 degrees. Summer is definitely settling in down here. Although we were free to stroll around town we chose instead to have dinner with the two couples that joined us for my birthday dinner. We shared a complimentary bottle of champagne and toasted our wonderful trip before enjoying our last multi-course meal. Then back to our rooms to throw the last few things in our suitcases before putting them in the hall at 10:00.

We were not sure what to expect when we signed up to see our last continent, but it has definitely turned us into lay ambassadors for the health and welfare of this fragile eco system.

Hold on, here’s another one:
A penguin pops into a pub and strolls up to the bar.
Penguin: Have you seen my brother?
Bartender: What does he look like?

… That’s Not Fair …

The Drake Passage is named after an English seaman even though
a Flemish expedition traversed the passage first (1616).

… Cape Horn …

Cape Horn is a narrow piece of land located on the southeast side of Hornos Island
in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in southern Chile.
It is famous for marking where the Atlantic meets the Pacific.
There is a lighthouse there and a monument to all those lost at sea in the area.
The only residents are those manning the small Chilean Naval station.