On the Road Again - vacation day 7

We woke up Thursday to the sad realization that it was time to pack our bags and leave Missouri. Luckily we didn’t have to push ourselves on the way home as we were only going half-way the first day, spending the night at the hubby’s brother’s house in Iowa.

Because we have said-relative in Iowa, we have been there before. One place still fascinates me. Fort Madison. Not the actual original fort though.

What fascinates me is the Iowa State Penitentiary, the oldest still operating prison west of the Mississippi River. Or it still was when we were there on April 10. It was closing by the end of the month and moving to a new modern facility, according to the woman who runs the Cup N Cone right next to the maximum security prison. And that would be the craziest part for me – who builds an ice cream shoppe and miniature golf course right next to an ancient spooky prison??

 We got to the brother-in-law’s at 4:34 (I know the time because the hubby said we would be there by 4:30 and he was miffed that my putzing around had caused us to be late). We took them out to eat in the historic town of LeClaire. Not only historic because of all the old buildings and quaint shops, but because it is home to Antique Archeology, from the History channel’s show American Pickers.