downtown and John Deere

Linda and Neil:  go to my house!  Jan and Eddie say there is plenty of room for you two!  They're looking for you...

There is a most delightful water fountain in downtown Moline, IL! The fountain heads spurt water for a few seconds, then stop and then appear again. On a hot afternoon, adults and small children were having a blast! I only wished I had a towel...














We found the microbrewery scene to be alive and well in the Quad Cities. The IPA we hoped to find at the Blue Cat Brew Pub was out, but the less-hoppy beer we drank was good. And, the logo was nice.The IPA at Bent River Brewery was OK, but the guest-brewed IPA from Fountain Brewery was very good.  As was the BLT I ate with it!



















Another downtown source of entertainment is the John Deere Museum. Yep, John began his business right here. Well, actually a little west of here, but within a couple of years he had moved his little black smith shop to downtown Moline. He began by hammering a new plough, a self-cleaning plow. In 1832 he was making and selling about 100 ploughs a year. By 1882 he was manufacturing and selling 100,000 ploughs a year! In 1917, the company bought a a small business making a self-propelled gasoline plough: a tractor. The next year, they sold the first John Deere tractor, very much like the one in the photo to the left here. It had two front wheels, and one rear wheel, all made of iron, of course. The seat was cantilevered over the hitch, on a spring. Modern comfort, you know. It was not painted green at the time, but this one in the museum is surely John Deere Green!




I very badly wanted to buy this hale baler for my brother. Brother, I sat in the cab of this tractor, and it's nicer than my house! Sorry, they wouldn't take my credit card. It makes those huge, round bales...  You'll laugh to hear I climbed on and sat in every tractor on display. Checked out all the toy tractors in the children's area, too.

The museum did have a video game that every man and child had to try: a virtual backhoe, on a job site. I sat in the seat, and had four minutes to load as much dirt from the site into the waiting dump truck as I could. The game reminds me of the games on the Boardwalk in Carolina Beach.  I'm pleased and proud to say that I loaded more dirt than any other man who tried it while I was there (OK, except for one!). But, there is no worry about me getting a job. I only loaded 3 yards of dirt in four minutes!

We also found a Road Food recommendation (the Sterns, regular guests on The Splendid Table on NPR):  Lagomarcino's Chocolate and Ice Cream Parlor.  We enjoyed the best hot fudge on the planet, poured generously on top of truly delicious home-made vanilla ice cream.  With real whipped cream, not the canned stuff.

Tomorrow, with an eye on Hurricane Irene, we're heading upriver, along the Great River Road in Iowa.  I'm thinking of all my family and friends up and down the east coast, on the rivers and beaches, who are going to have to deal with water in the next few days.  Jan and Eddie say they'll put you all up at our house, not matter how many need a place to stay.  The generator is filled and ready to keep the fridge cold, and the pump working.  The gas cook top is always ready.  I'm hoping for no blue tarps in your near future.