Mississippi, I’ll remember you
Whenever I should go away
I’ll be longing for the day
That I will be returning again
Mississippi, you’ll be on my mind
Everytime I hear this song
Mississippi roll along
Until the end of time

Today has been an adventure of note and I could never have scripted it. We were woken up in Duluth just on 3.15am with an almighty thunder storm. A good thing to get us up early. Amazing how efficiently and silently we all got things done this morning. Annie, I am sure you were relieved to see that I actually can drive on the right hand side of the road. A safe and on time drop off and a quick (probably best) farewell. Then I was on the road.

It was pouring with rain and there was some serious mist patches….so the going was quite tough until the sun came up around 7am. Because I was so early, I did get through most of the Minneapolis area without too much traffic. But either I am starting to age quickly or these Minnesota gals ran me ragged. By 9am, I was struggling and I knew my concentration was not good. I tried stopping every half hour for a walk and stretch, but I knew that I was too tired. So I decided I needed a rest…tried a snooze at a rest stop….joke…we all know that would never work. So I pulled into a Country Inn and Suites in Cottage Grove.

I explained to the duty manager how my day had run and asked if I could book a room for a couple of hours or so. Guffaw….sounds really dodge to book a room by the hour! Well what an incredible customer service experience. She organised a room for me at about a quarter of the normal price. She then insisted that I first have breakfast…..because ” you cannot have a good nap if you don’t have a full belly!” So I had a bowl of oats and then had a two hour nap! What a difference that made. Suddenly I was ready to tackle the road and enjoy myself again. So I headed south along the banks of the mighty Mississippi, aiming to get to Dubuque.

The Mississippi river deserves to have so many letters in its name! My word….it is massive…..wide and deep and meandering. My route saw me criss crossing the river from the Minnesota side to the Wisconsin side and back again. The topography changing all the time too. From the rolling hills and woodlands of Minneapolis to agricultural farmlands, to big lakes. I really drove slowly and just enjoyed the sights and the towns along the way. The weather was bizarre and I virtually experienced 4 seasons in one day, just short of snowfall. But some cold, lots of rain, humidity, heat, wind, thunder storms, mist…. you name it and I drove through it. I am impressed with the discipline of the drivers on the roads today.

I drove through Hastings, Red Wing, Wabasha, Kellog, along lake Peppin, Minneiska, Dakota and stopped in La Crosse for a bite to eat. I decided to have some KFC…what a fiasco. The cashier was dismissal, after I had waited for my order for a good 5 minutes I was told that they did not have scones so I would get cookies instead. Needless to say this peeved me no end…so I said no, I want the scones (soft roll). I was then told that this would take 15 minutes. Say what???? 15 minutes for an order in a fast food outlet, I think not. Well you should have seen the sour manager’s face when I calmly said I don’t want it anymore, I just want my money back. The manager thought I was an alien. I then explained in full KFC speak what the process should be…by now her jaw was hanging! I got my money back! Jeepers, we would have been closed down by Yum! If that was what we did.

I did not get too many great pics today, as the weather played havoc. But I had loads of fun. I got into Prairie du Chien just after 6.30pm and decided that I have had enough driving for one day. So I found the local Country Inn and Suites..and fortune favoured me as I got the last room, guy who walked in behind me was not amused. Dinner tonight was a greek yoghurt and blueberries (frightfully expensive blueberries), Arno may want to look at this market! I took a quick walk to the local Cabelo store about 500m from my hotel. Murphy appeared and the heavens opened as ai was 250 metres away from the hotel and the store! What to do? So I arrived in store looking like the proverbial drowned rat. Aah well….that will teach me to check the clouds more closely. What an outdoor store…everything that the hunter, fisherman, camper  could want. I was gobsmacked at the weaponry. The bullets are stacked like groceries in a store.

Tylakins….do you not that I am back on blogging track? Trust that this meets with your approval. Brett, thanks for the interesting comments and questions.! Although still truing to figure out how you see me as your drinking buddy???????????

tThanks for the comments and interested. Schmenks I hope you got my answer on the streaking issue.

River views

Ducks on the Mississippi

Bald eagle…..got great video

Paddle boat on lake Peppin

Cool beans

Loved this

Dangerous dawg

Clouds and rain

The local gocery store

Cost of a small blueberry punnet

This small

Just for Janeen and Dawn

These clouds soaked me 10 minutes later

View from my hotel room

Bullets

More bullets

Roadtrip route