Spring Break Tripette Day One: Cavortin' In Davenport

For the last several years the four of us have taken off for a few days over spring break. The boys have politely expressed to us that family vacations are, basically, over, so Ernie and I took off on our own Thursday morning, with the boys kissing us goodbye and waving us off. The first day we were heading to Davenport, Iowa and YES, "cavortin' in Davenport" from Big River HAS been stuck in my head all weekend!

I had thought to stop in Princeton, Illinois on the way but a little googling showed me that all the antique malls I used to hit there were closed. We made a last minute decision to go to Bishop Hill. I'm somewhat amazed that we'd never been there before. We headed out on 74W  but quickly decided the interstate was not the way to go. We slowly threaded our way to Bishop Hill along county roads under indecisive skies. When I was on 74 my mind still had odds and ends from work popping into my head but once we got off the highway I felt myself relax. We pulled into Bishop Hill and it was drizzly and 40 degrees. Not the most inviting for walking around outside. We wandered a bit however and took some pictures. I don't know what it is about these old religious settlements intrigue me, but intrigue me they do.

We headed on through the fields, stopping to take pictures here and there....

We got into Davenport early afternoon. We checked into our hotel which was an old downtown hotel that was lovely, and after a bit we walked a few blocks down to Mac's Tavern. I was smitten. Gorgeous sign and facade....a 1930's tavern....just gorgeous and a delightful bartender too. We thought about eating there as the menu looked good, bar food but well done, but somehow I wasn't ready. We walked back to the hotel and curled up in our room with pizzas from the downstairs bar. I missed the guys but it was lovely being on our own, just hanging out with my baby.