Review Visit: August 14th, 2017…read more 'Snake? Snake!? SNAAAAKE!' The original purpose of this twisty and windy path is detailed on the wiki page linked below. I will give you the Spark Notes version; it was created as a shortcut for horses to traverse down the hill to Main Street. This place has been on my list for awhile now and on a beautiful August day, I finally made the trek up to see it. It was not quite what I expected, which is a good thing. The alley itself is rather short, but if you make the walk down and up it, you'll feel it in your legs. The alley is lined with houses on one side, which has to make for a very interesting living arrangement. I figured the road was closed for vehicle traffic, but was I wrong! You can apparently drive down the path... which I did. Driving down it was almost like being on a roller coaster, in your own car. The windy paths and sharp turns were super fun and gets your adrenaline going. At the bottom, there is a chance to bottom out as you pull out into normal traffic, so be careful if you do take the fun plunge. Luckily, if you are not a fan of snakes or the video game Metal Gear Solid, you can happily visit Snake Alley. If you are a fan of odd things and fun car rides, Snake Alley is the place for you.

I have about a twelve percent chance of making it to Lombard Street in San Francisco, so it was…read morenice to be able to get to Snake Alley on a sunny day in Burlington, Iowa. My daughter and I walked down the bricks with much delight while my better half scooted down the curvy street, which suited her just fine. A nice diversion along the Great River Road. Highly recommended

For the fans of art, history, architecture, or roadside attractions, this is a spot to stop for!…read moreThere's a museum ($5/person) that's full of information about the artist and the painting. The museum details the artwork and life of Grant Wood. There's learning activities for kids throughout, an opportunity to put costumes over your clothes as a photo opportunity in front of the house, and a neat little gift shop. I don't know if it's a place you visit more than once, but I'm so glad to have been! The $5 was worth it in my opinion and visiting in the spring was great as the have an extensive native plant garden that was in full bloom when we were there.

The American Gothic House and Museum in Eldon, Iowa was still a really cool stop even though I…read morearrived too late to tour the museum itself. Seeing the actual house from such an iconic painting in person was surprisingly special and instantly recognizable. It is one of those places where you feel the weight of art history just standing there, even without going inside. I loved being able to walk around the exterior, take photos, and appreciate how such a simple house became so famous. If you have better timing than I did, I'm sure it would be worth planning ahead to see the museum too.

I went to Cobblestone Alley in Burlington, IA on 9/14/2016. It was my 1st time there. It is part…read moreof the Snake Alley Historic District. It is located just east of Snake Alley and is quite a contrast from it. Plus, I took photos.

Such a fun tour! Took about 50 minutes and was jammed packed with surprises. If you want a fun way…read moreto learn some davenport history, this is a great place to go!

From the owner: In almost any city you visit, you can find historic home tours. Our home has it all: beautiful…read morearchitecture, family stories, artifacts from around the world, unique room designs, and more!

This was a great experience for me, and my family! We stopped here on our way out of town and…read moreabsolutely loved our 60 minute walk-through the cave. Our tour guide was Avery and he was fantastic! From the middle that we stepped out to take a picture in front of the cave until we exited through the gift shop. It was a great experience. We walked through places in the cave that were noted in the adventures of Tom Sawyer, and through the cave history, including the thousands of signatures in the cave. We also participated in 15 through a pay dirt bag. This space is grade for all ages, and they have ample souvenirs. In the gift shop. We even visited the winery across the street. We look forward to potentially camping there in the future.

We bought tickets for the Cameron Cave tour in the gift shop. The cashier told us our meeting place…read morewould be outside in front of the gift shop with a tour guide named Peter who "looks like Mark Twain." We browsed around a little bit and my daughter picked out a few souvenirs. We found Peter outside and he took us on a golf cart to the cave entrance. He gave us each a new flashlight to use on the tour and to keep after we were done. We got a history of the cave and lots of dad jokes as we walked around about a mile in length. Overall Cameron Cave didn't have much as far as exciting rock formations, but it was fun to safely explore a maze cave using only a flashlight with someone knowledgeable. 5 stars for Peter. 4 stars because after all that walking we were hungry and really wanted to visit the winery so Peter graciously dropped us off there after the cave tour. We then discovered they didn't have any food at the winery, but we bought a bottle of wine to take home. There were so many empty tables and chairs. The winery at the complex has so much potential. Wish they also served food.

Review Visit: November 17th, 2014…read more The Davenport Skybridge is a nifty pedestrian bridge that lets you take in the views of the city and see things from a 'high up' perspective. Right outside where Rhythm City Casino used to be, this bridge is easily accessible and free to use. You can take an elevator or stairs to the top and once up there, you can walk from end to end. There are glass inserts in the ground that lets you see traffic whizz by underneath you. The walls are mostly glass that lets you get a great view of the city. The only disappointing thing about the bridge is that at one of the ends, you are just overlooking a bunch of buildings, so the view is kind of lame. But to each their own. Overall, it's a great view and if you are in the area, just park at the casino and check it out.

An elevated glass bridge that connects downtown Davenport to the park along the Mississippi River…read more A nice free vantage point to check out the river, bridges and downtown Davenport and Rock Island. For a medium size city it is a nice attraction. Kansas City has something similar at our riverfront, but it is not as elevated to give as good of a vista of the downtown area. Certainly a must do when visiting the Quad Cities to acclimate oneself to the area.

This is an interesting place. I have been curious about Mormonism from cultural perspective for…read moresome time, and when I had some time off a couple years ago decided to take a trip to Nauvoo to visit this early Mormon settlement. When I was here, it was the middle of the week, so there were few people wandering around. Officially, the Community of Christ--an off-shoot of the Mormon faith, established after the murder of Joseph Smith and the second-largest LDS denomination--is the organization that established the Joseph Smith Historic Site. However, as you're walking through the buildings that are the property of the CoC, you'll also be able to walk around and amongst the locations that are under the ownership of the LDS church. The signage is different so you'll be able to tell what is what, but some of these buildings are literally next door to one another so you won't have to drive from one site to the next. It was interesting to learn about some of the history at places like the blacksmith shop and the Seventies Hall. I didn't feel too much like I was being proselytized to, especially when in a larger group of folks. And you'll almost certainly be in and amongst members of the faith if you visit here. Also very important is that some of these homes are privately owned, and are marked as such, so remember to be respectful.

This was a destination on a pretty cool road trip I took with some friends in the summer. First…read moreheard about Nauvoo as being the holiest land for the Mormon faith; that people all the way from the Phillipines make their pilgrimdge here, to this small river city along the mighty Mississippi. (Which warranted a road trip out of curiosity) We went here at the end of summer. This part of Illinois is really something else. Truly unique. The settlement is prestine, peaceful, and one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in America; we were amazingly suprised, and really not prepared to behold the outstanding beauty of this establishment. The restoration project is incredible. The entire settlement is restored to the old times of the 1800's, and is surrounded by a phenomenal landscaping project; with scores of flowers found all about the property. The Former Quarters of Joseph Smith's family sit nestled along the Mississippi River, with ancient Trees that embrace the home; and it is here where the prophet Joseph Smith is buried. It's as though you have entered heaven. Nauvoo, is a just another delightful slice of Americana for you to discover how amazingly awesome this country is! I highly recommend visiting Nauvoo.

The tour was a little long, but it was free and a lot of the info was very interesting. It was neat…read moreto learn about the Deere family. The houses (you go in two different ones) are both very elegant and ornate. It's worth checking out if you're in the Moline area, but probably not very exciting for kids.

A stunning example of turn of the century luxury that has been preserved! Went here for a business…read moremeeting, actually the Butterworth center, and was just in awe. We kinda got lost initially and walked over to the Deere mansion. Wow, just walking around the perimeter was beautiful with a million dollar view of the river and a porch that encompassed the entire back exterior and was enclosed!! The grounds are meticulously kept down to the coach house.... After finding out that our meeting was at the Butterworth center across the street I was a little disappointed because I really wanted to explore the interior of the manse. When I heard 'center' I thought, oh great, some crappy new construction pole barn/building where everything smells new and is beige..... To my surprise, the Butterworth center is actually ANOTHER mansion that was owned by the daughter of John Deere and her husband. We didn't know where we were going and that was really great because we walked down what I can only assume to be a private entrance for carriages and now cars.....alright....here we go!! Entered in through clear glass doors with gorgeous wrought iron detailing that made me weak...then in front of me....an actual coat room. Yes, a room for coats. Just coats, with built in racks and a marble top dresser for ancillary details (I assume). My thoughts immediately went to the naughty things that may have occurred there over the years.... But I digress....I walked up one flight of stairs that were protected with gorgeous persian rugs to find a floor that was converted into a meeting center with banquet chairs hiding the true glory of what looked to be an entire floor of a parlor. Kept walking to the back of the room where I found the diagonal parque oak floor and a baby grand piano that was anything but 'baby'...... Not sure if I was to be exploring as much as I did but it was fun to imagine living there and the grand parties they had. Our meeting was REALLY in the carriage house behind the lovely gardens. That was nice, it was obviously partially a horse stable complete with hay loft, that had been updated and modernized with coats of white paint and cheap dry wall.... I like old things I guess. After our meeting we ate lunch in the gardens and we were lucky enough to be able to speak with a gardener who had done her internship at the estate. She gave detailed explanations of the flower beds and some secrets I can't divulge.... Not sure what type of events they host here on a regular basis but it sure has a grand feeling with enough space for your guests to mix and mingle in a professional setting yet has enough whimsy to feel festive!