We had time to kill and took a drive up the Great River Road from the quad cities. We decided to…read moreexperience De Immigrant and what a treat. We didn't realize that there would be a guided tour with staff passionate and knowledgeable about their craft and history. We learned all about the process of adding a windmill to the community, how they actually work it, and what challenges they can face. What fun! The fact that they actually sell their product(s) for a very reasonable price across the street was neat to find out. We got home with some bran and flour. Looking forward to using it. We may have to sneak back by the local meat market for more as they'll be closing down sales at the gift shop for Winter.

I was looking foreword to exploring this cool windmill which was closed when I went, its seasonal…read moreand I should checked first but I was in the area anyway so not a big deal. This is an authentic working Dutch windmill and you can buy the finished products at the gift shop so you can take home some stone ground goodness and how cool is that, just go when there open.

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!

Located in a quiet community near downtown Dixon, Illinois, is Ronald Reagan's boyhood at home…read more A modest home in a modest neighborhood has off street parking for visitors, making access easy. A visitor center is located in a separate house from the original home. Informative Plex located throughout the ground along with a life-size statue makes for a nice visit and great opportunity stretch your legs before you get on the road again. Located about 10 minutes away from the John Deere historic site

Craig Hockenberry…read more Arrived in Dixon Illinois to tour the Boyhood home of President Ronald Reagan. The place is amazing and worth the stop! We learned so much about one of the greatest presidents of all times. The staff was amazing and the small town was perfect!

Was in Davenport visiting good friend of mine and had never been to the Walnut Grove Pioneer…read moreVillage. A free experience and very interesting. If you like history and have an hour or two to spare and I would highly recommend it. Definitely an interesting place and it gives you a good view of life in the past. I really enjoyed the original bank from the time period and the articles that went with it when It was robbed.

Wow I stopped by to check this place out because it looked like an outdoor military museum but it's…read morefar from that because it's a highly guarded property, It has a police checkpoint to get through so you have to go to the visitor center and fill out a pass request form, have two forms of identification, pass a criminal background check and if your driving a valid drivers license, valid registration and proof of valid insurance. I wish I knew this because all I had was my drivers on me and no second form of identification. Nothing touristy is worth seeing if you have to jump through tons of hoops.

If you're coming from the Iowa side to Illinois please be careful because they have a speed trap…read morecamera so the state can get its last laugh on you which is a pretty illinois thing of Iowa / Davenport to do. It's a scenic bridge whether you come here during the day or night there's always a nice view of the Mississippi River and seeing all of the houses on the river.

Opened in 1966 the Fred Schwengel Memorial bridge is your basic deck-on-girder construction without…read morefrills, fancies, lights (removed for safety), or structural redundancies to inflate the costs. It looks like kind of a nice bridge for being just a bridge but wait! as uninspired as it looks, there's even less to this than meets the eye. Clocking in about 3500 feet long and 60 feet above the impounded water (courtesy lock and dam 14 which is a whole different review entirely) the unassuming bridge presents an odd sort of problem for the two-digit interstate numbering system. Ordinarily a third digit prepends the route number to indicate a by-pass / loop (even) or spur (odd) but both of the E-W routes "terminate" when completing the circuit around the quad-cities: east bound then south then ramps -or- west bound then north then ramps so neither is really a continuous path. a funner solution would be calling the whole thing I-280 loop and dropping the I-80 designation entirely for the dozen or so miles through town but this review is about the bridge...

The Orpheum is an amazing Vaudeville-era theatre. It's really the jewel of Galesburg. I highly…read morerecommend stopping in for a show if you are in town. There are several nice places to grab dinner before or afterwards within walking distance, including the Landmark and Chez Willy's.

From the owner: MISSION: The Orpheum Theatre contributes to the region's quality of life by providing quality…read moreentertainment & education programs and serves as a civic gathering place and tourism partner for Galesburg and its surrounding communities.

What a cool place with a neat backstory. Unfortunately we missed being able to get inside the home…read moreby about 30 minutes but enjoyed exploring the picturesque grounds regardless. It is sad to see the building falling apart in places, it is definitely in need of restoration. Still, the place is in a gorgeous setting with massive trees that make it truly peaceful. Bathrooms on site were open even when the home was not and were clean. There are plenty of videos on YouTube and history to be found online. I found a cool tie in to my personal family history. Apparently the builder of this unique home, Fred Francis, had a run in with my great grandfather and great uncle who were hunting on his property. Francis, being a naturalist and vegetarian disliked hunting and chased the two off his property. My uncle recounted the story to us and we walked the grounds. A neat place with an amazing story. Check it out here: http://www.cityofkewanee.com/document_center/FrancisParkBrochure.pdf

Don't miss an opportunity to tour the Woodland Palace. It was built by a recluse named Fred Francis…read morewho was way ahead of his time. He transported the bricks with a bicycle. It has the equivalent of air conditioning by underground tunnels. The doors opened and closed automatically. There is quite a story around this place, tours are cheap, and the inventions are fascinating. The house can be toured in 20 minutes. The surrounding park has plenty of camping spaces and hiking trails.