Traveling Quilter

View from Diamond Jo Casino looking towards entrance to the river walk

Our plans were to check out a few golf courses in the Dubuque area, visit JoQuilter’s Fabric Shop in Bellevue, Iowa, and enjoy the fourth of July fireworks along the river at Dubuque’s Lock & Dam. We arrived early on Thursday morning at the Grant River Recreation Area by Potosi figuring we’d be able to get one of the 26 non-reserveable campsites. That’s when our plans first started going south! All 26 non-reserveable campsites were occupied and all of the rest of the sites reserved for the upcoming holiday weekend. So plan B was to boondock somewhere or perhaps camp at the Mississippi Palisades park near Savannah. Having postponed lodging decisions we proceeded to our next item on our itinerary – golfing.

We found the Bunker Hill Golf Course off Grandview Avenue up on the hill. It is a municipal golf course with good maintenance and quite reasonable prices, including a senior rate. It cost me $27.25 to play 18 holes with a cart (weekday rate). It’s a scenic course, largely open except for a few more heavily wooded holes, and quite playable. Low handicap golfers will find the course too short and thus not challenging enough, but I enjoyed the opportunity to reach the greens in regulation more often!

After golfing we had an opportunity to sample the Dubuque Star Restaurant and its outdoor cafe on the second floor of the restored Star Brewery building along Dubuque’s riverfront. It was a beautiful early evening and the view from the cafe idyllic. A bonus was the food was quite tasty and the wait service excellent. Jo overheard another couple commenting that this was the fifth time they’ve eaten at the Star and that every time they come to Dubuque they always include a visit to the restaurant.

The next day, Friday July 2nd, we traveled across the river to East Dubuque to play the Lacoma Golf Course. A huge golfing facility. One 18 hole course, two 9 holes courses, and a 9 hole Par 3 course. We played the 9 hole Red Course and the 9 hole Gold Course. The Red was Lacoma’s first course. It is similar to Bunker Hill’s layout. Open fairways, semi-wooded, and shorter than average length even from the back tees. However the greens were a little trickier; I had a few three putts. The Gold Course was a quite different experience. It was longer by 250 yards, but the more significant differences are narrower fairways, more heavily wooded, and dramatic terrain changes. Several scenic vistas. Some of the holes reminded me of Marquette’s Greywalls Course – teeing off a hundred feet above the fairway with woods below and on both sides, then once in the fairway the green is a hundred feet above you. No flat greens either and the pin placement wasn’t kind to a putt that went wide. But for all the challenges I’d say the Gold Course was fair and playable (if you don’t mind losing a few golf balls ). The only downside of my Lacoma experience was I strained or pulled something in my pelvis. I popped 4 Ibuprofen’s and another pain pill I had with me so I was able to finish the round. Later it was evident the pain and discomfort were getting worse and we decided better pack up and head for home.

So we missed the fireworks and the air show on Saturday and were unable to take that side trip to Bellevue. I hope to return to Lacoma to play their other courses and work in that visit to Bellevue and its quilt shop.

On the way back from the Paducah Quilt Show Jo and decided to swing by the Mississippi River Road through Fulton, Illinois and stay at one of our favorite Corps of Engineering RV parks Thomson Causeway. The next day we traveled to Dubuque, Iowa and were impressed with continued renewal going on in their downtown and river front area. Then we crossed the Mississippi into Wisconsin to have lunch at the recently refurbished and restored Potosi Brewery in Potosi, Wisconsin.

Inside the Brew Pub and Restaurant of the historic Potosi Brewery

Being Friday in Wisconsin, we had to have the fish fry. Jo ordered the Cod plate; I ordered the Catfish plate since Potosi bills itself as the Catfish Capital of Wisconsin – figured I ought to try its signature fish. Both were delicious, lightly  breaded and served at just the right temperature. The plates came with frys and homemade coleslaw. I had sweet potatoe frys, Jo the regular ones. The regular ones were as good as MickeyDees. The slaw included finely sliced carrots with the cabbage and was crisp with just the right amount of dressing. Our beverages were drafts from Potosi’s stock. Jo had the American Porter which advertises itself as medium to full bodied, moderately malty, and bit more roasty than European Porters. Whatever Jo liked it and felt it compared well to her favorite Leiney Creamy Dark and Leiney 1888 Bock. I had the Czech Style Pilsner which is billed as a clear, golden brew with a hoppy taste, smooth and crisp. Whatever its description I liked it very much. I’m not a fan of Ales and IPAs that seem so popular among the brewpub crowd. When I can’t get a lager or pilsner,I’ll go dark Porters or Brown Ale. Meal prices were decent as well as the beer. The non-happy hour price for a pint of Potosi is $3.25.

Beer Enthusiasts will not only enjoy the brew and the nicely restored pub, the Brewery is also home to the National Brewery Museum – Go Here for more info on the Brewery & the Museum Tour

–Ross

I had one day to see the entire quilt show and visit various vendors.  It can be done – but was I tired at the end to the day.

Art & Landscape Quilts at the Paducah Quilt Show

Traditional Quilt Blocks with Creative Twists

What amazes me every year is the number of quilts from other countries and the variety of quilts from traditional to art quilts.  According  to the Quilt Show book they had quilts from 47 states and 12 countries totaling 588 quilts.  With the most quilts was Japan with 94.

New this year was the Pavilion (dome) constructed to replace space no long available due to the Executive Inn closure.

Here is what the inside looked like at a vendor booth. Notice all the space.

Vendor Booths in new Pavilion

Spacious new Pavilion

Fancy New Porta Potties

I was also interested enough in the deluxe port-a-pottys to take some pictures.  Sure not like ones I have used in the past.

Larry, Darrell & Darrell's Famous BBQ Stand

A trip to the Paducah AQS Quilt Show isn’t complete until I have my delicious BBQ sandwich from Larry, Darrell & Darrell’s

Free Bike Cart Transportation at Quilt Show

Every year Paducah offers every type of transportation for the Quilters to get around town.  This year the guy taking riders on his bike cart anywhere in town they wanted to go for free was the the one that amazed me.  I did notice he had a tip jar on this bike – but that had to be work and no amount of tips would cover this tired legs at the end of the day.

Well gotta run, things to do. Did you attend the 2010 Show? What did you think? Let us know here.

JO

Whenever Jo goes to the Paducah AQS Quilt Show, we like to arrive a few days earlier to have some extra time to enjoy the area and get a better choice of an RV campsite. Touring the Dogwood Trail and golfing are among these pre-show pursuits.

Last year (2009) there wasn’t an official Dogwood Trail Celebration because a winter ice storm had damaged so many trees. We followed the route outlined for the 2008 trail and although storm damage was evident, we still found a number of attractive displays of dogwoods and azaleas. In 2010 we followed the trail markers and did our own tour in our RV motor home. The photo shows the trees in the lawn of one of Paducah’s oldest historical landmarks: Grace Episcopal Church (1874) on Broadway Avenue. Most trees were in full bloom, but here and there some trees still show evidence of having lost their tops or major branches. On Saturday evening we attended the official festival celebration Saturday night which included a narrated evening tour of the trail.

When Jo goes to the Quilt Show, golf usually occupies my time and is a favorite of other spouses of quilters who accompany their wives to the annual event. The Paxton Park course in Paducah is a popular course and the green fees are reasonable. Another popular area golf  course is the Kentucky Dam Resort course near Grand Rivers, KY. On the way to our campsite to attend the 2010 show I discovered a new course: the Murray State University Golf Course (Miller Memorial) near Murray, Kentucky. About 40 miles from Paducah, I think the extra travel is well worth the effort. The course is 18 holes with excellent maintenance, nicely detailed signage at each hole, and easy-to-read greens and fair hole locations. These factors help golfers new to the course enjoy the play. On Tuesday I hope to play the Drake Creek Golf Club in Ledbetter, KY (about 10 miles from downtown Paducah). They have a senior special on Tuesdays – $20 for green fees and cart. I’ll report on that later.

Despite a warm spring, the fairway grass on several of the courses I’ve played this spring (in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Kentucky) has been somewhat marginal. Apparently the variety of turf grass they use tolerates heat well but doesn’t green up nicely until May. One of my favorite Lake Superior golf courses – Nemadji Golf Course in Superior Wisconsin – opened this spring on March 30th, 10 days earlier than they had ever opened in the last 50 years. I wonder if their fairways are in as good a shape as what I am finding in the mid-south?

–Ross

I’ve stopped in Cathy’s Quilt Shop several times before on visits to Hot Springs. The store has excellent light, natural and artificial, a real plus when you are picking out or trying to match fabric. It is also very spacious. One of Cathy’s specialties is long arm quilting. There are several examples of her work hanging from the ceiling and on the walls. In past visits I’ve seen and admired her work so when I had a quilt top finished for my niece Vicki I decided to drop it off for Cathy to finish it when I was in Hot Springs in April. The first picture shows Cathy measuring the quilt to determine its size for pricing. When its done she will ship it back to me (insured of course) by UPS or Fed-Ex. She mentioned she has done quilts for customers all across the country and even some for people living in other countries.

A stroll down Bathouse Row and the Grand Promenade is always on our agenda whenever we visit Hot Springs. This trip the Red Buds were in full blume and the Dogwoods were just starting to come out (see picture – click on the picture for a larger view). I particularly love the lime green tones that the spring foliage takes on. Go Here if you want to see more pictures and information about Hot Springs National Park. The walking and hiking trails were constructed years ago as a supplement to the hot mineral springs therapy provided in the bath houses. During the “golden age” of hot springs bathing over a million people annually visited Bathhouse Row. At present two of the bath houses are operational for bathing and related spa services.

—Jo