Waving down by the River in Leclaire

Here is a happy fellow showing off his civic pride, well, I mean the guy waving, not the one on the bench.

MetLife blimp arrives for John Deere Classic

The Metlife blimp got here a couple of days early and it was such a beautiful day, the pilots must have said, “I will see enough golf, let’s head for the river.”  I took this shot from our boat late Sunday afternoon.

Check out the John Deere Classic, I bet the blimp will be there.

http://www.johndeereclassic.com/index.php

The Twilight, LeClaire to Dubuque

This boat makes a day trip to Dubuque, stays overnight and comes back to Leclaire.  Here is a view from the Mississippi River.

Cantilever lanes on I-80 bridge

Here is a better view of the cantilevered outside lanes on the I-80 bridge.  These outside lanes are the ones that are stressed according to the Illinois DOT.  Traffic has been routed to the inside lanes.  The contractor is making definite progress in getting the Illinois side westbound lanes repaved.

We take our boat under the bridge a lot.

What is Illlinois hiding about I-80 bridge?

The local newspaper filed an FOIA request on I-80 bridge inspection reports, Illinois DOT manages the bridges.  Illinois stiffed the newspaper, citing national security.

Iowa and Minnesota make their reports public.

More good and decent government in Illinois?

As a regular commuter on the I-80 bridge, I would certainly like to read those reports.

Check out this editorial:

http://www.qctimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_a0ac893e-5f8d-11de-b618-001cc4c002e0.html?mode=story

Kim does more yardwork

Despite the fact it was in the 90’s and humid, Kim set out to do yardwork, seemed to be mostly pulling weeds and trimming brush.  But she got to use her new John Deere dump wagon.  She was so happy.

I-80 bridge detour signs confusing

The detour signs have caused all sorts of folks to wander around Leclaire and Bettendorf, just looking for a way over the river.

http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/ask-the-times/article_644560f4-5954-11de-8414-001cc4c03286.html

Update on I-80 bridge over Mississippi

We are hoping to have one lane open both ways by the 4th of July:

http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/article_d8d22288-5227-11de-a00e-001cc4c002e0.html

Millenium Park Chicago

I made a visit to Chicago for work and was high up in the old Prudential Building (used to be the first skyscraper in town), and now just a creaky building.  But I got some good pictures of the park, the skyline, Soldiers Field.  We could even see down to the Indiana shore.

The Adler Planetarium out on the end of the peninsula and the Shedd Aquarium, and the boat harbor.

Field Natural History Museum, Soldier Field and McCormick Place, plus Buckingham Fountain.

Well, it is about 170 miles east of pool 14, but does Lake Michigan count.

Raindrops on the oak leaves

Took this off the back deck too: