A Visit with President Reagan

Alright, we didn't actually visit with the former President (since he is actually deceased), it was really a visit to a museum at the college he attended.
After a comfortably air conditioned and restful night, we packed up this morning to head back to Indianapolis.


Reagan (far right) on the Eureka
College football team



Jeff had planned a stop at the Ronald Reagan Museum at Eureka College in Eureka, Illinois on the way to Indianapolis.  Ronald Reagan went to Eureka College and was a strong supporter of the school.  He said it taught him leadership and responsibility as a young man.

Eureka is a pretty small town, and the college is small too.  The museum at the college has lots of Reagan memorabilia, much of it donated by the Reagan family.  Reagan visited the school when he was an actor, and also gave a commencement address there when he was President of the United States.



Berlin Wall

We spent some time looking at the exhibited items and watching video footage of President Reagan giving speeches.  The kids enjoyed listening to him tell jokes.  There were lots of personal items from Reagan's life in exhibit cabinets, including a picture of him on the college football team. 



After touring the museum, we went to the Reagan Peace Garden, which includes a slab of the Berlin Wall.  Oddly, while we walked by the garden the first time, we took pictures of the scultpure of President Reagan's head, but missed the piece of the Berlin Wall.  It wasn't until after we were back at the RV and the President of the college drove by and asked if we needed help with anything that we learned about it.  He told us to make sure we saw it, because it's one of only seven slabs of the wall in the U.S.  Henry and I went back, and I have to say, it's embarrassing that we missed it the first time.  It's a good sized piece. 

It was very nice of the college president to take the time to say hello and ask if we needed anything.  That's what you get at a small college - personal attention.

Dinner Near the Mighty Mississippi

It is just too hot to cook outside, and it being near the end of the trip, we're low on supplies.  So I checked TripAdvisor to find a place to eat nearby. 

I found the Blue Cat Brew Pub in Rock Island and the menu looked good.  Once the kids were back from the pool and cleaned up, we went in search of Rock Island and the brew pub,  From what I can see, Rock Island is named because of it's geographic location - it's surrounded by water. It sits on the Mississippi River, and other rivers run around it.

The Blue Cat Brew Pub was a good choice.  They make their own beer and the food is good too.  Jeff got the blackened catfish with spicy pasta alfredo, and I had an Iowa pork chop with mashed potatoes and apples.  The apples weren't too sweet, and were seved mashed as a garnish with the pork chop.  Both were delicious.

Henry went for the hamburger and Ruth got a chicken caesar salad. Both kids lobbied for dessert, so we shared a warm apple crisp and a Mississippi Mud Pie.  Both were also very good.



After dinner, even though it was still ungodly hot and humid, we walked to the Mississippi riverfront because, well, we had to.  It's not often that one finds themself alongside one of the country's most famous rivers, so when you have the opportunity, you just have to do it.



Statue of the Blues Brothers in
downtown Rock Island, IL



We stayed a short time, watching the river and looking out to Iowa on the other side.  Then it was back to the car before we all melted.

We drove around downtown Rock Island to head back to the campground.  It's a cute little main street area, but you can tell it has suffered since it's heyday.