Thursday, July 12, 2007

July Bike Trip, Pt 1



Spent several days on the bike recently, for a little relief from work. We decided that we would try to do all two lane roads for our trip, since there's more to see and less traffic. We did manage to pick some hot days for riding, since we drank a bottle of water nearly every stop. Our (my) first bar stop was in Ottumwa at the Yankee Inn Motel & Restaurant.


I like my bars with some character, and this place had it. It's been a bar since the '40s, and the owners have used that as a draw by allowing some of the age to show. The bar runs nearly the length of the wall, with a pool table, wooden plank floor, plenty of room, and fast service. The owners tend the bar, and if you get the wife, you'll get some interesting stories told with a lot of......animation. After a few beers, got back on the bikes and headed the rest of the way to Cedar Rapids for an overnight stop. Stopping for gas on the way, we got to watch some excellent horsemanship at a county fair area across the street from the pumps.


This was the first time I'd seen barrel racing live, and it's impressive to watch the skill the horse and rider demonstrate.
Sunday we got back on the road to head over to Galena, IL. First we stopped for lunch in Anamosa at Knuckleheads.


It's basically a small biker bar, with a limited grill menu. Nothing fancy, and not much room, but the food is good, and overall it's pretty laid back.
Arriving in Galena, we had some time to kill before checking in, so stopped at a bar called Benjamin's.


I'd call the place upscale casual. You can walk in wearing leather and boots or khakis and a polo and still feel comfortable. Large menu, lots of wood, staff in uniforms, no pool tables/pinball machines. The staff was welcoming, so we knocked back some rum and whiskey while discussing tattoos with woman next to us at the bar. After some really good drinks, we head over the night's shelter.
We've decided that we'd rather spend some extra money and stay somewhere interesting than stay at cookie cutter hotels. So we usually try to find a local bed and breakfast. This time it was the Steamboat House.


It's probably the nicest place I've ever stayed. On the first floor, a billiard room, formal dining room, study, library, and huge foyer.


Five bedrooms on the second floor,


all connected by a large common social room. The third floor apparently had another three bedrooms and a ballroom, but this was being converted into a living area for the owner's extended family on visits, so I didn't get to see that. This is a place you could go to many times and still notice something overlooked before. We managed to find a copy of Blazing Saddles in the library, so we ended the evening watching one of Mel Brooks' best efforts before sacking out for the night. Nothing like hours in the saddle, lots of beer/whiskey, and a large serving of prime rib to make sure you sleep well.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good for people to know.