THE CELEBRATION BELLE

Isn't she a beauty? We boarded the Celebration Belle, a three deck paddle wheel boat, at Rock Island, IL, for a two hour cruise on the Mississippi River.

It was a beautiful day and we sat on the top deck outside in the sunshine. The tour was narrated but this one wasn't a lunch cruise.

When we arrived back at the dock we were famished. We found a Bennigan's in the center of town. Yes, there is still a Bennigan's open in this part of the country.

After a filling lunch we set out to do some sightseeing. We wanted to check out the Rock Island Arsenal Museum. We found out in order for a Garmin to find an address one must enter accurate information. We eventually did and located the museum and not the arsenal.

Since this is a US Military Facility, security abounds. The driver of our vehicle had to show his driver's license and the guard at the guardhouse scanned it into a computer. Since there were no wants or warrants on him and he wasn't on a terrorist watch list, they allowed us to proceed to the museum.

The museum houses many displays of military fire power. There was a wall of just handguns. I never knew there were so many different kinds. Since this was mainly a "guy's" museum, we women lost interest fast and found a bench to sit and chat until the boys were finished looking at every display.

That evening we went to CIRCA' 21, a dinner playhouse in downtown Rock Island. As I mentioned in the previous blog, Rock Island is an artisan community, and includes acting. CIRCA' 21 serves to give local actors a chance at honing their craft.

We had a delicious dinner served and cleaned up by the actors themselves. After dinner they went on stage to perform the opening act. This was followed by the main show which was "HAIRSPRAY". The performers of this show were not locals and were there specifically to do the show. Although not well-known names at present, I'm sure some of them will become well-known in the future.

After the dinner theater we were tired and headed back to the hotel for a good nights rest, because the next day was an 8' train ride, I'll tell you about that in the next blog . . . Choo-Choo.