Connie & I went on a road trip at the end of July.

Sister’s Cafe – Rockford, IL

Maquoketa Caves – Maquoketa, IA 

This stop was bizarre. There were no garbage cans anywhere, not even in the bathrooms. You have to hike deep into the woods before reaching the first cave. On top of that a recent storm dropped some large limbs onto the trail which made it impassable.

Big Barn Harley-Davidson – DesMoines, IA

Just a quick stop to pick up a gift.

Zombie Burger + Drink Lab

We “heard a rumor” that Zombie Burger was one of the “Top Ten Places to Pig Out”. Sadly the rumors were not true. The portions were small, the food was mediocre, & our waitress clearly did not enjoy her job.

Jethro’s BBQ – Altoona, IA

According to “popular opinion” Jethro’s BBQ is a GREAT place to eat. I don’t know who those people are but their taste buds must be broken. The best thing on my plate was the applesauce. The BBQ au Jus, like the rest of their sauces, were strange (not in a good way). The meat on my sandwich was dried out and tasteless. Not surprisingly, we had another grumpy server.

Midtown Family Restaurant – Iowa City, IA

The food was decent but the service was S-L-O-W!

Tecalitlan Restaurant – Rochelle, IL

Connies chiles rellenos were delicious but my quesadillas were just so-so. Once again we had a server who clearly didn’t want to be at work.

NOTE: CUSTOMER SERVICE IS DEAD

The trip wasn’t all bad though. We saw endless corn fields, experienced miles of road construction, slept well, and had some wonderful conversations. When it’s all said and done, it is our connection with the people in our lives that is important.