ALL around Alton...
Last Saturday we decided to go spend the day in Alton, IL. We want to try to hit a few places that are close to home that can be used 1) as a day trip away from home & 2) as a school field trip. Alton served both of those interests for us.
We began our day there by eating at "My Just Desserts". It had that country decor thing going on that I just love and they serve MUCH more than "Just Desserts"! My hubby got a chicken salad sandwich, I got a Honey Turkey, Bacon club and Heather got a ham & croissant sandwich. All of our food was SUPER yummy but Heather and I topped our meal off with a Toll House Blonde Brownie...that made the day already for me!!!
We had a tour scheduled for 12:30 at The Beall Mansion - While I don't think it was worth our $25 that we spent...the lady who did the tour was really fun & friendly and shared alot of information about the 1903 mansion that donned the middle of "Millionaire Row".
Our next stop was to visit the museum that contains the Alton Giant, Robert Wadlow's memorabilia. At the age of 22 he was still growing, at his time of death he was 8 ft 11 inches and weighed 439 lbs. My grandmother was facinated with the Alton Giant and I wish she had gotten a chance to view this stuff before she died. The museum was VERY informative about all kinds of historical stuff and I would HIGHLY recommend a visit to Loomis Hall.
We continued our visit to the "FREE" Melvin Price Locks and Dam which is run by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. We were fortunate enough to 1) get there in time for their last tour of the day (3pm) and 2)be there when an actual barge came through. There are approximately 29 Locks and Dam systems up and down the mighty Mississippi river to help accommodate the millions of tons of commodities that pass up and down the river. The lock and dam is designed to help control the flow of the Mississippi so barges are able to navigate the ups and downs of the river better. The tour took us up about 100 feet above the water outside and we watched over the ledge walkway.
Our tour had to go before the barge actually got out of the bay but when they closed the bay all up and started pumping the water out to allow for the lower elevation on the other side...the water dropped 18ft in about 15 minutes...it was unbelievable!
We finished our day at the Great Godfrey 2.5 mile corn maze.
We began our day there by eating at "My Just Desserts". It had that country decor thing going on that I just love and they serve MUCH more than "Just Desserts"! My hubby got a chicken salad sandwich, I got a Honey Turkey, Bacon club and Heather got a ham & croissant sandwich. All of our food was SUPER yummy but Heather and I topped our meal off with a Toll House Blonde Brownie...that made the day already for me!!!
We had a tour scheduled for 12:30 at The Beall Mansion - While I don't think it was worth our $25 that we spent...the lady who did the tour was really fun & friendly and shared alot of information about the 1903 mansion that donned the middle of "Millionaire Row".
Our next stop was to visit the museum that contains the Alton Giant, Robert Wadlow's memorabilia. At the age of 22 he was still growing, at his time of death he was 8 ft 11 inches and weighed 439 lbs. My grandmother was facinated with the Alton Giant and I wish she had gotten a chance to view this stuff before she died. The museum was VERY informative about all kinds of historical stuff and I would HIGHLY recommend a visit to Loomis Hall.
We continued our visit to the "FREE" Melvin Price Locks and Dam which is run by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. We were fortunate enough to 1) get there in time for their last tour of the day (3pm) and 2)be there when an actual barge came through. There are approximately 29 Locks and Dam systems up and down the mighty Mississippi river to help accommodate the millions of tons of commodities that pass up and down the river. The lock and dam is designed to help control the flow of the Mississippi so barges are able to navigate the ups and downs of the river better. The tour took us up about 100 feet above the water outside and we watched over the ledge walkway.
Our tour had to go before the barge actually got out of the bay but when they closed the bay all up and started pumping the water out to allow for the lower elevation on the other side...the water dropped 18ft in about 15 minutes...it was unbelievable!
We finished our day at the Great Godfrey 2.5 mile corn maze.
And since I "AM" my mother's daughter...what day would be COMPLETE without...
ICE CREAM???
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