Mother's Day on the Mississippi

I wanted to do a little getaway for Mother's Day weekend, so we found a toddler-friendly destination that was new for us but only 3 hours away!

Dubuque, Iowa is a small town right over the Mississippi River from Wisconsin. It might not sound exotic to travel to Iowa, but it was a genuinely cute town and fun weekend.

The Fenelon Place Elevator's claim to fame is that it's shortest, steepest railway in the world. It has two tiny cable cars that can transport people up and down the bluff for a view of three states. 

It was built in the 1880s for a wealthy banker who got tired of taking over an hour to travel just two blocks by horse and carriage from his house on top of the bluffs to his work at the bottom. We didn't ride it, but stopped to look at the views. The girls enjoyed a miniature version that we found in town the next day.

We stayed at the Grand Harbor Resort and were pleasantly surprised to have a river view from our room. 

There was a nice river walk right outside the hotel patio that we took advantage of on both days.

The hotel had an indoor water park, which was a first for the girls. 

Rosalie was interested but very hesitant and wanted to be held the whole time. We didn't mind. Magnolia had lots of fun in the wading pool/ splash pad area but was afraid to go in the deeper water. 

We learned that we need to get them more used to water- that's on the agenda for this summer!

After dinner at the hotel restaurant, we spent way too many hours trying to get two excitable girls to sleep. The whole family sharing a room in Dubuque, Iowa is utterly thrilling for 1 and 3 year olds.

The next day, we visited the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. I knew they would be fascinated by the fish considering they are fascinated by the small fish tanks at the pet store.

It wasn't a huge or crowded place, so they did several laps around the aquarium portion, happily running from tank to tank (followed by speed-walking parents).

Trying to take a picture with two toddlers is its own adventure.

They even got to pet stingrays and starfish. Magnolia took several minutes to think about it and observe, then very gingerly and gently reached her hand in the stingray tank for a few seconds. Rosalie's arm was plunged into the tank petting them within 1 second of entering the room. 

Not much sleep happened on this trip until the ride home.  

But when we pulled away from the last restaurant to drive home, our sweet girls were asleep within one minute. And we had a silent drive home.

Goodbye Dubuque!

I'm so happy to be their mom, and so happy to do any kind of traveling and exploring with them. Even in Iowa. :)