If there was one thing I was disappointed with on the cruise along the Upper Mississippi – I didn’t get to shake hands with the Presidential Candidates. I expected that each time we landed in Iowa, we would see at least one. But no! This is a continuing review of the Viking Mississippi cruise – the initial article can be found here.
Davenport was our next port of call and once again we docked by the river in the center of town. The main shore excursion was to the John Deere Pavilion, which didn’t completely bowl me over. I had hoped to join the Quad Cities by Bicycle optional tour for a bit of exercise and sightseeing, but that was fully booked when the bookings first opened and never opened up as far as I could tell. I did notice when searching online for bike rentals, that the local tourist centers (on both sides of the river) had free bike rentals and although two other passengers were quicker than me in getting to the center, there was still one bike available! The bikes themselves were the latest models, in great condition, and included a lock and free bottle of water. No cycling helmet, unfortunately, but I was only going to cycle on the bike path that makes a large loop along the river, across two bridges with a separate bike path and the whole route was around 12 miles, obviously mainly flat as it follows the river.
I picked up the bike in the brick tourist center around where the glass building is towards the right-hand side of the image above and rode along to the Centennial Bridge from where this photo was taken. You get a great view of the Modern Woodmen Park as you pass by.
There are some amusement rides next door to the stadium, which I think are open when a game is in progress, although it was being dismantled for the winter when I rode past.
You arrive in Rock Island in Illinois on the distant bank and the ride continues along a well-paved bike path towards Rock Island itself, which is a big military base, but also has access to the Arsenal Bridge which has a massive swing span over the lock that allows boats to navigate this part of the river. Along this path I met the group who signed up for the Optional Tour (for $98). There were perhaps 20 of them (and they did have a guide and also cycling helmets!), but I was more than happy to make my own way around this loop, stopping when I felt like taking a photo!
I made the detour towards Rock Island base and the Arsenal Bridge and arrived in time to see the span opening to allow an Army Corps of Engineers boat and crane to make its way through the lock.
The machinery driving it is immense:
Back on the main track, I arrived in Moline, Illinois ready to take the wide bike and pedestrian walkway over the brand new bridge carrying the I-74 over the Mississippi River. The demolition work for the old bridge was still underway:
Looking back, this is the view of Moline from the bridge:
One back in Iowa, I was looking forwards to a ride with the wind behind me. Not to be – the wind seemed to be in my face on both sides of the river, so my thighs were aching a little as I passed our boat to return to the Tourist Center and finally walk back to the boat for a well-deserved lunch.
No drone shots in this port – the military base close to the boat makes drone flying illegal.
I don’t recall how I spent the rest of the day before departure around 6pm – probably slept!
The next day we were due to arrive at 8am in Burlington, Iowa. Another chance to shake the hand of the prospective President perhaps?
