When we left the vet's in Ottawa we headed to my good friend Dr. Bob Friedhoffs home in Rochester, Minn.  Not wanting to push Ruby to hard we stopped in Dubuque, Iowa.  Getting the Rubes some rest and me the opportunity to catch up on the blog!  The folks (an Obama phrase) in Dubuque were beyond cordial and extremely accommodating and very friendly (I've lost track of how often I've said that since April 14th...but they all have been..no bs)!
I have heard of Dubuque before but never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would ever see it, let alone stay there.
The only thing that I knew about this gorgeous little city is that a seemingly large number of Olympic wrestlers call it their home...must be because one of the national wrestling powerhouses...Northern Iowa U. is located here.
I also didn't know that Dubuque is located at the extreme northeast corner of Iowa (I still remember when SC kicked Iowa's ass in the Orange Bowl a couple of years ago...now that was fun)!  But I digress...it lies on the Mississippi with Illinois across the river and Wisconsin about 5 miles north.  I'm really sorry that we didn't have much time there...it looked like a fun city to explore!
It's also interesting to me that as we proceed west we are following the progression of American's setting up settlements.  Initially in Boston and the east coast the settlers were English, French and Spanish during the early 1600's.  Now more nationalities are beginning to be seen in these more western towns...German, Scandanavian, Italian etc...the towns we are now passing through were established in the early 1800's..1820ish..
Sorry another of my rambling thoughts!

The courthouse in Dubuque...built in the 1840s...I loved this building..the style, the detail, the craftsmanship were very cool.  There were a lot of buildings here, but again the issue was...TIME!

We backtracked about 20 miles on the Illinois side of the Mighty Mississippi to reach Galena...you'll figure out why in a moment!
Once again I fell in love with the architecture of this house called fittingly...Belvedere.

Ok..the reason for the stop was to get another U.S. President's home onto these pages...errr screens.
This is U.S. Grants home...the famous Civil War General, President and as I hear it...raging alcoholic.
Galena is a really neat little town.  Again wish we had more time.  This could easily have been a 3 hour stop!

Meet Julia Dent Grant!
U. S. Grant's lovely and kindly wife.
A pleasant enough looking woman...Lol!
I think I know now why Grant drank so heavily!

Yaaaaa!
Another state for Ruby...one of these days I'll tally them up and let you know how many she is up to...no Canadian Provinces though!

Came across this place in some small town in Wisconsin..didn't catch the towns name but thought that this detailed labor of love, next to the local Catholic Church was worthy to share with you...in some ways I found it a little creepy...there is a graveyard in the back.

What would the midwest be without giant sculptures?
This one advertising a cheese factory...bet that this rodent could have eaten all of the poison that Ruby got a hold of and enjoyed a nice little buzz!

This wild turkey is in the town of Boscobel (German?) Wisconsin...the town calls itself the wild turkey hunting capital of the world!
Who am I to question their knowledge on this matter!

This is the beautiful home of Dr. Bob Friedhoff and his family in Rochester Minn.  I've known Bob since the 6th grade making him the friend that I have known the longest.  We went to junior high, high school and were roomates at Western Michigan...a long time and very dear friend.
Dr. Bob is, of my old friends the one that I admire the most for knowing what his passion was in life and doing everything possible to realize his dream of becoming a doctor...after college Bob was turned down by every med school that he applied to...so he went to Emory in Atlanta and got a Masters in anatheseollgy.
He eventually parlayed that into a full blown position as a Doctor of Anatheseollgy and now works at the Mayo Clinic, where he has been for 27 years...Dr. Bob is my hero...he knew what he wanted in life and didn't let the many, many obstacles that were placed in his path deter him from doing what he truly wanted out of life...to help people.
He also is a member of Doctors Without Borders taking his expertise and love of all peoples to the less fortunate the world over!
Thank you Dr. Bob...you truly are a symbol of what having a goal in life, putting in the hard work neccessary, and becoming the person that you wanted to be, in the profession that you had always wanted to be in without compromising your morals and values as a human being is truly heart lifting!
I LOVE YOU MAN!

This is Dr. Bob's wonderful family!
From left to right is his charming and sweet wife Theresa...a noted psychlogist...also at Mayo...  their beautiful daughter..Claire...and of course my friend Dr. Bob!
Thank you Friedhoff family for your kind hospitality, your friendship and always being there for me whenever I've needed you the most!
Ooops I missed Ruby's newest friend Cosmo!
Last but not least I would like to wish my dad a...
HAPPY 86th BIRTHDAY!!!!
Happy birthday dad...I love you with all of my heart!