Back from Vacation!

I am back from vacation!!! I took Sweet Mama to Iowa to visit my brother and his fiance...and the two grand dogs! We had a great time... Played a lot of cards and wii!!! Sweet Mama bowled, ski jumped, golfed and ping ponged!! A fierce competitor is she and actually not bad for a one-eyed woman! We also did a little bit of shopping! The street above is in Dubuque, Iowa...about 90 miles away. There is an incline railroad there that ends on this street with cute shops below. It is called the Fenelon Place Elevator built in 1882. It has been described as "the world's steepest, shortest scenic railway, 296 feet in length, elevating passengers 189 feet from Fourth Street to Fenelon Place. Magnificent view of the business district, the Mississippi River and three states." Yes I did see all three states! More info can be found here www.dbq.com/fenlco

It was fun! We rode from the top to the bottom. This was at the bottom.

You have to pay at the top which is on a tiny neighborhood street. It was $1.00!

When I was in the shops there was a cool bookstore (which I bought a Crochet book!) and a neat antique shop which had this!

I have never seen a mannequin like this one! Check out how the skirt can be expanded! It was $200...if I was closer to home...and rich! Too cool!!!

Here are some pictures of the grand dogs. Bruiser is the alpha dog...a chihuahua. (He was named after the dog on "Totally Blonde"). He is very sweet and cuddly. Sam is a flat coat retriever who is camera shy! He is actually a foster dog and is going back home to Missouri on Saturday. He belongs to H's parents who had moved to Arizona and could not take him with them. But they are now back in MO and now, a year later, Sam is going back home too! Bruiser is getting a girl friend sometime soon..Cinderella. He can not be left alone...he gets lonely. So he is getting a cute babe...Pictures to come! I hope he will be nice!

We had a great time but the drive home was long. It takes 2 days! Skippy kept the cats and they loved him! That was nice..so glad they didn't have to go back to the kennel...Beau HATED that!! They are thrilled we are back and life is getting back to normal...whatever that is. I just miss the cool weather..although they said it was hot up there. I couldn't tell! It was 94 degrees here when I checked one day with a heat index of 111...Didn't miss that one bit!

It was nice not to think about work and relax..just like Bruiser!