Where to go in Iowa/area?

[disneydreamersx4]

SIL is graduating this year and we may go out for the ceremony at Ashford University. The college is in Clinton, Iowa (I think that's the Eastern side of the state. Any ideas where we could go to make this a vacation for family? DD's 13 and 9.
Nearby states also included.

 

[wdwiala]

Ahem..not Clinton at least not for long. The town smells bad. Literally.

I would suggest a stay in the Quad Cities. Not far away. LeClaire is a small town with a couple of newer hotels that rank good on trip advisor. They are very near the river road which you can take to Clinton and I-80 which you can take everywhere else. Davenport is where a person would find all the big stores/mall/theaters.

LeClaire is home to American Pickers. The shop is open quite a bit to tourist. It is smaller than it looks on tv. Then, you can walk and shop the small stores on main street.

Across I-74 bridge in Illinois is the John Deere museum. Good for seeing the big equipment upclose. Not sure how thrilling this would be for girls.

Have you thought about going toward Chicago? If your daughters aren't too old for the American Girl museum...it's a popular place to go. Chicago is 3+ hours away.

3+ hours to Minneapolis. 4 hours to Milwaukee.

 

[sunshine1178]

Ahem..not Clinton. . I would suggest a stay in the Quad Cities. Not far away. LeClaire is a small town with a couple of newer hotels that rank good on trip advisor. They are very near the river road which you can take to Clinton and I-80 which you can take everywhere else. Davenport is where a person would find all the big stores/mall/theaters.

LeClaire is home to American Pickers. The shop is open quite a bit to tourist. It is smaller than it looks on tv. Then, you can walk and shop the small stores on main street.

Across I-74 bridge in Illinois is the John Deere museum. Good for seeing the big equipment upclose. Not sure how thrilling this would be for girls.

Have you thought about going toward Chicago? If your daughters aren't too old for the American Girl museum...it's a popular place to go. Chicago is 3+ hours away.

3+ hours to Minneapolis. 4 hours to Milwaukee.

The Quad Cities can be fun. The baseball stadium is right on the river, and a minor league game is so much more interactive than a major league game. Its fun for kids. If you're crafty, touring the Isabel Bloom studio is neat. Backwater Gamblers water skiing show is a tradition. For food, Harris Pizza, Belgian Village, Lagomarcinos candy, and Whiteys ice cream.

 

[wdwiala]

The Quad Cities can be fun. The baseball stadium is right on the river, and a minor league game is so much more interactive than a major league game. Its fun for kids. If you're crafty, touring the Isabel Bloom studio is neat. Backwater Gamblers water skiing show is a tradition. For food, Harris Pizza, Belgian Village, Lagomarcinos candy, and Whiteys ice cream.

All great ideas. Though, I see that you mistakenly said Harris Pizza instead of Happy Joes.....

We have friends in Backwater Gamblers. It's doubly great because its free!