We’ve attended a number of shows/concerts in the Quad-Cities. It’s an easy two hour drive. Usually, we attend the event then drive home. It makes for a late night but with minimal daily disruptions.
Maybe we’re getting older, maybe it’s not as important to get right back home, I’m not sure. But we decided to stay overnight, then drive back the next morning. And since we’re already almost there, why not take the short trip to Iowa City and visit family.
We left Sunday mid-afternoon and stopped for an early supper at Skoogs in Utica, IL. We’ve written about Skoogs a number of times. It’s a bar-type restaurant that we’ve gone to for years. The prices are good but more importantly, the food is very good. Their wings are some of the biggest and juiciest. We got there around 4:00 PM and the place was packed. No particular game or event just a busy eatery on a Sunday afternoon.
Since we were attending the show at the Adler Theater downtown Davenport, we chose the Blackhawk Hotel. The hotel is directly adjacent to the theater so we parked in the hotel lot and walked to the event – no coats needed.
Like most hotels that have been around for a hundred years, the Blackhawk Hotel has a storied past. From gambling, politics, prohibition, questionable ownership, and bankruptcies, the hotel has survived and turned into a beautiful building. There was actually a coffee table book in our room that covered all the details. From the sounds of it, this iteration will be around for a while.
The rooms were clean and large, and the lobby was well lit with lots of marble. Be sure to carry your room key with you at all times. The elevator won’t move until you scan your card. All for security, I guess. Also no jumping in the elevator!
There were plenty of wisecracks and fake disappointment about the no-jumping policy while on the elevator but nobody misbehaved and we safely made it to our floor.
We checked into our room then headed to the show. We were going to see Dr. Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychologist who’s been in the middle of a lot of discussion and controversy about social issues. He is an author, podcaster, does videos, and is even starting his own online university His current tour is titled “We Who Wrestle With God“.
His two-hour show was a cross between a seminarian professor’s lecture and doctoral thesis on human nature. Lot’s of heavy discussion and ideas but he made it very easy to understand. Check out his content and decided for yourself.
The next morning we checked out and headed towards Iowa City for some short visits with family. We found a coffee shop less than a block from the hotel named RedBand Coffee.
It sets in an easy-to-get-to location with parking and a drive-thru. However, once we walked in, we realized that there wasn’t any inside seating. It wasn’t clear why there were no tables but the signs were very clear on the subject. There were a number of tables outside but it was a little colder than I like it.
Since we were already there, we ordered the house medium roast and two egg sandwiches with sausage and gouda cheese on telera bread. The sandwiches were very large and it took me a while to finish it. Mary put half of hers away for later snacking. They tasted really good. I’d never had telera before. I actually had to look it up. Apparently, it’s a Mexican bread used for sandwiches. That checks out. Redband has two locations in Davenport. Highly recommended!
We headed to Iowa City and had a great time visiting family. But before heading back home, of course we had to stop to get “traveling” coffee. Coffee Emporium was right on our way out of town.
A quick stop and we were headed home. I’m not sure where we’re traveling next but I need to look for a recipe to make telera bread…
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