Yesterday, we completed our work in the media market of Davenport, Bettendorf, Moline and Rock Island.  Turns out you can get a good deal on a casino hotel room if you sign up for their player’s club crap.  Here’s my view the last night from the Isle Casino in Bettendorf.

Those twin suspension bridges carry I-74 over the Mississippi between Bettendorf, IA and Moline, IL.  (Super narrow, by the way; no shoulders and substandard lane widths.)

It might be easier and more descriptive if we were to combine all four cities into one called “Johndeereville”.  I lost count of the number of facilities they have and the buildings and roads that use some form of the company name.  Moline is the world headquarters for this ubiquitous manufacturer of tractors and you can tell.  That was just on the Illinois side.

Moline has a decent downtown, much more so than Rock Island.  Bettendorf has pretty much nothing apart from the casino.  Davenport is the largest of the quartet, and I only drove through there once, but it seemed to have the most going on; including a casino of it’s own and the local minor league team.

Something about casinos in Iowa; apparently they have to be floating and they have to look like old paddleboats. Even though the insides look like any other casino.  I only went inside to drink cheap beer and see exactly how these things work.  Makes me appreciate how nice it is that indoor public smoking bans are in effect in most places.  It was also my first experience with a casino buffet and holy cow, it is so easy eat way, way too much.  You better believe I got my $14’s worth out of that sucka!

With the QC behind me, I’m looking at a few days’ work along the I-39 corridor and some places between there and the fringe of Chicagoland. By August 1, I could find myself back in Madison.  I’ll keep y’all posted.

-reporting from Loves Park, Illinois (that’s a Rockford suburb)