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By Bob Lindsey

After browsing the attractive 2011 Quad Cities Visitors Guide, my first thought was how can we do all this in a weekend.

With some of larger venues looking like what you’d find in bigger cities, we decided to see them first.  Then we’d see what else we could fit in during 2 1/2 days in the Quad Cities—a smart marketing name for this destination with two towns in Illinois and two in Iowa.

Our first stop in Davenport on Saturday morning was the impressive Putnam Museum & IMAX Theater—a combination of history, science and culture of the region in one building.

IMAX Theatre

We walked through the Black Earth/Big River where we learned that the topography of the Quad Cities is similar to the  St. Louis area, both being river cities. The River, Prairie and People section presents exhibits on the Indian tribes that settled the area including their most famous one, Chief Black Hawk. (learn more about the Native Americans in this area at a museum at Black Hawk State Historic Site.

The Hall of Mammals is like a smaller version of what you would find at Chicago’s Field Museum, You only need to walk a few feet from the Plains of Africa to the Arctic at the Putnam.

Two mummies in the Putnam Museum.

The Asian Egyptian gallery may remind you of the St. Louis Art Museum except the Putnam has a resident mummy revealing the remains of the man (Isis Neferit) who lived on earth 3,000 years ago.

The younger ones will enjoy the hands-on Discovery Room where they can touch and feel fossils and a 180-million year-old petrified log. They have programs each week for the kids and they would like the films shown on the giant IMAX screens.

If you missed the Titanic Artifact Exhibition in St. Louis or haven’t been to the one Branson, the Putnam currently has one of the traveling exhibitions running through June 26.  For more information: on current displays:  www.putnam.org.

The Figge Art Museum in downtown Davenport, Iowa, is smaller than the St. Louis or Chicago art museums, has comparable artwork worth the visit. It features permanent and traveling exhibits, some outstanding paintings of many styles and eras, a kid’s activity room and the Figge offers great views of the Mississippi River.  The Mexican Colonial collection is one of the best in the U.S. For more information: www.figgeartmuseum.org.

The Quad City Botanical Center is a smaller version of our Climatron at the Missouri Botanical Garden.  It doesn’t have the large plush grounds and gardens like ours in St. Louis. To be fair, it was early Spring and there was nothing in bloom outside yet at the Quad City Botanical Garden. www.qcgardens.com

John Deere is a reverent name in the Quad Cities with Deere and Company World headquarters in Moline. Il..  The free exhibits at John Deere Pavilion in Moline are worth a stop. We heard the Butterworth Center and Deere-Wimoan House and gardens are worth a visit also, but we didn’t have enough time.  www.johndeerattractions.com.

John Deere Pavilion

Music and the River

Probably the most surprising aspect of our visit was  learning  how this area celebrates the music experience of these river towns, much as  St. Louis and Memphis do. At the Music River Experience in downtown Davenport, we met Maureen Schulte, who grew up in the Normandy area of North County, and is director of marketing for RME.  As she gave us a tour of the facilities, she gushes with pride about the music scene in the Quad Cities.  “ I came up here to go to college and just loved it….so much of the music and river attractions are like St. Louis. “ We learned how music education is brought to the youth (and adults) of these river cities at the RME

RME blends performances and educational programming to bring a rich music culture to the area.  On the second floor of the historic building housing the RME are exhibits on the great blues and jazz musicians who found their way up the Mississippi from New Orleans to Memphis, St. Louis and eventually to the Quad Cities. The music of each of these cities is depicted in displays and recording at the RME, which also has a live music room, The Redstone for nightclub style concerts and shows. For more visit: www.rivermusicexperience,org.

The Quad Cities looks like a great area for summer  and family activities, with the warmer days just ahead.  You can walk along the 3-mile Rock Island Arsenal and stop at the Mississippi River Visitor’s Center, visit a Civil War Cemetery, a military museum featuring the history of the area or take a lock and dam river tour.  Segway guided tours  are offered around the Davenport waterfront and bike paths.

During the summer the Channel Cat water taxi stops at various parks and locations on both sides of the river (www.riveraction.org

Just for fun, check out the recently renovated Hotel Blackhaw in downtown Davenport. This impressive hotel, built in 1915,  is on the National Register of Historic Place and Cary Grant, Carol Sandburg and Herbert Hoover stayed here.  Now it’s the area’s  premier hotel.

Want to check out some future members of the St. Louis Cardinals? Catch a game at the cozy Quad Cities River Bandits Park, a Midwest Class A team and one of the first stops for new signees to the Cardinals.

Quad Cities will be play regulation game at Busch Stadium on May 26 with $10 seats. www.riverbandits.com.

For local delights for the whole family, try one of Whitey’s Ice Cream locations. Remember Happy Joe’s Pizza? We had one for several years in North County.  Happy Joe’s is headquartered in the Quad Cities and has more than a dozen locations and still one of the best taco pizzas anywhere.

Rock Island, Ill. is the place for  the arts, entertainment and nightlife with an  award winning brew house called the Blue Cat Brew Pub. Another brew house, RIBCO, has both indoor and outdoor concerts. The Speakeasy is a popular local entertainment venue. The Scxhwiebert Riverfront Park has digital playgrounds, and a waterfront promenadeRock island’s Arts & Education District has seasonal outdoor music festival and special events

For more visit: www.visitquadcities.com)

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