Earlier this week, we made the last-minute decision to buy tickets for the Chris Tomlin and Rend Collective concert at the iWireless Center in Moline, Illinois. At less than $15 a ticket, we saw a great opportunity to give the kids their first concert experience without a significant investment. Once the tickets were purchased, we quickly compiled an itinerary which included a pumpkin patch, children’s museum, and of course, a stop at the beloved Whitey’s Ice Cream.
Saturday, October 10
We stopped for lunch at the Salt Fork Kitchen in Solon, which had been on my radar for a while. The kids enjoyed coloring while waiting for our food, which started out with generally excellent onion rings. My BLT was good but not great; Amanda’s biscuits and gravy were disappointedly bland. I was a fan of the fries and ate as many as I could in attempt to get our money’s worth from the two kids meals. (Large breakfasts apparently limited Noah and Emmie’s lunchtime appetites.)
Our next destination was the Pride of the Wapsi pumpkin patch, a popular fall spot about ten miles northwest of Davenport. I chose the most direct route presented by Google Maps, which took us on a few miles of gravel before a pleasant drive on county roads and a state highway through Tipton, Bennett, and Dixon.
Nice Saturday weather resulted in a big line to purchase our tickets, but the grounds never felt crowded once inside. Both kids made several trips down the slides, rode on the barrel train, drove in the tricycle track, played in the corn box, and joined Amanda for a trip in the rat rollers. Emmie liked feeding the goats, while Noah was the only child to jump in the giant inflated pumpkin.
Emmie loved feeding the goats… one piece of corn at a time.
Noah’s expressions going down the slide were priceless.
We posed in front of an old fire truck from nearby Bennett.
The kids enjoyed going through the hay bales in the ‘logic maze.’
Amanda and Eilidh posed in front of pretty fall flowers.
After we were finished with activities, we took the wagon ride to pick out pumpkins and gourds from the actual pumpkin patch. We walked away with two pumpkins, including one Amanda pulled from the vine, and a half dozen gourds, most picked out by Noah. We added a small pumpkin and a few additional gourds after the return trip before loading things in the car for the drive to Davenport.
We made the short drive to the NorthPark Mall in Davenport for a Chick-fil-A food court dinner and… to get Emmie’s ears pierced. Originally planned as a birthday gift, but with a baby coming in January, we decided to move up the date once we confirmed a Claire’s store was in the mall. After a short stop at J.C. Penney, we made our way to Claire’s, where Emmie patiently sat in her high chair and observed an older girl getting her ears pierced.
Emmie looks in the mirror to verify earring placement.
She picked out the multi-colored flower earrings from the available options, her ears were marked, and she bravely allowed both ears to be pierced at the same time. She initially cried saying the earrings hurt her, but she was happy again when the worker let her pick two suckers from the large basket. She’s now proud of her earrings and has been pointing them out on everyone she sees.
A close-up of Emmie’s new flower earrings.
Noah and I had just enough time for ice cream at Whitey’s before we needed to leave the mall to drive across the river into Moline for the concert. I went with my go-to red cherry shake, while Noah wanted a bowl of mint chocolate chip.
Rend Collective on stage at the iWireless Center.
We made it to our seat less than a minute before the show started with a rousing six-song performance from Rend Collective. While Noah’s favorite Praise Like Fireworks wasn’t performed, the kids both enjoyed the opening set. Combined with ample waving of the light-up wristbands we had taken home from the Taylor Swift show two nights prior, the kids really loved their first concert experience.
Intermission meant time to procure Whitey’s ice cream shakes from the concession stand for Amanda and Emmie, who had missed out during our mall stop. The second part of the concert wasn’t as easy as the first, as Amanda and I combined to take the kids on three restroom trips and Emmie wanted to explore every seat in our row. We made it through a dozen songs or so before deciding to call it a night. I carried Noah much of the way to the car, and Emmie had fallen completely asleep on Amanda’s shoulder.
Sunday, October 11
We slept until nearly 8:30, a happy byproduct of our late night out at the concert. While Amanda was getting ready, I took the kids to Schnucks grocery in Bettendorf, the only Iowa location of the St. Louis-based chain. They each picked out a donut with frosting and sprinkles along with a box of vanilla milk, which we ate later in our hotel lobby.
Amanda and I saved our appetites for a meal at Jimmy’s Pancake House, which I had identified as the best-rated brunch spot by the hotel. It had been a while since we’d eaten out for breakfast, and the food hit the spot: I was a fan of the Greek skillet which combined eggs and hash browns with gyro meat and feta cheese. Amanda’s breakfast plate featured a little bit of everything, which was perfect for sharing with the mildly-hungry kids.
Two over-easy eggs sat atop my Greek Skillet, along with a side of tzatziki sauce.
Our final activity of the trip was a visit to the Family Museum in Bettendorf. We spent the majority of our time in the large play town area, which featured everything from a shoe store to a post office. Noah and Emmie especially liked the pizza shop, where they put together pizzas and served food twice. The grocery store and adjacent farm area also created much entertainment, with Emmie filling her cart with every cookie in the store.
Noah delivered mail to the various spots in the city.
Emmie took a call at the pizza shop. We were impressed with the working phone system!
The kids took out our pizza from the glowing red oven.
Noah loved the machine which ‘made’ cans of corn. He delivered each batch to the grocery store, which was very well-stocked by the end of our visit.
Noah played the giant piano before we left the museum.