By Mary Lu Laffey
Small Newspaper Group 

On one last road trip before the snow flies, I couldn't think of a better place to go than the Quad Cities, which include Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa, and Moline and Rock Island in Illinois. First, fill the tank and follow the signs along the Mississippi River.

Families first

Two must-see museum complexes are located in Iowa: The Putnam Museum and Imax Theatre in Davenport and the Family Museum in Bettendorf.

The Putnam is well respected for its Egyptian Gallery and a wonderful schedule of IMAX films for the entire family.

The lesser-known Discovery Room has its own "wow" factor. When we caught up with naturalist Sally Patterson, she had just finished a river program with middle-school children, one that asked them to build their own river with a blue ribbon -- a river with or without houses, with or without farms, etc.

"For every house (they include), we'd cut off an inch of the ribbon because of the (amount of) water that would be needed per home," Patterson said. We could see from the cut ribbons lying on the grassy mats that some rivers survived man's environmental impact and some did not. The Discovery Room is open on weekends and most afternoons. Go to www.putman.org.

The pre-school area at The Family Museum engages children in active play within a picket fenced in area with signage in English and Spanish.

"The key to the Family Museum is keeping play open ended," Tracy Kuehl told us. Kuehl works in the museum's education department. The museum is not in the business of giving out definitive answers, she added, but to opening doors to the imagination. Go to www.familymuseum.org.

G'night

Family-style bunk bedrooms at The Stoney Creek Inn are ideal for families -- king-size bed, sleeper couch and a set of log bunk beds with a double-bed bottom. In addition to the big draw of comfy beds in a spacious room, the Inn's "Wilderness Park" Recreation Center includes a year-round heated indoor-outdoor pool, a game room, dry sauna and an exercise room reserved only for adults.

The Mississippi River is in full view and the Quad Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau, which rents bicycles of all sizes, is across the plaza. Do-it-yourself breakfast is a big step above others and children under 17 stay free with a parent. Look for online promotions. Go to www.stoneycreekinn.com.

What's for dinner?

Family-style dining is the rule at The Machine Shed in Davenport, Iowa. October is pork month at the Shed so I ordered the Pioneer, winner of the Pork Producer's Taste of Elegance Award in 1992. It is an au gratin dish of home-style noodles in a light garlic herb sauce topped with grilled pork tenderloins, $13.49. The recipe and many others are on the Shed's Web site, www.machineshed.com.

For dessert, Lagomarcino's in downtown Moline, Ill., or in East Davenport, Iowa, prepares one-scoop sundaes using homemade ice cream and sauces. I ordered a hot fudge sundae with whipped cream. It was so good I bought a jar of Lago's Hot Fudge to take home. And a few "turtles" and a bag of bridge mix for the road. Go to www.lagomarcinos.com.

Parent factor

The Quad Cities are easy to navigate and provide a host of activities for the entire family. You get your money's worth in this cosmopolitan area of 400,000-plus.

Other family-friendly activities include going to Arsenal Island for a walk on an active military base and to look at the role the Island played during the Civil War.

Return to spend more time at the Figge Museum in Davenport, Iowa, where a thriving hands-on Family Activity Center attracts hundreds of families each Sunday to Family Day. The current children's program, "Smiling Cats and Pink Monsters," is hands-on and fun for all ages.

A Frank Lloyd Wright decorative arts exhibit is set to open Nov. 21. Go to www.figgeart.org.

Mary Lu Laffey is a Chicago-based travel writer. Contact her at mlaffey@earthlink.net

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