Big 10 Football Tour

As you're driving to any location, it's important to look at more than just the beginning and the end.  As Drew was researching the route, he stumbled upon Dixon, IL.  Never heard of it?  Few know of the treasures in this small town.  Time to check some of them out.

Probably the biggest claim to fame is being the boyhood home of former President Ronald Reagan.  As we were driving along from Iowa into Illinois, we saw many signs of a Reagan Memorial Highway, but we needed more than a highway.  So we stopped at his old home, which is literally down some back roads among many "normal" homes.   Wes is not a big fan of Ronald Reagan.

Downtown had a peace monument and a replica of the Berlin Wall so we stopped in for a visit.  The front definitely had some interesting graffiti, but the back had a rather odd image.  Below you'll see that image...and then you'll see the inspiration for the image below that.

A few other stops in Dixon, IL included a stop at the Abe Lincoln Memorial statue.  Unlike most images, this was of a younger Lincoln.  Set right on the riverfront, Abe seemed to have a great view.

Our last stop in Dixon was the John Deere Historic site.  We expected to pull in and see some kick-ass tractors, a bunch of guys chewing on straw and wearing green/yellow gear, and maybe some caged Deere, but all we saw was some finely cut hedges.  I guess we could've seen more, but we weren't really too into the $5.00 fee to see something that we were the only ones in the parking lot for.