There is quite a cast of characters at the OP, we see the same regulars almost every time.  Near the door on a bar stool sits an old, white haired lady with no teeth.  She’s always in a good mood.  Her daughter we call Karen Carpenter because she kind of resembles her.  Karen’s husband we call Tommy Hilfiger because that is his clothing line of choice.  

Last night we didn’t see Daisy Duke, a middle aged guy who wears way short blue jean shorts, a baseball cap, and a white sleeveless shirt tied around his middle.  He used to always be with his daughter who is a hot shot foosball player.  She turned up pregnant a couple years ago, and we don’t see her any more.  Jessie and Frankie are a gay couple who have broken up.  Jessie was there last night, she used to work for Jeff.   

Sometimes we see the Mayor of Ferryville, which is a little town just across the bridge into Wisconsin. He and his wife are quite the dancers.  There is frequently a well-known Waterloo friend at the OP whose privacy we shall respect.  In fact, a lot of people have retired to Lansing, or keep a summer place there, who are from Waterloo/Cedar Falls.

The operators of the Lansing Marina,  Linda and Bob Loomis, are from CF.  They take really good care of us whenever we stay there. Bob cooks up a batch of catfish once in a while, and he knows how to do it.  We’ve gotten to know our Lansing dock neighbors, and they are a fine bunch of folks.

We walked to Downtown Lansing this morning for breakfast at T.J. Hunter’s, the best place for breakfast on the Upper Mississippi.  It’s a lovely walk – there are so many attractive homes, some of them historic and people take their landscaping seriously.  It seems that everything grows bigger and more lushly in Lansing.

We just cruised past the lovely town of La Crosse.  We’ll stay at one of their marinas on our way back home.  La Crosse is so pretty from the water.  The beach at Pettibone State Park is crowded today, and lots of people are strolling or biking on the river walk.

Now we’re approaching the second lock of the day.  In the last lock were three boats of college age kids having a noisy and fun time.  We’ll go through three locks in all before arriving at Sunset Bay, Trempealeau’s marina.  There is a  historic hotel in Trempealeau hat features walnutburgers, and they are delicious.  The hotel also brings in bands to perform on their large lawn.  But not tonight.  Tonight we’re going to eat at Ed Sullivan's (not the TV MC), a throwback road house reminiscent of Waterloo’s old Colony Club.  It’s an attractive place with a large deck overlooking the river, located on the road to Perrot State Park, a good place to hike.  Time to fix a tall, frosty something, so bye!