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Maybe you have a good idea?

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By Barb Ickes | Saturday, March 15, 2008 11:39 PM CDT | () comments

That first summer was awesome.

For 10 days, I stayed out of the office and spent the whole time hoofing it around the Quad-Cities. Even though July 2005 was just beastly hot, it’s not the sweating I remember most. It’s the people — the boy fishing at Credit Island, the two guys with metal detectors at City Cemetery and the woman with the cool wine cellar in Rock Island.

The next summer, I made a mission of visiting small towns around the Quad-Cities, starting at the old underground railroad that’s in the basement of the city museum in Geneseo, Ill. But I drove the route that summer and missed the ground-level perspective that added so much to that first year.

The daily drives were lovely, winding along the river or coasting along this or that town’s Main Street. The people I encountered were friendly and kind. But it just didn’t produce the same results as walking.

That first year truly was an eye-opener, seeing all of the life that’s being lived while we toil at our desks. I walked through neighborhoods that I didn’t even know existed. I remember being amazed at how long of a walk it is across the Centennial Bridge from Davenport to Moline.

But I didn’t leave the office last summer. The 100-year-old spine that holds up my 42-year-old body wouldn’t tolerate it. This year is going to be different.

This is where you come in.

What would you do if you were going to take a week out of the office and get better acquainted with the Quad-Cities? Where would you go? What’s worth seeing? Whose stories haven’t been told?

One idea I’ve been nursing is a visit to area campgrounds. I could bicycle to various camping spots, such as Illiniwek and Scott County Parks, and interview people about what they’re doing there. I imagine encountering Quad-Citians as well as out-of-towners — all with stories about their way of getting away from it all.

I could take you along on a tour of luxury RVs with their flat-screen TVs mounted on the windshield, as well as the pup-tent set. Maybe we could do a little fishing, see what folks are reading and where they’re going next.

I also thought about visiting specific neighborhoods and telling neighbors’ stories.

The idea of taking this tour by bike is fairly firm. I’ll start training in the next week or so. Maybe the best idea is to simply get on the bike path and pedal. I could go from Rock Island to Savanna, though I’m getting a cramp in my calf just thinking about it.

Please send me your ideas. Or, call if you’d like. I’m not doing anything.

My e-mail address is: bickes@qctimes.com. Or by snailmail to Barb Ickes c/o Quad-City Times, 500 E. 3rd St., Davenport, Iowa 52801. The phone is (563) 383-2316.

And don’t be embarrassed. There’s no such thing as a bad idea. Unless it involves running.

Comment on this column at qctimes.com.