In and around Vermillion

Monday morning, while enjoying a delicious breakfast at our inn, we realized two things.

1-it was going to be an absolute scorcher of a day.

2-most indoor attractions around Vermillion (that we had planned to visit) were closed on Monday (even though websites said otherwise).

So we got some suggestions, did some quick online searching and set off to explore.  Our first stop was a state park just across the border in Iowa.  As with our trend that day, all facilities & visitor center were closed at that park.  We stopped at a few overlooks, but didn't take any trails-they were not well marked at all.  So we headed to another spot-along the river and on the Lewis & Clark route.  It looked promising since a handful of cars were in the parking lot.  But the doors were locked with a sign stating they were closed for inventory that day.

We shook off that irritation, and headed to Sioux City for lunch.  Then we did some retail therapy at one of our favorite outdoor stores.  

Leaving the store we decided we didn't need any more disappointment with places being closed, and instead drove to the next town over and the original Blue Bunny ice cream store in Le Mars.

They were proudly open and busy.

We headed back to Vermillion & our cute Inn, then walked to a local spot in downtown Vermillion for dinner.

The following morning we enjoyed another great breakfast before packing up to leave.

Finally, the National Music Museum in Vermillion was open.

And we enjoyed browsing the exhibits, but were super bummed that the entire second floor was closed for renovations and new exhibits.

This was where a lot of the hands on instruments were located.

Seemed to fit the trend for us in Vermillion.

So we headed south for our next state to check off-Nebraska!

We grabbed a late lunch, checked in at our hotel, did some laundry, then enjoyed dinner at a little local bistro before relaxing in our room watching World Cup.

We had big plans for the next day.