Hennepin Canal / Annawan

Ottawa Week 4 | Hiking the Hennepin Canal Trail near Annawan, IL | Ottawa to Davenport | February 2025

During our last week in Ottawa, the temperatures started creeping back up, so being outside became tolerable again. We resumed our afternoon walks downtown and along the river trail. We ate at each of our favorite restaurants one more time — with the best meal being at BASH where we finally tried the Tuna Tower appetizer and agreed it was the closest thing to Hawaiian poke that we have had since leaving Hawaii — it was delicious, as was everything else we ordered!

Unfortunately, our last days here ended on a low note. The project dragged on a few days later than expected, which turned out fine in the long run, but was disheartening in the moment when Curtis would come home from work in the morning thinking he was done, only to get a phone call asking for him to come back that night. To top it all off, when he finally was done, he came down with the sickness that had been making the rounds. He basically stayed in bed for 24 hours straight trying to sleep it off.

When it came time to check out of the hotel and leave, Curtis was feeling better, so we packed up and prepared for the short trip to our next assignment. We checked out of the hotel and dropped off the rental car, and started our 90 mile drive West. Besides the sickness, we were thankful for another month spent enjoying the small town of Ottawa, Illinois. We realized that if we were to continue this job for another year and return to this same town in February of 2026, then it would somehow be our longest running tradition, if that makes any sense…basically, we have never stayed in the same spot for more than 3 consecutive years, so we have a chance to extend that next year. But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, the 3 year itch could demand scratching at any moment…

Since today’s drive was so short and we were all feeling eager to get out and enjoy the sunshine, we picked another starting point for the Hennepin Canal Trail and navigated to that area. This brought us to Annawan, IL, where we drove a little North of the interstate and parked in a small lot beside the canal. It was windy but warm, and the sun felt so good on our skin after weeks of bundling up every time we stepped outside. Charlotte always walks faster when she has the wind whipping her ears around. We enjoyed the wispy clouds above and the migrating birds soaring above us, and felt refreshed and ready for the last half hour of the drive afterwards. I also noted that based on online reviews, this seems to be a legal place to camp…not that we needed it today, but something I’m always looking out for just in case!

We made it to our next home for a month, the same hotel where we stayed last March in Davenport. After moving in, we grabbed some groceries and dinner and settled in. This was our favorite spot last year, and we were quickly remembering why! Some of the hotel workers remembered Charlotte, and she seemed to remember where all her favorite spots to sniff were.

Curtis had the weekend off, but we took it pretty easy because he was still getting over the bug, and for a bit I thought I was coming down with it too. But after a day of laying low with bad vertigo, I somehow ended up avoiding the worst of it. We spent a few hours at a park on Sunday getting some much needed fresh air and mentally preparing for the month ahead.