Trip to Galena

 
Earlier this week, we were supposed to go on a trip with friends to Starved Rock, but Doris and I got our wires crossed (in terms of the actual dates she had off work) and Eric got called for jury duty. So the friends trip got cancelled. But Doris did actually have Friday-Sunday off, so we decided to go to Galena. It's a 3 hour drive from us. Here's the trip rundown so far.

Downtown and accommodations

We rented an AirBnb apartment. We often do this when we travel by car - get a place with a full kitchen - so we can cook; especially if we are somewhere where the restaurant scene might not be our thing. The apartment is right in the middle of the downtown. I love the feeling of being right on top of the action. The windows in both bedrooms look right out at the downtown, and apparently Friday nights in Galena are hoppin'. Downside is that it was pretty noisy till at least 1AM. But the apartment is lovely, and like I said, I enjoy the hustle and bustle. Except when I'm trying to sleep.

Oh, and they told us there was street parking but the streets near the apartment are closed to cars, so we did a lot of hauling of our food and gear. Got 18,000 steps yesterday. And it was pretty hot and humid. I purchased an iced tea and downed it like a crazy girl.

Downtown Galena is adorable. Lots of cute, quaint shops though yes, of course, it's touristy. My sense is that Galena is a lot like The Dells minus the waterparks. Like there are haunted tours, magician shows, old mansion tours, lots of nature, that sort of thing. 

The, uh, culture



Oftentimes when you go a few hours from Chicago, the vibe is not good and sometimes a bit MAGA-y. I was happy to see a few PRIDE flags out and at least one store that had a sign saying they welcome all races, sexual orientations, nationalities, etc. Of course another store sold T-shirts with some creepy messages, ugh. And also when you go this far out from Chicago, the makeup of the people is mostly white - which is what we've seen here so far. 

Unfortunately most people did not wear masks inside any of the shops we went to. Even the people working at the place where I bought my iced tea or the places where we stopped in to browse. 

The food

My friends Ann and Rollin were here not long ago and they kindly told me of 2 restaurants that had vegan options. Of course Doris and I hauled a ton of food anyway.  (Can't be too cautious). Yesterday we called one restaurant (Fried Green Tomatoes) but they are dine-in only. No takeout. Wtf?!! But no worries. We found a place called Savory Kitchen that was phenomenal. Loved the meal. (Pasta, side veggies, salad - it all felt like authentic stuff from a high quality Italian restaurant). We also passed a Japanese place, Little Tokyo, and if we eat out again instead of cooking at the apartment, we'll try them. 

Plans for today

We're going to go to a place called Chestnut Mountain. It has a slide and a quasi-zipline thing that both look fun. I haven't done anything like that in ages. (No water parks, no rollercoasters, no ziplining). Partly because I don't know anyone who wants to do it and partly because COVID and partly because my ability to wait in long lines is dwindling. 

After that we hope to have lunch at the AirBnB and then maybe hit Linmar Gardens or a forest preserve.