Trip to Galena

We rode to Galena, Illinois this weekend for a little getaway. We decided to take the highway (I-43 to I-39) to get out of town since it was overcast, windy, just a little chilly. Normally we would take more scenic roads that took more time but we figured we should just get there, get off the bike and hope for a warmer, more scenic ride back tomorrow. Luckily, the main route through Illinois to Galena is US-20 which is also named the Ulysses S Grant Memorial Highway and it brought some great views along the way. It was a pretty fast 186-mile ride.

Downtown Galena was a nice, quaint place. The historical buildings were impressive and we enjoyed a walk to Grant Park. There were plenty of Ulysses S. Grant information stops and historical items available to see since this was his birth place. We walked the downtown shops, stopped to buy some cheeses and chocolates, then went to a wine tasting. I will admit that I do not like Wisconsin wines. Every time we've gone to a wine tasting, I end up buying a bottle of something I don't really like that much. So I decided that we would buy no wine here in Illinois. I was assuming it was like the Wisconsin counterpart. We picked up a bottle to go with the cheeses and chocolates. It was so much better than any Wisconsin wine I've ever had, that I had a hard time picking out just one.

After that we checked out the restaurants on our downtown walk in order to pick a place for dinner later in the evening. It was a good day to be out and about on these pretty streets.
Then we went back to the hotel to soak in the hot tub with the wine and cheeses. It felt good to get the dirt from the 3-plus hours' ride off. After a relaxing late afternoon, we got dressed and headed back downtown for a wonderful dinner. It was a nice way to end a good day of travel.

After a morning soak in the hot tub, we packed the bike up and headed towards Dubuque, Iowa. We took the back roads and enjoyed the rolling hills and the georgeous Illinois country side. The views were surprisingly incredible. I had the impression that the land was nothing but corn and soy and very flat. Boy was I wrong!

We got to Dubuque where there is a Riverwalk on the Mississippi River. Getting off the bike for a walk was a nice change of pace. So I walked down to the water to put my hand in and found it pleasantly warm. Warmer than I expected anyway. I told Jeff that next time we ride this way we will have to plan a picnic lunch at this spot, it's quite the incredible view.

The Mississippi River Walk had an art fair with many pieces along the river. We stopped and checked them all out as well as a railroad trestle build in the 1840's that was still in tact over the river. We saw egrets and blue herons walking in the water searching for food. We took some photos and headed back to the bike. I thought it would be cool if we could bring back some Iowa corn, but seeing as we were in downtown Dubuque on a Sunday, there weren't alot of farmers or farmers' markets around. So no Iowa corn.

We hit the road again and enjoyed roller coaster like ride out of town. The twists and turns in the roads were great fun on a motorcycle. We stopped at a farm and picked up a dozen ears of Illinois corn. After a few hours on the bike we found a small town where we had a late lunch. A truck driver in the booth next to us heard us reviewing maps and he gave us details on how to get to one of the state highways in order to ride through lots of small towns on our way back to Wisconsin. It was good advice, the ride was wonderful. By the time we got home we had a renewed sense of adventure, one that we hadn't felt in a long time so I am really glad we went.