Galena, Illinois

A couple of weekends ago before Brandon started orientation for residency, we drove 4 hours to Galena, Illinois, the home of President Grant. Isaac and Lagaytha booked us a room at one of their timeshares so that we could have a relaxing weekend together. We were very appreciative of this. I left work a little early on Friday and while it rained most of the way there, it stopped raining just before we arrived. We got there around 7:30pm and then ate pizza at a local pizza place that I had researched before we went. The pizza and breadsticks were great!

Afterwards, we walked along a path next to the river and took a bridge over to Grant Park. While I tried taking creative pictures, Brandon read about the historic cannons that were in the park. I did read about one once he told me that it was the first cannon shot in the Civic War...that was pretty amazing to see! After our walk, we drove about 5-10 minutes outside of the town to the hotel. The room was big and it was nice to get away for the weekend.

On Saturday, we went canoeing for 2 hours. It was really hot out but we splashed each other to keep cool. We only got stuck on one rock which was pretty good considering at first we thought I could steer from the front...we soon remembered that the person in the back has to steer! It was really pretty but by the time we were done, we were hot and tired. We walked around the cute town which is lined with cute shops and restaurants. We ate lunch at a little cafe that had gelatto which we got later in the afternoon. Brandon was a great sport (even though you can't tell from the picture) to let me look in some of the local shops. We then headed back to the hotel to rest before coming back into town for dinner.

That night, we drove by President Grant's house on our way to dinner. We ate a place that some of the locals told us to eat at. We thouroughly enjoyed what we ordered - an awesome macaroni and cheese, beer cheese fondue, steak and a great chocolate dessert! We would definitely go back if we had the chance! We were going to take a bike ride after dinner but we didn't realize the trails were dirt trails so we rode around some of the residential streets instead. The houses in the town are all so different from each other and a lot of them had a ton of character. The town is full of bed and breakfasts.

We left on Sunday morning to get back for the Orthopedic bbq at one of the second year residents house. It rained on our way back so we really were blessed with good weather while we were there. Thanks Isaac and Lagaytha for a great weekend!

Our first time driving into IllinoisProcentos PizzeriaTrying to be creative with my photosPresident GrantA view of the cute town from across the riverThe first cannon shot in the Civil WarOur hotelCanoeingGelatto!

Cute little shops!

Yummy macaroni and cheeseAn awesome chocolate cake!A cute bed and breakfast -very typical in this town