“Let the wild rumpus begin!” wrote Maurice Sendak in his beloved book, Where The Wild Things Are. That was us on our quick overnight to Galena, Illinois.
Galena, Illinois is not someplace most people would call a “destination,” but we are not most people. We love what we love. Galena is a very quaint 1800s river town, known mostly for General/President Ulysses S. Grant’s home. We didn’t bother with that. The town is only three miles from the mighty Mississippi River, and was once a thriving city known for mining lead. That all changed, and now it is a very unique shopping experience.
We arrived in the fog. It was a white-knuckle entrance into our time-share condo, compliments of Sister #1. Sister #2, the blind one, did a valiant job of driving us, and after tossing our stuff in the room, we ventured into town where we celebrated with high fives, whooping and dancing about, and Bloody Marys before we walked up the street planning our strategy for the next morning.
The floodgates opened, figuratively and literally, and we began our pillage of the town with hot sauce samplings and coffee. As the shops opened,we did a goodly amount of damage. We plowed through the town, shop after shop, trip after trip to the car to leave our packages, hour after hour. Several stops were made for wine-tastings. After overhearing me comment that we had already eaten lunch, a wine-counter lady asked, “Where did you eat?” I replied, “Here. We just had oyster crackers and wine.” Obviously. A lot of laughing, looking, advising, and spending later, with the car loaded, we were patting ourselves on the back for a job well-done. 
One of my “life’s desires,” five years ago, was a sister road trip. We have made several, now. They just get better and better. Ah, life is…well…you know. Merry Christmas!
Horton Hears Herself 
You certainly did a lot of shopping. And so nicely arranged in the car! Love, Dad
Inspiring! Lol