St. Charles, IL
On June 30 on our Kawasaki Ninja EX500, we left for Galena, Il from Chicago, a trip of some 170 miles avoiding the expressways. This was our first opportunity to try out our new SENA 10S helmet communicators.
State Route 64 was typical Northern Illinois farmland, with mostly straight roads. It did give refuge from the onrush of truckers found on the highways. However, in some parts of the trip, gusty crosswinds slowed our pace. Turning onto State Route 52, we arrived in Savannah, IL on the Mississippi River. The river is narrower here than we were accustomed to in St. Louis and parts South. From Savannah, State Routes 64/20 took us to Galena, IL. Along the way, we made a stop at the Three Sisters Sweet Shop in Elizabeth, IL. The ice cream was very tasty, but seemed to make us shrink like Alice in Wonderland.
During our time in Galena we stayed at 305 North, a bed and breakfast. This was formerly a storefront along the main street. It was converted to accommodations, but kept the high tin ceilings of its former purpose. The innkeeper was very bike friendly, suggesting I park under the rear deck. Our room was country modern with a whirlpool tub and a comfy bed. While it did not have the typical Victorian charm we found in another B&B from a previous trip, it certainly was a pleasant stay, and the rates were less than our other experience in Galena.
One of the best features of Galena is the proximity of most of the restaurants and attractions, being in walking distance of the bed & breakfast options.
On our first night we simply crossed the street to find the unexpected sushi restaurant, Little Tokyo. The Love Boat for Two is amazing! It is hard to fill up on sushi, but with the boat, it can be done.
Another notable dinning experience of the trip was Vinny Vanucchi's 'Little Italy.' Great pasta and entries with an extensive wine list.
One of our reasons for visiting Galena on the 4th of July was to watch their fireworks display. Being the birthplace of Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States, we expected an appropriate celebration. Taking a seat on one of the many hillside steps found there, we had a great view of the display.
A side trip to Mineral Point, WI resulted in an encounter reminiscent to the movie Deliverance. Maybe I am exaggerating. Gusty crosswinds kept our speeds in the neighborhood of 45 MPH. The road was empty with the exception of a white Chevy pickup on my tail. I would have pulled over to let him around, but the absence of a shoulder made that option not possible. Eventually the double line went away and our new "friend" disappeared in a roar and cloud of diesel smoke. With that over, I could focus on keeping in our lane and proceeded to our destination. Rolling into town, we circled the streets to make a decision on a lunch spot. Pulling up to the curb and before I was off the bike, a large gentleman crossed the streets speaking loudly about what I thought was my excessive speed in his town. However, after seeing his white truck I realized he was complaining about my not driving the speed limit.This went on for some time as I attempted to explain my concern about the crosswinds. Eventually, he gave up and returned to his truck to drive off. I began to ponder where he could be going with such urgency on a Sunday morning! Within the moment a group of bikers parked across the street and I could hear "thats not a Harley" and thought how could this happen twice in the same day. However, he quickly followed with "thats not one either" and pointed at his Victory cruiser. With that the locals were redeemed and I can blame the earlier encounter on a unhappy childhood.
However, there was a message in all of this, that we needed a bigger bike that was not susceptible to gusting crosswinds. Also discovered was that AT&T service in Wisconsin is almost nonexistent and dependency on Google Maps by way of my iPhone C was not a good idea. Time to explore other navigation options.
A different return route put us on Wisconsin State Route 11 through Monroe and Beloit. Reentry to Illinois followed with State Route 14 and our first visit to Woodstock, IL. The location for the Bill Murray film Groundhog Day. The town has many dining options, but we chose The Double Yoke Cafe for a generous and delicious lunch. To avoid an imminent downpour we entered the chocolate fog that is called Ethereal Confections. A raspberry white chocolate latte gave ample time for the storm to dissipate. Another lesson learned, do not place helmets on surfaces that could flood with rain. Those helmet bags do little to stop rising water. Fortunately those soggy linings had only a short time to be endured before we returned to Chicago and home.
