Downtown Galena and Grant's House

Friday we decided to check out downtown Galena. Unfortunately, Grandpa wasn't feeling very well that day, so he missed out. But the rest of us headed in to town to check out the shopping and the quaint atmosphere.

Before we left the condo, we tried to take a few pictures in front of the Christmas tree in the lobby. They really didn't turn out that great but we tried.








And...he's done with pictures.

We parked right next to the famous DeSoto House Hotel. It is, apparently, the oldest hotel in the state of Illinois. It is also one of the only public restrooms available in the shopping district...good to know.


DeSoto House Hotel


The Christmas tree inside the DeSoto House Hotel

It was a very busy shopping day in downtown Galena and it was a little tricky to take the stroller in and out of the shops, but we had a great time checking it out. Grandma found a local artist and bought a few paintings. Other than that, we mostly just browsed and enjoyed the scenery.



We also walked by the Trolley Depot. Garytt thought the trolley looked like a train and kept saying "choo choo." So, we let him go see the parked trolley and took a few pictures there. And you will notice that he is wearing a hat and no coat...he refused to wear his coat even though it was a bit chilly. So, I was glad to at least have the hat on him. And you will also notice my jacket is getting a bit snug as baby boy keeps expanding.











Garytt is suddenly really into giving hugs. So, he randomly ran up to me to give me a hug while we were checking out the trolley. Then he decided to give the trolley a hug. Such a cutie!


Hugs for Mom


Hugs for the trolley

After that it was time to load up and head over to see Grant's House. There was a little cabin near the parking lot that Garytt wanted to check out first. And, yes, you will notice that now he isn't even wearing his hat...







Garytt also enjoyed walking/running across the wooden bridge up to Grant's House.


Walking with Dad


Racing Grandma

We specifically went on Friday to the Grant house after 2pm because I read that the electric lights would be off and they would just have the oil lamps going and have the house decorated for Christmas. Well, they only had oil lamps on the first floor and they had a few decorations...really it was a bit disappointing.

The house itself was neat though. However, the tour guide was really, really long winded. So, we just took ourselves on a little tour of the house as Garytt was not interested in standing in a room just listening...ok, let's be honest, none of us really cared about what he was saying...we just wanted to look through the house and move on...having a toddler was a great excuse!

We did learn that the Grant House was used more as a cottage in that the family didn't live there full time and it wasn't where Grant grew up. That's about all the history I retained from the tour.


The Grant House


Waiting on the porch for the tour to start


Beautiful front door


Close-up of the front door


The front room was decorated with a Christmas tree


Dining room


A bedroom

When our self-guided tour was over, we went let Garytt play outside for a minute. The view from the Grant house was very pretty.



Garytt didn't really care about the view, but he did enjoy playing with Grandma. She was showing him how to kick his legs while walking. And you will notice he finally is wearing a jacket and hat...it was really starting to get chilly.





After that, it was time to head out and find something to eat. Dad decided to carry Garytt back to the car...





Our plan was to grab an early dinner and then head back downtown to see Santa. However, Garytt was just getting too tired. He was starting to get a bit cranky, so we decided to skip seeing Santa. We will just have to find Santa back here in Wisconsin.

Thanksgiving in Galena

Thanksgiving day was pretty low key. In fact, I really didn't get many pictures on Thanksgiving day because we were all just chatting and playing with Garytt.

We all got up, had some breakfast and hung out. Grandpa had the turkey started around 7:30, so we expected to have our meal around 1pm. Well, the turkey cooked a little quicker than we expected. So, I had to rush a little bit to get all the sides completed. We ended up eating around noon instead, which actually works out a little bit better for at least attempting to keep Garytt on his schedule.


Grandpa helping out in the kitchen

I usually try to use my good china for special meals like Thanksgiving, but I thought it might seem a little odd to bring them with us...ok, if I'm honest, I did want to bring them but Justin convinced me that would be a little too much. I did have a few fun dessert plates that I brought and a table cloth to help spruce up the overall look. It's still not the way I would have done it if we were home, but, hey, we tried.



Garytt was really ready to eat by the time lunch was ready, as it was already about an hour later than he normally eats. So, we put some food on his plate before the rest of us were really seated for dinner.


Fixing Garytt's plate


Testing out some of the sides


Yum!

Although the condo was fairly well equipped, it didn't have everything you might need for a Thanksgiving feast...like a gravy boat. So, we ended up using the tea kettle. Yeah, it was insanely heavy and just looked funny, but it worked.



And in grand tradition in my family, we almost forgot the cranberry sauce. Only my dad and I like cranberry sauce and since it requires no preparation as you just use it straight out of the can, we often forget about it. About half way through the meal, Grandpa sounded really disappointed as he realized there was no cranberry sauce on the table...but have no fear...it was just in the pantry. We even let Garytt have some and he loved it too!

We all enjoyed our Thanksgiving feast! After that, it was time to relax...ok, it was time to clean up...but after that, it was time to relax.

Then, it was time to watch the Aggies play football! (And, yes, Garytt watched the game with no pants on because we had a diaper malfunction just shortly before that and it was getting close to his bedtime...so we just let him run around with a diaper only for a while.)


The guys are ready for the game to start...it's classic...Black Friday ads all around and football on TV.


"Gig 'Em!"

Although the game had a heartbreaking and disappointing ending, we had a great day. Grandma and Grandpa even offered to watch Garytt that night and let us go out on a movie date...something we don't ever get to do anymore. So, Justin and I drove into Dubuque and watched a late night movie.

After the movie, we decided to do a little shopping since we were right by all the stores and many of the stores opened at midnight. Well, that was a total waste of time! I think we may avoid Black Friday early bird shopping in the future because I think the attitudes and manners of the customers actually detract from the holiday season...I mean where's the Christmas spirit people?!

We hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving! (And we hope you survived the Black Friday shopping if you decided to attempt it!)

Grant Park

Wednesday we decided to enjoy the beautiful day by venturing in to the town of Galena. We spent the afternoon at Grant Park (named after President Ulysses S. Grant).


Grant's statue


A view of downtown Galena from Grant Park

While it was a beautiful day, the sun was a little bright for picture taking. We tried anyway...




Checking out a cannon


Downtown Galena in the background...probably the least squinty picture of us



Here are a few more pictures of just Garytt walking around looking at cannons or with Galena in the background.


Happy boy!
















As always, he found a stick to play with!


Garytt is not actually a few steps from a train track...we are on a hill quite a distance from the track but it's quite an optical illusion





We also decided to walk across the footbridge that connects the park and downtown...until Garytt tripped and had a little breakdown.







After that, we decided to go to the playground part of Grant Park.



First up...the swings!







Next...the Merry-Go-Round.



Dad decided to get on with Garytt so that I could push it faster and it would still be safe for him.





Then we took a video of him standing up after the ride was over...he's a little dizzy.



We started heading back to the truck, but he wanted to run up and down the hills by the park. So, we let him do that a few times. The Galena area really is very hilly!





It was finally time to head back to the condo for a nap. After nap time, we let Garytt have a little snack of broccoli bites and watch The Lion King for the first time (ok he just watched part of it because he really doesn't have an attention span for an entire movie yet). Lions happen to be his favorite animals at the moment and we tried to get him making his "roar" sound on video. You will also notice that he wags his finger at the "bad guy" in the movie.



Shortly after snack time, it was time to go down to the lobby to greet Grandma and Grandpa!


Looking out the window to see Grandma and Grandpa

It seemed to take them a little while to park and get inside. Garytt didn't really understand what we were waiting for.



Grandma and Grandpa arrived and it was hugs all around from the little guy!