Galena

My host here in Dubuque told me to check out Galena, Illinois. So this morning I drove 30 minutes and parked at the Ulysses Grant house.

A totally amazing older lady gave me a private tour. She was so smart!

She was totally captivating.

She and her husband have lived in this town together for over 50 years. He was born here.

Grant's parents refused to come to his wedding because Julia's parents owned slaves. His family came to love Julia but his father and her father never got along.

I toured the second floor by myself. They had 3 boys and 1 girl. The eldest son had the smallest bedroom and the only one without heat. He wasn't home much though.

In the back of the kitchen, out of sight in this picture, was a copper lined bathtub. On Saturday nights the family would bathe. First the father, then the mother, then each child in descending order and all in the same water.

The daughter's bedroom.

Julia was often more popular than her husband. She was the first lady who was called First Lady.

I was fascinated by all this history. In a shed outside they listed all the President's pets. One had 2 elephants. One had an alligator. Most had horses, dogs, and chickens.

The youngest son was spoiled and a prankster.

Ulysses couldn't make a go at farming nor running a store but he was good at other things.

Such a small stove with a small wood box.

A list of his accomplishments.

After the tour I walked to downtown Galena. I hummed the Beatle's tune, Julia, as I strolled along.

I hung around downtown for an hour or so and then I walked back to Grant's house to have lunch in my car. After that I drove to the art gallery. I walked through the art gallery which is having a exhibition today. I was the first customer to see these paintings. After that I walked down the hill towards downtown. At the bottom of the hill a man was walking. I asked him if this was Main Street. He said it will be Main Street once we cross the highway. We walked together. He told me where to get the best cheese sandwiches. He said I should visit the Belvedere Mansion which was across the Galena River. I did go there later but it was closed today for some reason. The parade was supposed to begin at 2:30 but it actually started at 3. I got a necklace of blue beads! This was the shortest parade I ever saw.

Only five vehicles long.

But we had fun. I visited the River Bend Photography Gallery here. Owned by Geoffrey Mikol, the photography was amazing. Geoffrey has Down Syndrome and 99% of the time, he'll take a better photo than his father. I think it's cool that Geoffrey is making money and raking in a fortune. Then I walked back to the art gallery. I stopped at Piggly Wiggly and drove back in the dark to Dubuque. I had another amazing day.