Galena, IL day trip!! Sunday, October 25th

[Paul Workman]

Weeeelllll.... Ya missed an excellent opportunity to stretch yer legs!

Part of the reason to make the dash was to look over the Galena valley with all the trees decked out in their fall regalia, bathing in the brilliant sunshine! The other part was for the opportunity to do (what passes for) twisties, here in IL.

Apparently, LAST w/e, when we were attempting to drag race, would have been better spent looking at leaves. In the mean time the rain and strong winds stripped about 80% of the trees bare: looked like winter in the valley, except for the green grass. That was the bad news...

The good news was it was clear, cool, and sunny! So, if you're a "people-watcher", the streets of Galena and the sidewalk cafe's were packed with folks in a party mood; eating, wine tasting, shopping. (Finding a parking spot meant parking way back into a residential area, and my [still recovering] knee was having none of it! So, I just cruised through the festive throng.)

More good news... As I recall from my motorcycle days of mountain twisty runs, Sunday afternoons are the best time to 'run the gauntlet'*, so to speak. Traffic is/was light and so I could 'warm up my tires' almost unimpeded...I took full advantage of that! (You HPDE guys would enjoy it, methinks. Nothing stupid tho. There ARE sections with blind driveways, etc., so one has to use moderation where applicable, of course!)

*The twisties near Galena are typical of rolling hills terrain which is different from mountainous areas (say the "Tail of the Dragon"). Speeds can be, *ahem*... "up there" with some straight sections which affords passing; getting behind a slow mover is only for a few moments, and then you're on your way again!

And, it was a day to see a plethora of some fine rides. For car lovers like me, it was a day of eye candy. Not only dozens of Vettes prowling about, but the usual smattering of 911s, a couple AMGs and Z5s, and plenty of 60s era muscle cars just cruising about.

Well... Personally, I have a wedding next w/e to attend in Atlanta, and then it will be going on mid November; don't know how many more nice days are left before the "Big Chill" sets in again. But, I hope we can at least get together for a pizza night (or two) before the holidays are upon us!