On the road again, on the road again . . . I’m reminded of a Willy Nelson lyric as Earl and I driver across Indiana and part of Illinois to revisit the historic town of Galena, home of Ulysses S. Grant, Civil War general and President of the United States. He wasn’t born here; in fact, he lived here only a brief time, but the locals have grabbed onto that fact and made him a native son.
We’ve been coming to Galena off and on for about ten years. As we drove into town over the bridge that once spanned a tributary of the mighty Mississippi and then turned right into the central core of the town itself, I was struck with how familiar everything looked.
This isn’t surprising, since a majority of the central city is on the National Register of Historic Places, so any additions or remodeling must be in keeping with the late 1880s. A by-product of this is that casual tourists can return and revisit without being disappointed that the charm they remembered on their previous visit has disappeared.
This is our second road trip this summer. From Galena we’re visiting New Glarus, a town in Wisconsin fashioned after Glarus, a town in Switzerland. We’ve been there before too, when we were into biking more heavily than we are now. New Glarus looks like something out of the Swiss Alps as it nestles in the rolling hills of southern Wisconsin and works hard to maintain its European heritage. Down the road is Monroe, Wisconsin, known for its liver sausage sandwiches. It’s not something I’d drive a couple hundred miles for, but since we’re in the neighborhood I’m sure we’ll have one.
Our last stop is Madison, where the drum corps of Earl’s youth (Well, not the same members, but the same organization) compete for the international championship. The competition will be close, with Earl’s former corps being in the running; and we will spend two long days in Camp Randall, the University of Wisconsin’s football stadium, watching the outcome. Then we’ll head for home.
In the early days of our relationship, we went on many road trips; but over the years we’ve become more exotic in our travels. Still, in spite of soaring gasoline prices and the press of vacationers getting in their last few free days before school schedules begin, I’m struck with how pleasant a road trip can be.
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