Galina Illinois Trek

In spite of Covid, my wife and I headed to Galina for a long weekend. We decided to spend most of the time outside of the town, enjoying the beautiful countryside, the fall colors and the social distancing. This meant hitting some of the more remote areas between Galina, Elizabeth and Hanover.

The first activity that we discovered was wineries. Each winery had an outdoor serving area with plenty of room for social distancing. We made it to three of the four wineries. Each winery has its own unique style and personality. Massbach is small and intimate and has some of the best warm, garlic cheese to savor with your wine. Generously poured flights. Galina Cellars is on the other end of the spectrum. Large, but not impersonal. Also, music on Saturday afternoon made this an enjoyable outing. And then there is Rocky Waters. A massive building with a huge deck with heaters and fire pits and two lovely dogs made this my favorite. Great food here, too. Everything from gifts, to onion-garlic jam, to frozen cocktails to an amazing assortment of wines. Allow plenty of time for this one.

Then we spent Halloween evening at Hoof It Goat Treks. We went and played with goats, got great coffee off of a coffee truck, walked through the woods and returned to a fire for s'mores and optional pizza. During the day treks, the goats walk with you through the woods. Check this amazing experience out.

Two wonderful areas just for a trek are Eagle Ridge Resort and Chestnut Mountain Resort. Chestnut Mountain is a ski resort, but without snow, it has a beautiful view of the Mississippi River and zip lines and ski lifts. Beautiful drive out and back.

We ate at a number of wonderful places - Log Cabin Steak House, Los Aztecas, Mid-Town Marina, The Courtyard at Desoto House Hotel and Victory Cafe. All indoor seating, but with very responsible social distancing. Log Cabin was even taking temps at the door.

Home now and refreshed. The road trip that focuses on a lot of time driving around the countryside seems to make the most sense in today's current health climate. I would encourage anyone with cabin fever to do it.