Trip to Galena

Last weekend we took a small vacation to Galena.  The last time I had been there was before Adam and I were married so it had been quite awhile!  It was so much fun to see Eliel and Aldo experience some of the same things that Katie and I did when we were kids.  We met my parents up there so it added another layer of fun!

Our first stop was Chestnut Mountain.  I have fond memories of riding down the slide and up the chairlift many times here both with my sister and friends.  It was so much fun to watch the boys experience the same fun we did when we were kids.  I was a little bit nervous that one of them wouldn't want to go down but they were both excited about it so down we went.

It took no more than a few second for both of them to be squealing with glee.  Aldo went with me first and he was hilarious to listen to as we went down the mountain.  

We went down three times and the boys absolutely had a ball!

The second day, and the reason we went to Galena, was that Eliel wanted to visit a cave.  I'd love to visit Mammoth Cave in Kentucky one day but we didn't think they'd handle the drive or the length of the tour so we headed to a smaller, much more manageable cave in Dubuque, Iowa.  Crystal Lake Cave was just what Eliel wanted.  We were able to do a cave tour and he was full of a million questions about what he was seeing.  

The tour was about 45 minutes which was a perfect length of time.  Aldo was a bit tired after not having a nap the day before so I had to carry him for most of the tour but at least he cooperated.

This was a live cave so it was also very wet.  It also had lots of crystals though too which is something dead caves don't have.

After the cave, we toured around Dubuque some more and rode on the Fenlon Elevator and visited the lock and dam on the Mississippi River. 

It was a great little getaway and a great way to start the summer!