Springfield to Galena, with stops in Kickapoo and Fulton

Sunday: it's still pretty brisk out, but we picked up fancy coffees and muffins and headed around the corner to the Old State House where a bench in the brilliant sun provided a perfect breakfast spot. Mystery: an almost-entire quarter pound of butter on the walkway next to the bench. We'll never know.

This pizzeria advertises not only Extremely Fast Delivery but also Free Smells. Do many people ask to smell the pizza? And do other pizzerias charge for this service?

A last look at the old cars, and  ---- then we were off to the next adventure.As the terrain began to rise, we stopped at the Kickapoo Creek Winery for a delightful lunch and a glass of their excellent Traminette --- a revisit as I'd been there with Francie on my last visit, in 2010. 

Our second "way stop," was Fulton, Illinois, on the Mississippi, where you couldn't miss the huge windmill atop the levee. This called for some investigation! We learned that just a few years ago, this small river town --- 60 percent of the residents are of Dutch ancestry --- had won the won the windmill, in a contest staged by its original owner, in the Netherlands. They hope never to become an island again, when the Mississippi is a'risin' and are producing four kinds of flour at the mill. A beautiful sight. The foot path along the top of the levee was also an invitation to take a speedy one-mile walk to the end and back, while an exhilarated Dora, freed from leash and car-harness, probably put in four times that much.

Great to arrive at Francie and Bob's in beautiful Galena, spend an evening with family and enjoy homemade food!

Dora contemplated taking her first swim of the trip in Francie's amazing  fish pond.