Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Surviving the Cold

I need to get better at posting about issues closer to when they happen. Here are some pictures of how our greyhound, Frieda, dealt with the cold.


Frieda likes to be tucked in with blankets!













Frieda wore her jacket around the house for a couple of days to keep extra warm!



















Frieda has taken to snuggling between the bed and wall, on top of a pillow. Believe it or not, she had the blanket on her when she was on her actual bed in the room, but moved here with the blanket still on!









By the end of the weekend, the jacket came off and Frieda celebrated! She actually sleeps like this sometimes!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

The Aftermath, Part 2

Ok, so I know I'm a little late with the pictures of Galena, but finals got away from me. Here are some highlights!


Galena, IL, is the home of former President US Grant!

















Sarah really wanted to see his home. This is it. It took us over an hour to hike through hills and snow, only to find that it was right around the corner from where we started!














Galena is a very hilly place (well, most of that corner of the state is!). This is a view from the top of the city looking down. Some truly beautiful views that we don't have here by the big lake!









How do you get from the top of the city to the bottom? Well, there are these loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong stairs that you can travel. Sarah and I took them. I nearly ended the marriage because she made me do this! This is the view from the bottom.






And...pant, pant, pant...is the...pant...view from the top!















This is the view as you drive into the historic downtown area. For those of you who remember the show Murder, She Wrote, I kept waiting for Jessica Fletcher to come riding by on her bike waving to us!







This is the Dowling House, where Grant learned he was elected President. At least we think it is the Dowling House; there was no sign labelling it as such. It seems like it's being used as a regular residence. How interesting would it be to live somewhere where something historical took place?








This sign welcomes you to a small, volunteer-run art store, and the only place in town where there are public restrooms. Look closely at the sign, though; do you see a spelling "oops"?

Monday, January 5, 2009

The Aftermath

Ok, so that title doesn't reflect the mood of what it's like being married, but the first few days feel like the quiet AFTER a big storm. The wedding was beautiful, with no glitches. After we got up the next morning, we drove to Galena, Illinois to go to a bed and breakfast to relax. Having never been to one before, I didn't know what to expect. I did make the reservation, and I was excited about the jacuzzi in the room and the seven-course meal that we had, but we honestly felt like we were a million miles away. No more stress about the wedding, no more worries about paying for things, we could finally be married and relax. So here are some pictures of our 52 hour honeymoon (and yes, 52 hours can feel like a WONDERFUL honeymoon!):


The outside of the Goldmoor. The door on the right goes to the restaurant, and the door in the middle goes into our group of suites.











The building has a grand hall that leads to four separate suites. Ours was lucky #13.












An overall view of the room. The bathroom was HUGE, and just off to the right was our little kitchenette!











Our jacuzzi. They provided the bubble solution to make it nice and foamy!












As part of our honeymoon package, we received a bottle of champagne, two flutes, and chocolate-covered strawberries. YUM!

















A warm, freshly-cooked breakfast was served each morning. We just called, and it came up in 15 minutes. And yes, this is how they set it up for us!









A look at the Mighty Mississippi. This was our view from our kitchenette, though the camera worked better when we were standing outside. A horse stable is just below us for horse riding in warmer weather.









This was a superb place to spend a couple of days, and it didn't cost much more than a nice room at the Holiday Inn (believe me, we stayed at both!). Check them out at www.goldmoor.com.

Coming later this week: pictures of a long but fruitful day in downtown Galena!