Galena, Illinois

July 2004

Illinois is the first state I've been to.  I was in the US for 3 months and Joel wanted to introduce me to his woman best friend, Maria. They used to live here in Long Beach but decided to have a quiet retirement in Illinois.  A quaint little town north of Illinois called Galena. I was surprised to actually see a farm town in the US because in my mind US is more like California.  Modern, crowded and filled with cars.  I never imagined it was vast ,vast land of corn field, cow farm, potato fields and lots of red big barn yard. I was glad Joel's friend was actually nice to me. Always made sure I was comfortable and  included in their conversation. They took me to a lot places like a town in Iowa and Wisconsin because the town where they live just along the border of both states. You can have lunch in Illinois and have dinner in Iowa. We also went to a car show which Joel really enjoyed. One day we drove alone on our own and went canoeing.  We also went fishing along the Mississippi river which I think is one of my most memorable fishing. I WAS ACTUALLY FISHING ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI!!!!". We also checked out some museums on both Iowa and Wisconsin. It was a fabulous visit that we actually went back again this year not just to visit them but also explore Chicago.