puzzles and patches

back from our vacation, i felt it necessary to tell why we love gelena, il so much. from what i can tell, most people consider gelena a place for yuppies and middle age folks, and people with families that just need to get away. well i am here to tell you why we like it, and what makes it so special.

two years ago jess and i were looking for a place to get away to. we were not looking for a location, we were looking for a structure, a place, a thing that could house us for a couple days and we could be ourselves. all we wanted was a room with a jacuzzi tub, and a reasonable price. we searched online for hours and we either found extremely over priced hotel suites, or we found super sleazy places. but eventually we found hawk valley retreat.

you may follow the link to find the specifics of what makes it amazing, and i will tell you what makes it amazing for jess and i.

this was our third stay. so if you go some where three times, there must be something that draws you. for jess and i the first thing that drew us there was that hawk valley offers four cottages. each equipped with a kitchenette, a king size bed, heated floors and a jacuzzi. each cottage is set apart from the other and is nestled on a hill in the valley of galena(actually about 10 minutes from the town). aside from the accommodations of the cottage, we have found the personality of hawk valley is what makes it remarkable. the owners, jane and fritz, make this place a home away from home. each morning when you make your way to the main house for breakfast, you are greeted by jane and patches(her 15 year old fluffy female cat), as she takes your coat, you encounter the wondrous smells of a delicious homemade breakfast. during our stay we had german apple pancakes, baked pancakes with fresh strawberries, fresh made pecan sticky buns and many other treats. as we chatted with other guests, we took in the warmth of hawk valley. as you enjoy the meal each nicety and decoration that adorns the main house warms you, jane's ever attentiveness as she refills your beverages without a word, or patches bathing in the morning sun. each morning starts this way when you stay at hawk valley.

we make a habit of going to the local antique shops in wisconsin, iowa and illinios. jess found many pyrex finds, and i was able to get to a record shop in dubuque, iowa. what has always helped us so much is jane's knowledge of the local cities and surrounding area. not to mention the local restaurants in gelena. two(111 main and perry street brasserie)of which made our stay extra amazing.

when we say we are going to gelena, perhaps we should say we are going to hawk valley. because that's where we are going. because if hawk valley was in deluth, minnesota i would be going to deluth, not galena. and if hawk valley was in ottumwa, iowa, we would be going to ottumwa not galena. and what makes any place stand out, is it's warmth and personality. the second time we stayed in hawk valley we noticed a for sale sign out front. we were worried. we were panicked. so as soon as we got a chance, we warned jane, that she cannot sell, because where would we go? she said, someone would buy with the plans of keeping the retreat open. but it would not be the same. i told her this. i remind her of this. in fact when we i talked to her this week i said i was sorry that they were not able to sell, but i was very thankful. and she joked, that it was my fault. but i told her that she and her husband are what makes hawk valley so amazing. she laughed it off, not in contempt, but with humility. and to simply state why hawk valley is so great, let me end with this:

every morning after we had breakfast, jess would join patches on the chair and enjoy the moring sun and i would work on a puzzle. after the third morning, jess remarked to me, "when do you take the time to work on puzzles of sit still for that long?" and she noted how she never takes the time to relax and sit with our own cats for so long. jess and i need a place to give ourselves permission to do nothing, we need to get away from whatever stress and busyness is going on. it helps us so. we need it. so to me, puzzles and patches, however simple they may be, epitomize a perfect vacation.