If Galena, a town seemingly forgotten by time, feels otherworldly to you, just wait until you see the rest of this tour. You’ll visit the home of Ulysses S. Grant, stroll through formal Japanese gardens, come face-to-face with a prehistoric T. Rex, and sip award-winning wine in a New Orleans-style courtyard.

Start your day on a Galena Trolley Tour and learn about Galena mansions and historic sites. Take a guided tour of the recently restored Ulysses S. Grant Home. Visit the annual President Grant's Grand Birthday Celebration, held in April, featuring Civil War encampments, period live entertainment and a grand ball.

Have lunch at Vinny Vanucchi's, a charming three-level restaurant that dishes up family-style Italian meals. Shop along Galena's Main Street, filled with charming stores and art galleries housed in 19th-century buildings. Then take the Stagecoach Trail through beautiful countryside and check out the award-winning Galena Cellars Vineyard & Winery.

Tour the winery and vineyard and sample the latest vintages. Then visit the Galena Garlic Company, located in Jo Daviess County. The annual two-day Garlic Festivale in September features area chefs cooking garlic dishes, live entertainment and artwork for sale. For dinner, find a table at Frank O’Dowd’s
Irish Pub, a lively spot in the Irish Cottage hotel, and enjoy great food and Irish entertainment. Afterwards, stroll through downtown Galena on the Annie
Wiggins Ghost Tour, filled with spooky takes and haunted sites.

Take a morning stroll through the lovely Anderson Japanese Gardens in
Rockford, boasting tumbling waterfalls, formal Japanese gardens, koi ponds
and a teahouse modeled after 16th-century Sukiya-style architecture. Next, come face-to-face with Jane, one of the 10 most important dinosaur discoveries of the past 100 years, at the Burpee Museum of Natural History.

For lunch, celebrate Rockford's Swedish heritage in the Scandinavian-inspired environs of the Stockholm Inn, known for its Swedish pancakes with
lingonberries (called Swedes). Then head over to the Midway Village & Museum Center, featuring a living history Victorian village with 26 historic structures and the Museum Center.

Afterwards, wander through the stunning 20-room Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum. Built on a bluff for a prominent Rockford family in 1865, the home features amazing woodwork and beautiful murals. Have dinner at the hip
Bacchus Wine Bar & Restaurant in the downtown River District, which offers a tapas-style menu of global fusion cuisine. After dinner, relax in the New
Orleans-style outdoor courtyard with a glass of award-winning wine.

Follow the Blackhawk Chocolate Trail as you travel through the counties of Carrol, Lee, Ogle and Whiteside, where several old-fashioned soda and chocolate shops dot the trail. Marvel at the 48-foot-tall Black Hawk Statue that towers over the Rock River in Oregon's Lowden State Park.

Nearby, enjoy a two-hour lunch cruise on the Rock River aboard the Pride of Oregon paddlewheel boat. Then travel to Grand Detour to see the John Deere Historic Site, located on the site of Deere's original blacksmith shop. Walk through Deere’s home, view exhibits and watch a resident blacksmith at work in a replica of Deere's blacksmith shop. Afterwards, visit the little river town of Dixon to tour the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home and Visitors Center, restored to the days when the future president and his family lived there.