Some of my Delta Zeta Sorority sisters were dying to have a girls weekend together so, we ended up rounding up 7 girls last weekend for an ALL Girls Delta Zeta weekend in Galena, Illinois! It was a rather central area for the girls who lived in Illinois and Missouri, making it an ideal location.
Friday, before work I packed my bag, and of course my selfie stick, I picked up my sister Steph right after work to get the show on the road! We jammed out to Missy Elliot and it actually wasn’t a terrible drive except for the roads being so dark and rather winding!
Also, even though we booked our cabin last minute, we were pleasantly surprised to find out it was buy one night, get one free so we saved even more money! That is the benefit of going to Galena in off season!
Where we Stayed:
We rented a golf villa in the beautiful neighborhood of Eagle Ridge Golf Course. The property had an absolutely gorgeous view of the forest and golf course and had a cozy Irish theme throughout the house as well! We all were extremely jealous of all the people that own beautiful houses on the resort/golf property!
What we Did:
Eagle Ridge Bar
Since we all left right after work on Friday we were rather exhausted from a 3-4 hour driving trip. We kept it close and went to the local Eagle Ridge Resort for dinner and drinks in their bar area. I split the steak with my “kiddo” Val and I drank a delicious pumpkin martini. Also, the server surprised us with an amazing dessert, deep friend cinnamon rolls! It was a relaxing but fun way to catch up before we hit the peak of our trip Saturday.
Made Breakfast Together
We decided to save some money and time and grab a few groceries from the local Piggly Wiggly and make breakfast together. It was fun, easy and cheap which was nice!
Galena Winery
The Winery was decorated so cute for fall with pumpkins and gourds all around. It also had a lovely little white veranda and sitting area with a bon fire.
As soon as we walked in the winery, the owners were very inviting! We were able to taste 7 wines for $5 which was super fun! The options were very vast of both dry reds/white to very sweet reds/white and even featured fruit wines which I was obsessed with! Yup I bought a case of wine. A number of them were semi sweet fruit wines, that I tasted, but 3 bottles were dry reds for my father and boyfriend, Mark.
These bottles just look perfect on my wooden wine rack!
I got 3 spiced apple wines which you can actually drink hot, as you can see below, 3 Senorita Sangria’s, 3 dry Red called Earl the Red and then 2 red berry wines which are AMAZING with dark chocolate, and then a wedding cake wine which will soon be a gift for a newly wed.
The weather was gorgeous so we didn’t have to wear a jacket when we sat outside soaking up the sun. It’s hard to believe that last year this time it was snowing in Illinois!
Site Seeing
Yes, we were those people that pulled over on the side of the road and took a few selfies with this beautiful waterfall!
Blaum Bros. Distilling Co.
I of course had to taste the delicious pumpkin spice whiskey that they distill on-site. While we could have also gone on a tour we didn’t want to wait so we grabbed a drink, played a little checkers and were back on our way to Main Street for some more drinking and of course shopping.
Kitty’s Martini Bar/Lounge
Stopped in here before our dinner reservations at 8:30. Ambiance is very hipster but very quaint and has a rustic feel to it. They also had live acoustic music while we were there which was nice.
Galena Brewing Co.
I had the Anna Belle’s IPA. To be honest, wasn’t that impressed, but it was fun to all sit together and try a few brews.
Antiquing and Shopping
There were so many fun shops on Main Street which was nice because you could walk from one to another! I bought Mark a Coors Light Ash Tray from an Antique Store, Bacon and Ghost Pepper Sea Salt from a Seasoning Shop and then a couple gag gifts for secret Santa gifts. Some of the other girls bought chocolate, more wine, trinkets and other holiday decorations.
Fried Green Tomatoes
Went there for a nice dinner to conclude are weekend out. I went there with my family as a kid and remember they had some ghost encounters there, but unfortunately nothing freaky happened while we were there….I ended up ordering the steak which was delicious!
Quality Time Together
As you can see, us girls had a blast reconnecting. It’s hard to stay in touch since we are in different states but it was a great way to spend some quality time together and do some of favorite things together; drinking and shopping! I would highly recommend it for a family trip or a girls weekend! The weather was perfect for shopping and site seeing but we hope next time we can visit it will be warm enough to go swimming or even do zip lining. Galena has sooooo much to offer and is a adorable little town!
Cheers,
Britt