The passage across northern Illinois was unremarkable, as one might expect. My stop at the Illinois Railway Museum was disappointing; it was closed for the season. The place I planned on stopping for lunch in Rockford hadn't opened. But my patience was rewarded in a dozey little hamlet named Lena. While Chad, the barkeep of Mulligans, wrestled over which of the three choices of prepacked salami sticks to buy from the traveling salesman, I indulged in a bottle of Leinenkugel and and an order of deep fried cheese curds. Tasty! The setting western sun found me staying in Dubuque, Iowa for the evening.