Madison, Wisconsin

Thursday, July 01

Kathryn took a couple of extra days for the 4th of July weekend. Although we both grew up in Milwaukee neither of us spent much time in Madison so we decided to spend a little time in the Wisconsin capital.

Weather: A perfect summer day, upper 70s, sunny a breeze and lower humidity.

The Drive: was about 125 miles and was easy with just a few construction delays along the way. We drove to our hotel which was downtown only a couple of blocks off State Street.

Lunch: Copper Tavern: We walked to State Street and headed to the State Capital looking for a place for lunch. Across the street from the capital was the Copper Tavern restaurant. we found seating outside and both had tasty turkey sandwiches. It was fun people watching. Lots and Lots of bicycles (some electric). Also saw a few groups of crazy kids on unicycles cruising around and bouncing up and down the capital steps (scary!).

After lunch we went to the capital. Congress was not in session and only a few tourists. The building is impressive inside and out but difficult to capture in pictures. The building is over 100 years old with construction completed in 1917.

Wisconsin State Capital

We then walked down State Street which is the main drag downtown connecting the Capital to the University. Not much to see on the short strip on our way to the U. After a few pictures of some of the University buildings we ended up on the Union Terrace which is another Madison landmark. It is right on Lake Mendota and has grown to quite the hot spot. Relaxed, had a beer then walked back to our hotel.

University of Wisconsin Madison

Dinner: Dotty Dumplings Dowery is an institution in Madison famous for their hamburgers and named after a fictional character. It was only two blocks from our hotel so we just walked. We sat outside on a nice summer night and both had hamburgers. A good place.

Friday, July 02

Weather: Another perfect summer day, upper 70s, sunny a breeze and lower humidity.

Blue Mound State Park

We drove about 30 miles West of Madison to Bluemound State Park and did a couple of nice hikes. The first was Weeping Rock Trail. After the first hike we found Sunrise Tower which gave us some good pictures of the valley. The second hike was Flint Rock Trail. Both trails were lightly trafficked. A nice State Park

Lunch: The Grumpy Troll

Near the State Park is the small town of Mount Horeb. We stopped for lunch at another iconic restaurant. I had a Pork Schnitzel sandwich and Kathryn had a roasted beat and fennel salad. Both were tasty. The town got it's troll identity from an owner near the interstate that had a bunch of trolls in his yard. Truckers used to identify that stretch of highway by the trolls. So, the town adopted trolls. The town is also headquarters of Duluth Trading Company.

Union Terrace

Kathryn's friend Bryce lives in Madison so we arranged to meet him back at the Union Terrace later in the afternoon. We walked back down state street to the terrace.

Bryce brought his two boys with him, Nathan and Zach. His younger son Nathan is in middle school. He is a swimmer and invented his own stroke -- "The Squid". So, years from now when the squid becomes an Olympic event, you know where it came from! His older son Zach just graduated high school and will be going to college in the fall. He had just landed a job at UPS loading trucks. I used to work at UPS back in college loading semis so I gave him some advice - work hard and hussel! A tough job but I really liked it. We visited for a few hours and then they headed back home. Kathryn and I stayed and had Brats and Beers on the terrace for dinner.

We stayed for the band. They played a few good 70s songs but then, to my taste, not so good 70s soul tunes. The concert was interrupted with a fire alarm. Turned out there was a minor fire in the Union that had to be put out. After that we listened to a few more songs and then walked back to our hotel.

Saturday, July 03

Weather: Another perfect summer day, upper 70s, sunny a breeze and lower humidity.

Capital Square Farmers Market

In the morning we headed back to the State Captial. They have a Farmers Market all around the Capital square on Saturday mornings. It draws an average of 18,000 people each Saturday and claims it is the biggest farmers market in the nation. Bryce told us yesterday to be sure and get Stella's Cheesy Bread. That was our first stop! We also bought some cheese and bread for our picnic lunch later, some cheese curds (it's Wisconsin!) and Kathryn bought Rhubarb for a rhubarb pie on the 4th.

We sat and had Stella's delicious cheesy bread for breakfast. A bird stole some right out of Kathryn's hand. Apparently even the birds know Stella's cheesy bread is delish.

Picnic Point Trail

There is a peninsula that juts out into Lake Mendota called Picnic Point and has a trail that leads out to it. We packed our bread and cheese and hiked out to the point. Pleasantly suprised that even a popular spot in the middle of Madison on a holiday weekend it wasn't crowded. Easy parking and the trail was quite. We sat out on Picnic point and had a picnic! Imagine that.

Mustard Museum

Our final stop before heading home was to the Mustard Museum. They had a lot of mustard. We did a tasting and each picked out a mustard to bring home.

Easy drive to Home Sweet Home

Summary

Madison is the State Capital of Wisconsin with a population of about 254,000 and an undergraduate UW Madison population of about 25,000. So, definitely a college town. Even in the middle of summer break the town was full of college kids and the vibe that goes along with them. The place has a laid back feel, the people are polite and the old men wear their hair long. Traffic was easy to navigate, downtown is very accessible, the college campus is awesome, streets are bike friendly and lots of bikers.

Covid - I would guess 90% maskless both indoors and out even at the crowded farmers market and union terrace. Refreshing to see things getting back to normal.

We had a great time on our short trip.