Madison

I have fond memories of visiting my friend Jane at the University of Wisconsin in Madison back in 1972. It was a radical campus and a very exciting time for us participating in anti-war protests. I may have been there once or twice in the next few years, but I hadn’t been back since. Bob and I spent time driving around campus, and I recognized the dorm where I visited my friend and other landmarks. It’s hard to believe that those memories are still alive after almost 40 years. We spent an hour at the Memorial Union Terrace, watching the kids drink beer and dance to live music on Friday night.

Madison is the state Capital and sits between two lakes. The Capital building is visible from every direction for many miles and it’s lovely to see it rising above the green trees and rolling hills of corn. The city has a dynamic, progressive energy and seems well cared for and much loved.

On Saturday we enjoyed the huge Farmers Market that runs around Capital square and took in two Art Fairs on and off the square. Parking was difficult but it was fun to mingle with the locals. We even went into the Capital building to admire the rotunda.

Spring Green, an hour outside of Madison, is where Frank Lloyd Wright’s home, Taliesin sits. We went on a great tour of Hillside studio, his architectural school. We drove past his residence, but didn’t take the 2 hour $45 per person tour there. It’s an amazing 600 acre estate.

Just five miles down the road is the House on the Rock, built by Alex Jordan. He started with a small cabin built into the rock in 1960, and then added on for more than 25 years. It’s still preserved with the 60s shag carpet on the walls and too many kooky things to mention. Bob thought it was quite imaginative, but I found it downright weird. We only toured a small part of this attraction, including a cantilevered, convex windowed room that extends out 150+ feet above the forest floor

We also drove down to Lake Geneva to visit an old friend of mine. It’s a lovely little town on a large clear lake in southern Wisconsin, as close to Chicago as it is to Madison. We had lunch at a great restaurant and there was a Playboy Bunny reunion happening there. Wow, you should see what the bunnies look like 30 years later. You’d never guess their past. We also enjoyed a nice walk along the lake past gorgeous mansions.

Bob and I were really impressed with this area. If it wasn’t for the 5 long, hard months of winter, we might consider living here.