Thanks to Rash Hashanah's timing this year my girls had a four day weekend instead of a three day weekend for Labor Day. We decided to take a spur of the moment vacation close to home.
Hey Aunt Donna - can you guess where we went?
The badger above might give a clue. Isn't he cute!
It's Madison, Wisconsin.
This was my first visit to Madison and I discovered it's a great city! I'm starting to think mid-sized cities (smaller than Chicago, bigger than Midland are where it's at)
We toured the capital and enjoyed some nice architecture around the capital.
We arrived right as a University of Wisconsin football game was starting. The girls got to see the atmosphere of a big university on game day. So many red and white striped overalls!
We went to the University's Geology Museum - very cool!
Madison is full of Lakes.
Hotel breakfast.
We went to the Olbrich Botanic Garden. Looks like we're having a great time doesn't it (rolling my eyes).
We went to Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin which is about an hour's drive from Madison. What a beautiful drive - I can see why FLW wanted to build his home there in the middle of the beautiful hills and valleys.
The house - built in 1911 - felt so old and precious and fragile to me. It also felt mini. The (FLR designed) chairs looked like they were only six inches off the ground. And Brian was the comedy highlight of our guided tour because he had to have his head bent to the side to walk around because most of the ceilings were so low.
It also felt like a magical place because it was so ahead of its time and it was the beginning of a change in American architecture. I was shocked at how similar it felt to the Alden Dow Home and Studio. I'm so glad we went!
Back to Madison.
On our last day we went canoeing/kayaking on one of Madison's lovely lakes.
Good times! Thanks Madison.
Due to Greg's work (Oscar Mayer) we lived in Madison twice...in the '70s and in the mid '90s. We loved the whole busy yet laid-back atmosphere. There was a huge farmer's market on Saturdays around the Capital Square, lots of college students rubbing elbows with politicos and families getting kids to see fresh veggies. Even though we lived in IL longer, I'll always consider Madison my second home. So glad you guys enjoyed it.
Posted by: Donna | September 07, 2021 at 01:24 PM