Madison, WI
Monday, May 16, 2022
Monday morning, we started our day in Crawfordsville, Indiana camped at the KOA. I don’t think the kids and I even exited our RV while we were there — we literally pulled in last night, slept in our beds, and we’re on our way again this morning.
One of the many perks of Class C RV living — making breakfast for everyone while driving down the roadway.
We drove the majority of the day today until we reached Madison, Wisconsin. Andi booked us a campsite at William G. Lunney Lake Farm County Park (say that five times fast) which was the closest campground to downtown Madison. Believe it or not, neither Tory, Aden, or I had been to Madison before so we were excited to check out our home state’s capitol city.
As soon as we got the RV settled into our camp spot, Andi, Tory, Aden and I hopped in the Jeep and drove to downtown Madison. We parked somewhere near the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus and walked around the campus grounds for a bit. It was finally a warm, spring day in Wisconsin, so the Memorial Union Terrace was packed with students basking in the sun and enjoying the stunning lakeside views. Did you know UW-Madison was one of the first college campuses in the country to authorize beer sales on its campus? I was surprised to see so many people sitting on the Terrace drinking pitchers of beer. Then again, those same students would likely be patronizing an off-campus establishment if they weren’t here dong the same.
Tory and Aden saw the campus ice cream store and asked Andi and I if they could have some. Lo and behold, we came across free ice cream being given away just around the corner. It was fate! Andi and the kids enjoyed their ice cream treats on the outdoor patio while we took in the sights & sounds of college life.
We continued walking around campus, admiring all the big buildings and immaculately kept lawns. There were several college graduates posing for pictures in their cap and gown which was neat for Tory and Aden to see. Gives them a goal to aspire toward.
The UW-Madison campus connects to the Wisconsin State Capitol by State Street. We walked several blocks from one to the other, taking in all the shops and restaurants along the way.
I would have loved to take Tory and Aden on an official tour of the state capitol building, but the last tour was given at 3:00pm today. The building itself was open, though, so we entered inside to walk around ourselves. The inside of capitol buildings are always so impressive with their lavish decor.
Tory and I enjoyed reading the Wisconsin State Constitution and admiring all the impressive stonework. Aden’s favorite part was the elaborate drinking fountain!
After our self-guided tour through the capitol building, the four of us walked across the street to a restaurant called The Old Fashioned. Oh, how it felt good to be back home! Walking into this restaurant felt like a warm welcome into a Wisconsin supper club with Old Milkwaukee beer signs hanging on the wall and menu offerings such as walleye and cheese curds. Of course, Andi and I had to order two old fashioned cocktails (when in Wisconsin …) and an order of the restaurant’s rated-best cheese curds.
After dinner, we walked back to our car parked closer to the UW-Madison campus, and then drove back to the campground. Tomorrow, we’ll make our final push toward home concluding our spring 2022 RV roadtrip.
