Chapter 8

Our motel breakfasts keep getting worse ... and this was definitely the worst. Plus, the WiFi didn't work, the bathroom door didn't close, the shower was hard to use and the toilet lid didn't close either. Glad to leave that one behind! We drove through cute downtown Red Wing, then crossed into Wisconsin, and drove down the Mississippi to Pepin, location of Little House in the Big Woods.

The woods are long gone, but there is a recreated log cabin in the corn. It's great that it's there, though, and we wondered if Garth Williams was the one who found that location too. We saw a flock of wild turkeys, as well as a crane and some eagles.

After that, we drove down the Mississippi on the Minnesota side (bigger road) to LaCrosse, Wisconsin. When Owen and I drove this route in 2012, we loved the beautiful scenery. It didn't seem as spectacular today, maybe because it was cloudy, or because we've seen a lot of spectacular scenery lately. After a quick lunch (including Wisconsin cheese, tomatoes and cucumber from a fruit stand in Pepin), it was on to Madison. (Thanks for the addition to the sign, Scott Walker)

Madison is the capital of Wisconsin, so the capitol was our first stop. This one had a taller, narrower dome, but was as beautiful inside as any other. Fun fact: The dome is the only granite dome in the United States. I liked the paintings inside this one. One difference was that there were political items inside, such as a display of paintings of dissidents in China, and a whole display about how someone had a poster about Trump that a lawmaker removed, and he put it back and it now has a surveillance camera. In the basement, there was a display about the history of the capitol, because it has recently undergone renovations. They sure whitewashed the whole Scott Walker thing. Also, there is a small vegetable garden in front of the capitol!

Nearby the capitol is Monona Terrace. It is the convention center for Madison, and was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. They never got funding approved when he was alive, but was finally built in 1997. It definitely has some similarities to the Marin County Civic Center - lots of circles.

We walked along State Street to the free Contemporary Art Museum. It had an interesting photography exhibit, as well as one about protests.

After that we continued along State Street, which is a pedestrian mall, but with bikes where the cars would be. It's lined with restaurants, and even a few shops. It ends at the University of Wisconsin, which has a mix of old and new buildings. We walked behind, and there was a terrace all along the river, with many people eating, drinking and hanging out, as well as a jazz group playing. We seriously considered having dinner there, or at one of the many good options on State Street (gyros? Afghan food? falafel? salads?), but in the end, Nora said, let's go to the all breakfast, all day restaurant. After all, we've been having good dinners, but the breakfasts have been really bad. So we had scrambled eggs and delicious pancakes, with Wisconsin maple syrup.