August 17, 2018 Madison, WI (Day 2)

It was very nice to sleep in with no place in particular to go this morning.  It was still raining when we woke up, so we laid there listening to the rain on the roof.  We got up eventually and had breakfast.  The rain finally stopped and the sun came out around 11:00, so Auggie got his walk and everything started to dry out.  We left the campground around 1:30 to go for our yearly eye exams from Bob’s long-time high school friend, Mike, who has been our optometrist for many years. I suspect that my far-sighted vision has changed as reading anything up close has become more difficult.  The exam showed that my nearsighted vision had improved however, my far-sighted vision had changed and I needed a stronger prescription.  Just as I thought.  Bob had his exam after me and his vision hadn’t changed that much.
After the exams, we came back to the campground to spend more time with Auggie.  He enjoyed his time out in the shade watching for those elusive squirrels.  We had plans to go to dinner at Bob’s brother, Tim’s house at 5:30. Only 3 of the 5 siblings that live in Madison, were available during our visit, but that’s ok.  We’ll catch the others at another time.  Tim and Bonnie live in a beautiful old schoolhouse that Tim has remodeled over the years.
It is set on a gorgeous piece of land with gardens of vegetables and flowers.  Tim put in a pond that used to have fish in it and is beautifully landscaped.

Tim and Bonnie have two cats that come and go as they please.  This one happened to be sunning itself on the deck when we arrived.
I had to snap a picture of the family while the sun was still above the trees and provided the perfect shot.  Tim is Bob’s oldest brother.  Mary is Bob’s older sister.  Sara is Bob’s younger sister with her husband, Jeff.  Bonnie is Tim’s wife.  
(back row) Mary, Bob, Sara, Jeff (front row) Bonnie and Tim
It was a beautiful day, so we sat outside on Tim’s newly remodeled deck and enjoyed appetizers before dinner. The second course was homemade gazpacho–a delicious cold soup with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, onions in a tomato broth.
The last course was pizza on the grill.  There were 3 kinds and my favorite was the one with pepperoni and fresh tomatoes, but the pineapple/pepperoni was delicious also.
Everything was handmade by Tim.  He’s always been a great cook.  Dessert was carrot-zucchini cake with sour cream frosting and chocolate chip cookies.  Heavenly! Sitting on the deck, we were joined by 2 hummingbirds at the bird feeder and wild turkeys.
We could hear the turkeys, but couldn’t see them.  Later on, the bats arrived as darkness fell. We moved inside as the mosquitoes arrived and made plans to get together tomorrow morning at the Farmer’s Market on the square.
Tim, Bob, Mary, and Bonnie
Sara and Mary will meet us near the market and then we’ll drive up to the square together to make parking a little easier.  We thanked our hosts and left to return to the campground at 8:30. Once we got back, I took Auggie on his evening walk.  We watched a little TV and looked forward to walking around at the Farmer’s Market tomorrow.  

   

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