Madison, WI June 10, 2014

Tuesday, June 10, 2014 We slept in and woke up to a cloudy day. There is a chance of rain later tonight. The temp was in the 60’s so a light fleece was needed. We had breakfast and Bob did some computer work while I made rhubarb sauce with the rhubarb I got from Anne’s house. We hung out doing some light chores and then left the campground around 11:00 to stop at Walmart, walk in the Arboretum, and stop at a Bob’s high school friend’s house for a visit. Our first stop would be the Arboretum.

 
 
We parked the car and walked on the path that lead to the natural spring where Bob’s mom’s ashes were sprinkled. 

 
 
The spring feeds into Lake Wingra. It was as beautiful as I remember!

 
 
From the observation landing, we walked the path along the wetlands to where the family placed a bench in remembrance of Bob’s mom, Jo Shaw. We rested there admiring the beauty of the woods. She would have loved that spot to sit, contemplate, and enjoy nature.

 
 
As we were leaving the Arboretum, we spotted something large in the middle of the road. As we got closer, we saw that it was a huge tom turkey strutting his stuff. Bob gobbled a few times and the tom answered. Bob remembered how to do a turkey call from the days when he went turkey hunting in Wisconsin. It was cool to hear “Tom” answer back.

 
 
From there, we passed the University of Wisconsin Field House at Camp Randall football stadium. Go Badgers!

 
 
We passed the horrendous statue dedicated to UW football coach, Barry Alvarez. I won’t tell you what people say it reminds them of. You can see for yourself. It is made of many tiny footballs piled on top of one another. Very strange, but that’s Madison!

 
 
We arrived at Mike’s house around noon. He lives in a beautiful old house near the UW campus.

 
 
He made us his famous grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. They hit the spot! Mike and Bob went to high school together and did lots of snow and water skiing together over the years. Mike is our optometrist and Bob continues to do his taxes each year.

 
 
We spent the afternoon getting a tour of his newly landscaped backyard, his home renovation projects, and catching up on old times. It was a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon. 

 
 
We returned to the campground around 3:00 after a quick stop at Walmart. We came back to pick up Auggie and head over to our good friends’ home in Fitchburg. We have known Patty and Paul for many years and met them when we were both boating in Sturgeon Bay and Door County, Wisconsin. We had a fantastic dinner at their house and a wonderful visit. It was so good to see them!

 
 
We got back to the campground for the evening around 7:30. I took Auggie for his evening walk before dark. We walked a portion of the Lake Farm E-Way Trail and checked out the Lussier Family Heritage Center. We stood out on the deck and looked out over the farm fields. This is the same place I had my retirement party! It brought back some great memories.

 
 
Back in the trailer, Auggie had his dinner and we watched some TV. There were a few more campers in the campground tonight, but it still isn’t full. It turned out to be a nice weather day after all.

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