Exploring Madison, WI

A search for things to do in Madison, WI, led to a visit to the Olbrich Botanical Gardens this morning. We parked at the back of the big parking lot and took a leisurely stroll around the outside gardens which were fee of charge. The gardens were well laid out with interpretive signs, lots of beautiful plants and flowers, as well as lovely sculptures and water features. A notable structure was the Thai Pavilion, gifted by the Thai Government and the Thai Chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association.

After visiting the gardens, we headed for downtown Madison. We were afraid that it may be difficult to park our RVs downtown. After doing some research, we found a small park in a residential area and parked on the street. We walked about a mile to downtown, with the lake on our left, passing some really nice houses; most front yards were well cared for.

Our goal was State St. that links the State Capitol to the Univeristy of Wisconsin, said to be an interesting area with shops and restaurants. There were not a lot of people around, most looked like college students. We saw a cheese store, went in and sampled some Wisconsin cheese.

We stopped at a tourist information center and asked where we can get cheese curds and bratwurst for lunch, having read these are uniquely WI food. The guide recommended the Old Fashioned, a restaurant we passed on the way to downtown. The recommendation was spot on, we had cheese curds for the first time ever and both of us loved them. The bratwurst was great too, the Wisconsin old fashioned (made with brandy instead of whiskey) was just OK. Nadine ordered a margarita which she said was very good.

We spent the night at Cabela's. After parking, I went inside to check out the store. It was essentially a Bass Pro, rather expensive, but staff were very friendly. I got a first timer WI non-resident annual fishing license for only $28 since I may be fishing at our next campground.