Madison, Wisconsin

The Wisconsin State Capitol on Farmer's Market Day

"In Utopia, where every man has a right to everything, they all know that if care is taken to keep the public stores full, no private man can want anything; for among them there is no unequal distribution, so that no man is poor, none in necessity; and though no man has anything, yet they are all rich; for what can make a man so rich as to lead a serene and cheerful life, free from anxieties."

- From "Utopia" by Sir Thomas More, 1515 AD

Although many throughout history have used the word "Utopia" in the pejorative sense to describe a place than does not exist and can never exist, in all sincerity, I dare say Madison, Wisconsin comes close to fullfilling the idea's promise.

This town is lovely...Located on an isthmus between two lakes (Menona and Mendota) the Capital of Wisconsin and the home of the University of Wisconsin is an intellectually vibrant and diverse place.

In Madison, children say hello to you on the street, people ride their bikes everywhere, the city is filled with little independent cafes, and there is a huge Farmer's Market surrounding the State Capitol on Saturdays...all this in the heart of "America's Dairyland". Sure the average high temperature in January is 27 degrees, but it sure is nice in May, so plan your visit accordingly!

The Madison skyline from lake Monona. It is hard to see in this photo, but the white building on the left is Monona Terrace (the city's convention center on the lake) designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Now, my intention in visiting Madison was not to seek out a modern day Utopia, but rather to meet the 20 month old twin boys of my dear friends Gary and Mary Margaret. Gary and I trained as teachers together in San Francisco years ago, and when Gary and Mary Margaret were starting a family, they considered a number of places to settle. Madison won out - I can see why.

During my visit I also had a chance to hang out with their 8 year old son Camden, meet some of their friends and enjoy some of the things that Madison has to offer.

Here is Camden in front of his house - resplendant in his tye-dye shirt:

Soon after I arrived, me, Mary Margaret and her twins headed off for a day at the zoo. Madison has a nice little public zoo with the usual big ticket animals and a few little ones.

The twins, Ben and Riley at the zoo

This bear looks hungry - there were many children behind me marveling at the beast - I suspect they looked delicious....

I always thought Flamingos were pink, but this group can be characterized more as a "salmon" color don't you think? "Salmon Flamingos" - it doesn't quite have the same ring...

The boys wanted to ride the Merry-go-round (so did I) - here is a nice shot of Mary Margaret and little Riley:

Ben and I on an adjacent horse:

Here is a nice shot of Ben at the playground - very proud of his sliding skills:

That night, Mary Margaret and Gary got a baby sitter and we went out to a terrific meal at a Japanese place near the Capitol called Muramoto. The food was terrific - when you go, make sure you order the Daikon Salad...
http://www.muramoto.biz/restaurant.html

Below are my friends Anna, Mary Margaret and Maria Christina - the most beautiful women in all of Madison, Wisconsin!

Gary took a sick day on Thursday so we could spend some time together. He does look a little pale...

The Olbrich Botanical Gardens, right on Lake Menona, has the only true Thai Sala Pavillion in the continental United States. It was designed and built in Thailand and transported piece by piece to Wisconsin. It is hand-made without nails or screws, and is covered with real gold leaf - it cost $2 million to produce and install.

Detail:

In addition to various gardens, at Olbrich they have an indoor conservatory with tropical plants:

A bees-eye view:

One never knows who else will be visiting Madison - on Friday it was his Holiness, the Dali Lama. He gave a lecture in the Kohl Center (where they play basketball apparently) to a sold out crowd of 12,000. The place was full of monks in saffron robes, hippies, and just plain regular folks who came to hear the world leader talk about happiness...

(Since photography was prohibited at the event, the photo above is stock lifted from a story in the local paper)

The Deer Park Buddhist Center, just 10 miles south of Madison, planned a week of events around the Dali Lama's visit. Center website below:
http://www.deerparkcenter.org/NewFiles/facilities.html

The lecture, titled "Compassion: The Source of Happiness", was very interesting. He also took questions and commented quite forcefully on China's occupation of Tibet.

The most interesting things I learned from the Dali Lama that day:

1) He is a vegetarian most of the time, but not all the time
2) He gets up at 4am every day to pray and meditate, but also because, as a monk, he is not allowed dinner and he gets hungry - breakfast is one of his favorite parts of the day
3) Practicing compassion for others through empathy for their plight and a forgiveness of their transgressions is a way one can achieve happiness... Cool.

Saturday is Farmer's Market day in Madison, and the square around the State Capitol Building is full of stalls selling the bounty of the countryside. All of Madison seemed to be out that day...

A family portrait:

Fresh and local:

One can get just about anything at the Farmer's Market - locally made cheese curds, baked goods, organic vegetables, flowers, honey, fresh fish, and of course, Ostrich eggs, jerkey and stew bones...

One of my favorite things on the planet are wild mushrooms. A few days before, my friend Anna showed me where to hunt for Morels, but it was a few days too early for them so we went home empty handed. There were vendors at the market that had better luck...

Saute in a little butter then serve with a veal chop and grilled asparagus - HEAVEN.

I asked the honey man how many times he had been stung by his bees - he said not as many times as people had taken his picture... (maybe it is the hat?)

Camden gets a good look at the hive...

After the market, we stopped by the Madison Performing Arts Center where a local Samba group was performing. The lead-singers are Kristen and Barry - they had good Wisconsin accents, so I don't think they were from Brazil...

Good Japanese food, a very respectable zoo, cute kids, the Dali Lama, Wisconsin style-samba, good friends and Ostrich Jerkey - see what I mean about Utopia?

Say "bye, bye" Riley

...bye, bye Madison...

Next stop - Seattle, Washington and the Cascade Mountains...