Homecoming Weekend in Madison

Thursday, October 1-Sunday, October 4: Taliesin, Badger Win, Home Depot, Laurent House

Mr. E picked up a rental car on Thursday morning, and we headed up to Madison later that afternoon, in the midst of rainy weather. Our hotel was the Residence Inn in Middleton, in the same area as the Madison Marriott West where we've stayed in the past. After checking in, Mr. E went out to get provisions while I did yoga. I'd been battling with a really nasty cold since Monday, so continued my routine of earlier bedtime and no drinking.

Our destination on Friday as Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin for a 2pm Highlights Tour that lasted 2.5 hours. On the way there, we stopped briefly at the Spring Valley Inn, which was another Frank Lloyd Wright design that I'd read about in one of my new books by Kristine Hansen. I had seen her at an author talk at Bookends & Beginnings the week before and picked up both her Illinois and Wisconsin books, which was a great way to learn more about these sites.

Our tour started at the Visitor's Center, and we then boarded a small shuttle to go to the estate, where we toured the main home, some of the grounds, and the school and studio. I had been here once before with Mom when I lived in Madison, but I think that was nearly 30 years ago (!), and there have definitely been changes and upgrades to the sites and the tour operations. We had a beautiful day for the visit and could really appreciate how the buildings fit into the landscape.

I really love the unique and iconic light that we saw several of throughout the property. A large and small version were available at the gift shop and even on sale, but both Mr. E and I decided that it might be too risky to have something in our home that would be so tempting to our climber kitties!

Our evening was pretty low-key again, with some reading, browsing at a few nearby shops, and another takeout dinner. Oh, and during a trip to Target, Mr. E was able to get his COVID and flu shots, since he hadn't been able to do so when I did the previous week at our Evanston CVS.

On Saturday morning, we made our way to campus for the tailgate at the Olin House (Chancellor's residence) before going to Camp Randall for the homecoming game. We had been invited to watch from the Wisconsin Club, which gave us access to much comfier seats as well as food and drinks throughout the game. This was really the primary reason that I had wanted to attend, as otherwise Mr. E goes with his friends who are more into the game than I am. We had a great view of the entire field and saw some amazing plays as the Badgers won 31-3.

We left a bit early and decided to take advantage of having a car to visit Home Depot and do some recon for various items we'll need for our condo projects (paint, faucets, cabinet handles, etc.). We also picked up some items at Metcalfe's Market and Paper Source at the Hilldale Mall. Then another relaxing evening at the hotel.

I took advantage of the decent length and rectangular shape of the hotel pool to swim laps on Sunday morning and finished with perfect timing, right before a family with two kids came to use the pool. After breakfast, we packed everything up and hit the road to drive to Rockford, IL, for our 1pm tour of Laurent House, the only home ever designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for someone with limited mobility. The tour was quite lovely, and I really enjoyed seeing the modifications to accommodate Mr. Laurent and his wheelchair, as it reminded me so much of how Dad had to navigate and move through the world, first on crutches and then in a wheelchair as he got older.

We got back to Evanston in the late afternoon, so we had plenty of time to unpack, do the grocery shopping (with a car for a change!), and spend some quality time with the kitties.