After two days crossing Minnesota, we arrived in the pleasant capitol of Madison, Wisconsin. Our landing pad was a hostel on Butler Street, which made for an easy walk into downtown and the capitol building.
The weather is gorgeous today, and the hundreds of people out walkig prove that the area residents are enjoying it just as much as we are. There are cyclists EVERYWHERE and at least one bike shop for every 10th person! This is a college town with a fun and funky youthful vibe in the streets, and we have fallen in love with "Mad-town."
Down the street from the hostel is a restaurant called The Bayou - serving authentic Louisiana food. We know we should be trying local Wisconsin grub, but we just couldn't pass up a GOOD plate of red beans and rice! And it WAS good.
We experienced the Wednesday Farmer's Market - it too was packed with pumpkins, squash, and homemade soups and pasteries. We also found some incredible local coffee shops and ice cream parlors serving up Wisconsin-made treats. All very dangerous (but tasty) territory for us!
We spent an entire day in and around the capitol building. Some facts:
Wisconsin became a territory in 1836, and the legislature met in Belmont, Iowa, which was a part of the Wisconsin Territory. And in 1838, the legislature met in Madison for the first time. We saw a copy of Wisconsin's constitution; date of statehood: May 29, 1848.
Like many capitols across this country, Wisconsin has been through a few buildings, three to be exact.
- The first one was torn down in 1863 because it was too small.
- The second capitol burned in February 1904.
- And construction on the third (and current) capitol building began in 1906 over the second capitol building. It was completed in 1917 for total cost of $7.25 million.
The statue on the dome of the capitol building is named "Wisconsin" and it represents Wisconsin's state motto "Forward." She holds a globe and eagle in her left hand, and wears a small "W" on her chest. And there are four mosaics in the capitol, each made of more than 100,000 glass tiles.
Wisconsin is known as "The Badger State," and adoringly claims the badger as its state animal. He is prominently placed above four main doorways within the capitol building (two of them being above the senate and house chambers). So why the badger? Well, in the 1830's, miners lived in holes dug into the hillsides, and so they were called "badger." Doesn't it make you want to sing the animated "Badger, badger, badger" song sent across the world wide web a few years back? If you don't remember it, click here for a refresher.
We were excited to tour the capitol after the extensive renovation project that started in 1988 and completed in 2002. They removed 1960-70 paneling and dropped ceilings used to modify the building, and returned the capitol to its original design. It is a beauty - one of the prettiest state capitol buildings we've seen so far.
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Goodbye bikes, farewell old friends!
With a bit of hesitation, we have shipped our bikes back to Louisiana. However, the chill in the air is reassurance that we won't be needing them this winter. But that has not stopped old habits. When a sharp turn appears, we still remind each other about the bikes on the roof, and we still check the clearance heights on overpasses and railroad bridges and jokingly ask "Heehee - Do you think we'll make it?" One thing has changed, though... we removed the "Bikes on Roof!" sticky-note on our rear view mirror.
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