On the Shores of Lake Mendota

Saturday, July 6, 2013 – On the Shores of Lake Mendota

It’s hard to process what I’ve gone through in the past twenty hours since I arrived in Madison.  On the cab ride from the airport into the downtown area, street names kept triggering long-forgotten memories.  I used to ride my bike down the big hill on Gorham.  I used to have friends who lived on Gilman.  But State Street, the half-mile main drag that connects the campus to the State Capitol, was unrecognizable.  For one thing, it’s now open only to buses, bikes and pedestrians.   But more than that, the stores and restaurants have transformed its character.  During my college years, there was no Urban Outfitters, no Starbucks, no Potbelly’s.  We didn’t have organic coffeehouses.  The only tie-dyed clothing in evidence today is decidedly upscale.  True, there are a couple of places where you can purchase hookahs, but they’re rubbing shoulders with a new museum of contemporary art and a modern performing arts center.  I have no complaints about the restaurant scene, however.  Back in my day, our choices were limited to Midwestern pizza, brats (bratwursts), and a “Chinese” restaurant that served Wonder Bread along with the chow mein.  Nowadays, in a few shorts blocks of State Street, you can find Middle Eastern, Thai, Lao, Turkish, Ethiopian, Irish, Japanese and Italian food.

You can still get brats and beer on State Street.

 Fortunately, we’re staying in a prime location, just a block north of State Street and a block from the lake.   The Lowell Center was formerly a dorm, but the university now uses it as a conference center.  And my dear friend (and long-time now retired AHS ESOL colleague) Lillian drove up from Chicago to spend a couple of days here with us.  While Elliott recovered from the long travel day, Lillian and I went out exploring on foot.  My first impression was that so much of the open space has disappeared.  Instead of the big area of green space near the Memorial Library, several new buildings stand.  I remember meeting friends by the fountain, and gathering there for demonstrations and protest marches.  The drug store at the corner of State and Lake looked somewhat familiar, although I’m sure it wasn’t a Walgreen’s back in the late 1960s.  Actually, it was the sight of the store’s bricked-in windows that reminded me of anti-war protests, tear gas, and shattered windows along State Street.

Since I’m still operating on East Coast time, I was up and ready to go shortly after 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning.  State Street was deserted, except for the street-cleaning trucks and a couple of aging Badgers who had camped out on the pavement.  I walked up to the State Capitol and back to The Lowell Center during the last hour of morning calm before the Saturday crowds descended.  One of Madison’s main attractions, for tourists and locals alike, is the Saturday market held from May to October on the streets surrounding the State Capitol.  This is the country’s largest producers-only market, featuring vegetables, fruit, plants, baked goods, sauces, meats, and dairy products.  At half past six, the market had barely gotten underway.  Food trucks and craft vendors were just beginning to set up shop on adjacent streets. 

The sight of the food trucks reminded me to head back for breakfast with Elliott and Lillian.  After we ate, Elliott got his day’s exercise by pushing his walker up the entire length of State Street to the Capitol.  By mid-morning, the streets and sidewalks near the Capitol were jammed.  In fact, when I joined the crowd circumambulating the Capitol (counter-clockwise only), a wave of claustrophobia swept over me.  Elliott had the same reaction, and it was a relief when we finally made our way out of the tightly packed mob.  My only regret was that I didn’t have a chance to try the cheese curds.  But I’m sure there will be other opportunities during the coming days.  I wonder how I managed to spend four years in Madison without ever once trying them.   

The famous Wisconsin cheese curds. 

 One thing that hasn’t changed in Madison is the ice cream.  One of my fondest memories from my college years is the ice cream from the Babcock Hall Dairy Store, home of the university’s dairy sciences program. After walking around the market, with the crowds and the heat, the three of us decided that ice cream would make the perfect lunch.  We jumped into Lillian’s air-conditioned car and drove across campus.  Did Babcock live up to my expectations?  You bet it did!  My vanilla ice cream embedded with pieces of strawberries and chocolate was splendiferously delicious.  Even the plain chocolate and vanilla varieties were marvelous, according to Elliott and Lillian.  

To be continued.