Wisconsin Bound

Friday, June 1, 2012 

We arrived at Carolyn Kallenborn's home in Madison, WI mid-afternoon. Carolyn and I served on the SDA board together for several years. She managed several of our international conferences while teaching at the Kansas City Art Institute. Carolyn now teaches at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. As a fiber artist, Carolyn is getting ready for an exhibition in Oaxaca, Mexico next month. Her documentary film, Woven Lives, tells the story of the Zapotec weavers she works with in Mexico.

Carolyn took us out for an evening on the town. For dinner we sampled some Wisconsin cheese at the Graze restaurant directly across from the capitol building.  Greatest mac and cheese we've ever had, with a delicious beet salad.

We then took a walk to Frank Lloyd Wright's Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center. The Center was first designed by Wright in 1938 but not actually built until 1997. 

The view of the capitol building at night from the terrace was spectacular.  From there, we headed to the University's Memorial Union Terrace overlooking the lake to hear The Modern Sound, a jazz group from Chicago performing as a part of the Isthmus Jazz Festival.  Whew! We had the grand tour.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Up and out with Carolyn to the Madison Farmer's Market, definitely a must when visiting the area. Thousands of people, including a few cows, gathered around the Capitol building to sell their cheese, veggies, flowers, honey, bread, donuts...all grown or produced in Wisconsin. The side streets were filled with craft vendors.

With the recall election for the Wisconsin Governor's seat coming up  Tuesday, there were signs, protesters, and musical commentary on the Capitol lawn.

And then there were the cows and grilled cheese sandwiches. What more could you ask for? 


We said good-bye to Carolyn around 1pm and headed to Black Earth, WI to have lunch with college friend, Connie Janousek at an historic grain mill near Black Earth. We had a good time catching up on the years inbetween our last visit. Connie dropped us off at The Shoe Box, claiming to be one of the largest shoe stores in the United States. Thanks to Connie (and store manager Steve), we managed a 20% discount on the two pairs of shoes we just couldn't live without.  Next stop, further North to Sarona, Wisconsin.