Madison – Milwaukee – Chicago

Madison – Milwaukee – Chicago

Intro

The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper. W.B. Yeats

A quote from a fine Irishman as we near St. Patrick’s Day.  I started this blog in 2006, made one entry, and that was that.  I still like the idea and I now find myself on a vacation as simple and impromptu as the idea behind Vacation for a Day! - Take what free time you have and make the most of it.

I sometimes find myself just decompressing after a long week.  I sit at home accomplishing little or nothing until a new week begins the cycle again.  I loose focus and fumble through the trivial and mundane requirements of life. 

Sometimes I need a jolt to get myself out it!

I need to turn the focus outside of myself and add a healthy dose of adventure to keep the wheels moving.  When I step outside myself for a moment I get a new perspective that carries over to my day to day life.  My senses grow sharper and I’m able to return home and see more of the magic things Yeats is talking about.

That is Vacation for a Day!; or in this case a few more days.

(This blog is on the fly and somewhat close to real time.  There isn’t going to be any fancy editing or proof reading.  Sometimes I won’t be wearing pants when I type this.  I hope you are O.K. with that.)

Day 1 – Home to Madison

I had the choice of using my leftover vacation days or losing them.  Usually, I just lose them.  This time I chose to use them and quickly decided on and planned a trip to Chicago via Madison and Milwaukee.  Unintentionally, this puts me in Chicago on St. Patrick’s Day. 

Route planned, GPS loaded, laptop updated, confirmed power inverter works in rental car – I’m ready to go. 

Today I’m working until noon and then heading to Madison for the night.  My goal is to have a hamburger at the winner of best hamburger in Madison, Dotty Dumpling’s Dowry.  http://www.dottydumplingsdowry.com/

The sun is shining and it’s a beautiful day.  I make good time on the highway as everyone politely moves over to let me by.  It is quite strange to have such a smooth drive.  It makes me a little nervous.

I check into the Days Inn (more on the hotel later) and head out to get a hamburger.

The story goes that the owner of Dotty Dumpling’s Dowry started as an antique dealer.  After awhile he decided he was more interested in hamburgers.  For reasons unknown to me he kept the name.  There is no Dotty that I know of and no evidence of her inside.  (I’ll let this one go.  Later on I plan on going to a pizza place that has a logo with a whale wearing a thong on its head.  That’s the one that needs an explanation.)

The inside is quaint with the bar and the grill along the wall and opposite the bar a seating area.  I ordered the cheese curds because I am in Wisconsin and that is what you do. 

 I order a beer because the liver is evil and must be punished.

I also order the Black and Bleu burger which has bleu cheese, bacon and Louisiana hot sauce on it.

The burger really was amazing.  The first bite had that distinctive taste I thought you could only get on an outside grill and only when at the proper temperature.  I honestly think this beats the best burgers in the Twin Cities.  It was that good!

 

Now I’m not the first person to be impressed with their burgers.  This is what they are known for, and they are not afraid of saying it loud and proud.

 But their cooking equipment is much more modest.  I wonder what magic elixir is in those metal containers above the grill.

I’m not feeling particularly adventurous after dinner and I have a big day planned for tomorrow, so I grab some beer and head back to the hotel, The Days Inn – Madison.  I didn’t want to spend a lot of money and this seemed like the best compromise. 

Earlier, after getting checked in by a nice clerk who is the embodiment of Valium, I took the elevator up to my room.  The doors to the elevator open and this is what I see.   

 Yes, that is a mirror placed so low on the wall that all you get is a very nice image of your knees.  This concerns me.  Not only did someone involved with this place decide that was a good place for a mirror, they got someone else to actually put it there.  Then there are multiple people working there, and no one thought that maybe putting the mirror where it might be useful would be a good idea?  Wait, what?  Oh, it's decorative.  Sorry.

 But then things started to get better.  A bottle opener screwed right into the sink.  This is easy livin’ I tell ya. 

That was until I tried to use it.  Somewhere either in the design or the inappropriateness of the application, the opener requires that you insert the bottle and cap at an angle almost parallel to the floor.  The first time I tried it, beer shot everywhere.  I thought that maybe the beer got shaken on the ride home.  I tried another, and again beer shot everywhere.  I tried one with my own bottle opener (yes, I carry a bottle opener) and it didn’t explode.  I continued extensive testing and I can definitively conclude that the bottle opener is defective. 

At this point I’m starting to wonder if maybe Days Inn Madison is messing with me.  They have given me this.

 

And they have given me this.

You do the math.

I got bored so I decided to take the bible out of the bed-stand and highlight the most messed up bible passages I could find.  Then I took hotel stationary and bookmarked the pages.  Tonight I’m starting with Kings II, Ch. 18, v. 27.  (I'll let you look that one up on your own.)  (Did you know the Gideons, the distributors of these free bibles, started in Janesville, WI.)

I go to the door to lock the latch for the night and I notice this guy.  What is he watching on his computer that requires he have the utmost privacy?  I am not taking my shoes off.

Days Inn Madison, I did not get cold or rained on.