Madison, WI to Minneapolis, MN

Lake Monona, Madison.

Some whimsical stairs that somehow didn't fit with the city, are we calling it a city? I suppose as it's the state capital, we have to.

Loved this throwback, Madison

I am learning some things about the best way to travel while understanding prior mistakes, at least for me. Last big road trip, the max driving time was 6 hours per day.,this time it's 4. Last time I did research about prime destination, but didn't stop in between, this time I did research but then forgot to heed it, and stopped in between. So while my takeaway of Milwaukee wasn't bad, just not compelling. It was only a day later that I remembered the Bobblehead Museum! Today I forgot to stop and admire the world's largest ball of twine. So be it, logic goes that if I forgot about it, it must not have been that important.

After Milwaukee, I was marginally concerned about Madison, as from my research, the former seemed a better fit for me. Perhaps it was due to easy maneuvering with the car, a nice hotel location and view,  it proved a lovely stop. But more likely, it was the lovely vibe that Wisconsonians provided during that 24 hour stretch.  The Capitol, which is a sort of nexus, and close to where I was staying, sits nicely at the top of a hill with grass and flower beds all the way around, accessible from all directions. There are a bunch of restaurants and bars nearby, all with an interesting vibe. Everything is clean and tidy, the roads are wide and not full of cars, and yes there's that famous Saturday Farmer's Market.  Well, I don't know if it's the best in the world, it wouldn't be a hard argument to put Union Square above it, but it was huge, very well attended, had a lovely midwestern flair with very high quality produce and flowers, along with more sweet rolls, cheese curds and jerky than you could throw a stick at.

The external part of the market, the main event circled the Capitol, all the way around. 

Always enjoying the morning hunt for coffee, I went out at 8 (the market starts at 6:45!) after a workout, intending to go back and shower and then return for the market later, but got immediately sucked in, and was glad I did because later, it was so crowded that everyone had to move as a group, patiently waiting in line to just look at each stall. Most were in groups and so good natured and patient, the vendors were chatty and free with samples, everyone seemed to enjoy the experience. Even impatient I couldn't help but get caught up in the good humor of every kind of person imaginable, including an old man who had a sweatshirt on that said "Eternity is a long time, don't get it wrong"

Asparagus was the vegetable on offer, so I scored a bunch for car snacking, as well as some real baby carrots. The flowers were so beautiful, lupines, iris, daisies, other wild things, everyone had a bouquet, it was hard to keep walking. There were many unfamiliar meat products, either from non-farm animals, or prepared in ways I'd never seen.  There were a wide variety of mushrooms, including mushroom coffee, baked cheese in the shape of a pizza crust and beautiful multi-colored eggs. By 11;30, I was ready for lunch and had scoped out a small cart that was selling my sorts of things. He made me a knock your socks of "Moroccan" vegetable medley, it really was one of the best things I've had in a long time. With my to go container, I saw on a Jersey barrier, watching the world go by, when a rather rag tag and ostentatiously dressed band began playing some Midwestern polkas with their brass, along with chants about how bad it was to bust unions.

The University of Wisconsin Madison is nearby, and so I had a quick walk around and was so feeling the Madison vibe that I came close to buying a really nice Champion 80/20 Wisconsin Badgers hoodie, then remembered it had to be carted across the ocean.

they were so sweet

Different varieties of these at almost every stall

There were elk horns for sale, all different sizes

Such pretty shapes

Makes me wish I liked eggs

My favorite was the man on the left with legs whiter than his shorts were short

Then it was time to be reunited with my enduring friend, I-94, towards Minneapolis. The land in Wisconsin on the east side seemed beaten up to me, I wondered if it was from all the winter weather as Eastern Canada has the same look. But as the car went Northwestwards, the rolling green hills with barns and trees appeared, beautiful, that image that perhaps most of us have of farms in the midwest. Along the way, there was a sign for  Cascade Ski Mountain, but when looking around, there was nowhere it could be, flat as the eye can see. There was also an advertisement for bank loans for "leisure and hunting expenses". Within the last 200 miles or so, there were many billboards informing us that babies have a heart beat after 3 weeks and eyes after I've forgotten how long. Strangely, more dead animals on the side of the road than I've never seen. Granted, there are likely lots more wildish animals in Wisconsin and Minnesota, but I must have seen 10 rotting deer carcasses, a small black bear, and multitude of raccoons and a couple of dogs.

When I pulled into Minneapolis, it was big and skyscrapery and dirty and deserted, depressing. My hotel was next to the Target baseball field, which is perplexingly and entertainingly right in the middle of everything, but wasn't in action and isn't the prettiest. Hungry for something, I begrudgingly went out and took a guess on a direction, ending up in the Warehouse district which was clean with those beautiful wide roads, nicely renovated buildings that had become places where wine is served in crystal, scents are made to order and dresses are by Akris.  It was great fun wandering around, there was one store called Combine that was like a museum, taking over a vast amount of space, breaking up rooms with different men's and women's collections, along with books, chocolate, jewelry, perfume and in the back, a bar and a barber shop. It was truly beautifully renovated and everything in it was expensive and perfect, reminding me of ABC Carpet in the good old days, After a very long time, I left content, with Aesop grapefruit lotioned hands. 

Barber shop in the back,Combine in Minneapolis

Wedding dresses hanging in a window, Minneapolis

This morning, I again went out to forage for coffee and ended up walking for 20 minutes through a deserted downtown, only to find my destination inside the convention center. So I powered on to a place near Loring Park, an overgrown green space in the middle of some part of the city that I couldn't explain to you. While sipping a cappuccino, I read about significant historical occurrences in Minneapolis. While George Floyd's death wasn't mentioned, the raccoon who climbed 23 floors of the exterior of a downtown building was. 

It was a beautiful sunny day as I walked along a path that follows the Mississippi River. There was a feeling, with the very few others around, of owning the city on a holiday weekend, all other residents presumably on a motor boat in one of the 10,000 lakes. My destination was the Mill City Museum, about Minneapolis' flour production, but it was too beautiful to spend much time inside, so I took a few photographs and had more of a wander, seeing every style of building, again, wide streets and the reassurance of midwestern solidity.

Along the Mississippi River footpath, Minneapolis

A building on Fourth Street, Minneapolis

Mill City Museum and old flour mill, Minneapolis

I'm skeptical, downtown Minneapolis

​On the way to Fargo today, I stopped in St. Cloud, which I'm going to guess is a very religious town because it was as closed down on a Sunday as France. When I got out of my car, the Bible ladies were there, you know, the two people you see with the sandwich board and a black wheelie at pretty much any city in the world. I had my response prepared "Thank you for asking. I'm spiritual but not religious and wouldn't dream of imposing my beliefs on you", The things I think up!  They were nothing but warm and friendly, never mentioning the Holy Book. One of my goals for this year is to try to not assume the worst...So far, not doing too well.

On the way in to St. Cloud, I had noticed that there were a lot of Somalis walking about. Wanting some caffeine but not at Starbucks, I ended up at a place called Fabiola Coffee, a very small shop in a strip mall. When I asked about a bathroom, she said it was next door in the mall, which didn't make sense based on how small the building was. But I followed her directions and went in, and there was an alley with small stalls similar to those I'd seen in Morocco, each selling something different. Children were playing ball in the hallway and there was a call to prayer by someone who didn't sound as though he had much energy. I was clearly an interloper and did what I needed to do quickly. throwing the ball to a boy about 10 who lost control of it. 

St. Cloud Main Street. Not a soul.

Over and out from the Jasper Hotel in Fargo