Minnesota Vacation Day 1

We struck out from Loveland on Friday morning at 7 AM. Mom drove for an hour or so, but then I took over for 3 ½ hours. She drove one more time, and I took the wheel to take us into Madison and find the statehouse. The boys used the car time to do a little reading, watch some Mythbusters and Looney Toons, and listen to the start of Anne of Green Gables.

We parked just a couple of blocks away from the statehouse. What a beautiful building! It is definitely more striking from the outside than Ohio’s statehouse (the only other one we’ve visited so far). Streets approach it from 8 different directions. The approach we took by foot was probably not the best – trees, while pretty, blocked our view of the dome. We arrived just after a tour began, so the attendants at the desk sent us to catch up with them. We missed just a few minutes in the governor’s meeting room. Through the tour, there was no mention and not even much hinting at all of the controversy in Wisconsin right now. Unlike the time we went to the Ohio Statehouse, we did not catch a glimpse of the governor. He’s probably keeping a low profile right now! Besides an ornately decorated governor’s meeting room, we saw the chamber in which the state supreme court meets and both the house and senate meeting rooms. They felt smaller than the corresponding rooms in the Ohio statehouse, and the entire building, while beautiful and ornate, did not feel as old as Ohio’s statehouse. Indeed, it was build around 1911, while the statehouse in Columbus was built in the late 1800s. During the tour, our guide asked if any kids had a guess as to the number of light bulbs in the building. Jeremy raised his hand. He gave his shrugging “I don’t know but I’ll give it stab” look as the word “a million” almost escaped his lips. I saw him change his mind, and he said, “fifty thousand.” He was only 10,000 too high! He received a round of applause and was very proud of himself. After the tour, we took the elevator to the fourth floor and climbed a few more flights of steps to an outdoor observation area. Grandma stayed below for that one. I always love to get a view of any city I visit from above.
We were starting to get very hungry, so based on some advice from friends back home and directions from an extremely friendly and helpful parking attendant, we made our way to Ella’s Deli. There’s really no way to describe the place. The food was pretty good, but the place itself was wild! There are antique style animatronic figures and toys (mostly made by the owner and a friend) all over the place. There’s a carousel outside, and the ice cream sundae over pound cake that we had for dessert was out of this world.

From Madison, it was a pretty easy drive to Tomah, where we stayed at the Microtel Inn. Having never stayed at that chain before, I was concerned. It turned out to be a nice place. As we were settling into our room, Ice Age 2 came on TV, and we all snuggled in bed and watch. Some of us made it further into the movie than others – I was asleep before it was half over!