Madison

First stop Madison. Day one, met up with Ryan for lunch at the Great Dane in Fitchburg, then wandered around downtown along State Street and Williamson streets. Met up with my hosts Kara and Wes and we barbecued up some Italian sausages from The Underground Butcher and caught up over wine.

Day two was action-packed. Started off guitar shopping at Madison Music, yoga at Perfect Knot on Willy St (Bev’s Yin yoga, with deep multi-minute holds), lunch at a Laotian restaurant across the street, a tour of the capital (pictured above), a slice of pizza with Evan at Ian’s and a drink at Coopers Tavern, dinner and drinks with my cousin Vanessa and her husband David at Eldorado Grill, then met up with Evan again in Middleton where I subbed on a beach volleyball team, then back to his house for a glass of wine with his wife and two boys (and two dogs and two cats).

Day three was much more chill. Got a haircut in the late morning at Thorps on Atwood, went to lunch next door at Alchemy, then went down to the university Terrace and had a beer and read for a while. Met up with Brenna and Ryan at their new house (they closed the day prior) and had a cheers and a couple drinks.

Day four: Farmers' Market at "the square" in the morning, and then helped Brenna and Ryan move. And then went with Evan and Angie to a house party for a team running the Ragnar relay race (same format as the Golden Gate Relay I’ve run a few years, but from Madison to Chicago).

In summary: Madison is a very cool city. Great blend of urban, campus, government and business. Every significant road has a dedicated bicycle lane, and there are heaps of trails all over the city and surrounding countryside. In just 15 minutes you can go from urban to rural. The culture is very focused on local food, there is tons of great dining, and some great hippie-ish green/natural living. Really neat city.

Sunday morning: drove to Rochester, MN, to visit David and Rachel for a couple nights. Crossing the Mississippi River was amazing—it is HUGE. The bridge and surrounding roads were under construction so there was no place to stop for a picture.

About that guitar: I picked up a Composite Acoustics Cargo guitar, their travel model. It is a thing of beauty, made of carbon fiber, impervious to the elements (you could play it standing in the rain), impervious to temperature (you can leave it in a hot car without the glue melting, as it is a single piece of carbon fiber), and never needs a set up (doesn't even have a truss rod). Can't wait to get to know it better.