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Day 15: Homecoming to Madison

 

A lazy start to the day, enjoying breakfast with my friends in their beautiful backyard garden. The weather was pleasantly warm. Also went for a walk in a neighborhood park, ostensibly to get the dog some exercise. Finally bid adieu around 11am and headed off towards Madison, Wisconsin.
 

 


Took the long and scenic way through the country roads instead of the freeway. The primary purpose was to drive through Iowa, the second state after Nebraska that I only briefly touched in this road trip. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


  After driving through Iowa for a few minutes, I crossed the Mississippi River, which to my mind is the dividing line between Western and Eastern United States. It is also the border between Iowa and Wisconsin.

 

 

Checked into my hotel in Madison, that faced Lake Monona, and then headed off to the University of Wisconsin. It was a very nostalgic experience walking around the campus. This is where I spent my initial two years in the US, a new world very different from India.  Can't believe this was 40 years ago.

 Bucky Badger, the UW mascot makes its presence felt all around and I had to get my obligatory picture with him. 

 Most of the campus looked the same as it did back then, but there are lots of new buildings and upgrades. Surrounded by 2 lakes, UW Madison is one of most beautiful university campuses anywhere.


One of my most memorable times was the summer of 1983 that I spent sailing on Lake Mendota. I joined the University sailing club, the Hoofers. I enjoyed the unlimited sailing lessons and taking out a sailboat many afternoons. After sailing, would sit on the terrace at the Memorial Union, watching the lake and other people or listen to some live music.



 

After walking up and down State Street late evening,  got back to the hotel with many rekindled memories of decades ago.

The raw numbers for the day:

  • 304 miles driving, 10900 steps walking
  • 2 Tesla supercharger stops
  • 3 states - Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin

 

Comments

  1. ManeeshaSeptember 24, 2022 at 6:42 PM

    A sailor, indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. VisheshOctober 1, 2022 at 10:20 PM

    So much nostalgia! :) Did the university feel smaller or bigger than you remembered it?

    ReplyDelete

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