20th Anniversary Countdown: Guest Post #6

In celebration of my 20th Blogiversary, I'm having guest posts in the lead-up to the big day. This is my sixth guest post.

Please welcome Sarah!

Sarah is a fellow Wisconsin blogger who works in academia. She also has five children (FIVE!) - the oldest is graduating from high school and the youngest is in pre-school. She writes about books, how to feed a giant family with a crazy insane schedule, hair, makeup, and all the things that make our daily lives interesting. She writes over at Harry Times...All Jacked Up and you should go check it out if you haven't already. The book recommendations alone are worth a visit!

I moved to Madison, Wisconsin, in August of 2003. I was a brand new Communication Arts doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin, and my boyfriend moved with me. The night before we made the move, then-boyfriend/ now long-suffering husband Ben went with my dad to the Pair-a-Dice riverboat casino in Peoria, Illinois (my hometown and our undergraduate college home), and won $1200 on a $1 slot machine on his way off the boat after a night of slow losses. This was pretty much all the money he had to his name after his own MA program graduation two months before and a summer working retail in the Chicago suburbs. 
 
We chose Madison together after I was also admitted to Ph.D. programs at the University of Iowa, Northwestern University, and the University of Minnesota, and we visited all of those cities, trying to imagine our lives there. We fell in love with Madison: the way it looks like a tiny city but feels like a big town, the lakes, the non-academic industry, THE CHEESE.

Twenty-one years and 5 kids later, we still love Madison, but Ben has recently taken a job at our undergraduate alma mater in Peoria, meaning he spends part of the week 3 hours away, and we think idly about relocating for the first time in 2 decades.
 
In honor of Engie’s 20-year blogaversary and our very first time thinking about leaving this place, here are 20 Madison things I cannot live without, no matter where I live:
 
20. Lake Mendota, Lake Monona, and Lake Wingra. Do I swim, fish, or boat in these waters? Erm, no. But! I do like living near them and watching other people derive joy from lake-adjacent activities.
 
19. UW-Madison’s lakeshore path. A water activity I do enjoy is taking workday walks around the lake– so shady! So cool! So lovely!
 
18. Picnic Point: It is so fun to take my kids (17, 16, 12, 11, and 3) on a short, flat, tree-lined “hike” to a lovely little beach. Sometimes we reserve a fire pit along the way and make lunch or s’mores.
 
17. Dream Parks: There are 5 of these in our area, and they are all magical. We live in Madison, and all of these parks are in surrounding suburbs, so it’s also really fun to take field trips to visit them and whatever tiny delights are nearby (when you are home with 5 kids all summer long, you find your excitement where you can, OK?).
 
16. All City Swim and Dive: Madison has a uniquely awesome summer private-pool league. We have been members at 3 separate pools (Shorewood when the big boys were teeny, Ridgewood when Coop was born, and Hawks Landing since we built our house in 2011), and we love the personalities of each pool and the Madison brand of leisurely summers spent poolside. We also love the competitive swim and dive league which features weekly pool v. pool meets all summer and culminates with the largest amateur swim meet at the end of July where all the pools compete against each other for top honors. For YEARS swim and dive practice has structured out summer days, and the All City meet is a kid favorite in our house.

15. Mickie’s Dairy Bar: BEST GREASY SPOON EVER. Pancakes are terrific. Grilled cheese and fries are divine. Milkshakes are a must.
 
14. GREENBUSH BAKERY. You guys. Most perfect donuts ever, and this is not something I say lightly.
 
13. The Chazen Museum: FREE! CAMPUS! ART! So many beautiful collections and exhibitions. I like to wander by myself during the day or take the kids. [Note from NGS: This is a legitimate art museum that is completely free and often completely empty. It's DELIGHTFUL on a hot summer day to go there in the AC and enjoy the peace in the city. Huge tip for introverts who need a place to recover after the other Madison delights.]
 
12. Memorial Union Terrace: Brats, beer, perfect ice cream, live music, lakeview sunsets– this place has it all. Kids are happy. Dogs are happy. EVERYONE is happy at the Terrace, and if you aren’t, you need more ice cream.
 
11. Madison Public Library: Except for my Audible subscription, I get all my books at the library, either on Libby or off the shelf like in olden times. I love all of the branch libraries in the system (especially Verona which has THE BEST new release walk-in selection), but the downtown library is the most awesome in terms of stuff to do and look at besides books.
 
10. Chocolate Shoppe ice cream: We like the Sequoya location the best because it’s right by a library, but really they are all wonderful. I like the Exhausted Parent flavor. Ben is a chocolate peanut butter guy. Minnie always gets Superhuman. Coop goes for Zanzibar, and Jack orders This $&@! Just Got Serious. Harry and Dorothy are loyal cookies and cream or cookie dough consumers, depending on the day. 
 
9. The UW Geology Museum: Free! With dinosaur bones! Need I say more? [Note from NGS: So much free stuff on the UW-Madison campus!]
 
8. Babcock Ice Cream: You can get this on the Terrace or at the Babcock Dairy Store, which also has sandwiches.  We all adore the Mnookie Dough, named for the new UW-Madison chancellor. 
 
7. JBC Coffee: Some of the best in the world. Literally.
 
6. Tornado Club Steak House: In a city of supper clubs, this one stands out.
 
5. Kid sports. From dance to diving to swimming to tennis to hockey to soccer to Little League to club baseball, Madison has THE BEST kids’ sports. All of our kids have found their best friends and their athletic passions in Madison, and I have never even once in my life had an athletic passion, so I think this is pretty cool.
 
4. Brennan’s: Our very favorite place for wine, cheese, flowers, and local produce. You know, THE ESSENTIALS.
 
3. Yola’s: My favorite place for waffles, coffee, and dissertating. We also enjoy catering family boday  parties with their amazing sandwiches.
 
2. Wisconsin Brewing Company: This place is pet friendly and SO FUN to hang out at. You can bring in your own food; they sometimes have music, and yard games abound.
 
1.  State Street. I love to shop on State Street, grab coffee, walk and watch people and listen to a book, kill time with Minnie while Cooper is diving, take the kids to their favorite candy store, make the trek from Bascom Hall to the state capitol building. In March 2003, standing on the top of Bascom Hill with the woman who would become my dissertation advisor, gazing at the Capitol and freezing my face off because who expects subzero temps in MARCH, I fell in love with Madison because of State Street and its enticing, bustling, tiny-city-feeling vibe– and to this day it reminds me why I love it here.
 
Thanks, Engie! It was so fun to reflect on all the things I love about my town, and I wish you 20 more years of fabulous blog posts. On, Wisconsin!

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If you ever come visit our little corner of Wisconsin, which of these delights are you most interested in?  (Come visit us!!)