If You Want to Be a Badger, Then Come Along with Me...

My family marked a major milestone this weekend. It's one that many of my fellow UW alumni probably checked off their chidren's lists somewhere between "rolling over" and "eating solid food"--visiting Madison for the first time.

But not me. I wanted to save the inaugural campus tour for a time when it would be meaningful and memorable...and also for a time when I wouldn't have to push a stroller up Bascom Hill. That just seemed undignified and uncool, not to mention far too physically taxing. I had to struggle back when I was young and fit not to pant like a dog by the time I got to the top; I can only imagine what it would be like now, 11+ years later, with an 80-pound payload. No thank you.

The visit coincided handily with a trip to esoteric speaker store Madisound that my beloved and his stepdad had planned. His mom, the kids, and I tagged along in a separate vehicle, with our party planning to reunite at the Union Terrace in the late afternoon.

That gave us a little better than three hours to hit the highlights of a city whose magical elements I was still uncovering when I left campus after five years as a student. Decision-making would be key.

My first one was perhaps the best. We arrived in town at 11:30am, and rather than start our foray on an empty stomach, I figured we'd eat on our way in. But where? I happily recalled all the ethnic restaurants I'd enjoyed as a student but quickly eliminated Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine as unappealing to the particular young palates I had to satisfy. I loathed the thought of fast food in such a place, but what else to do?

Then I remembered Ella's Deli, with its circus-like, kid-friendly atmosphere and the carousel in the parking lot. And boy, did I pick a winner.

It was hard to imagine the kids liking anything better than that, but our next stop, the Wisconsin State Capitol, did the trick. As we walked the marble halls, my little guy looked up at me with eyes full of emotion and said, "Thank you so much for planning this trip to Madison, Mama. Thank you!"

Despite my numerous visits to the impressive building, we even got to do something I'd never done before--climb the stairs to the 4th-floor observation deck that wraps the base of the dome. The views were stellar! It was the first time I had ever experienced downtown Madison as an ithsmus rather than understanding it to be one from a map.

From the capitol, we headed for the pedestrian mall between Bascom Hill and State Street, where we bought fruit smoothies to sip. Heaven! Refreshed and refueled, the kids and I started to climb the six-story incline. Halfway up, my boy turned to me, said, "That's far enough," then did a 180 and began running down. How many times as a student did I long to do the same?

The capstone of the afternoon was a visit to the Memorial Union Terrace, where we waited in line for a half-hour for Babcock Hall ice cream, then waited some more for one of the famed metal tables to open up. Our patience was rewarded, and we sat and enjoyed the views to live jazz from the stage.