Each of us took a hand at cooking. Michael grilled, Amanda made a Vietnamese dish, and I made something that sort of looked like gumbo. Julie handled the complements.
Amanda has spent the summer on her Ph.D. research in psychology, and Michael is just back from a summer of field work in Mekelle, Ethiopia, relating to his political ecology masters program. Our first night was spent at a welcome-back party for him in Madison. Michael and Amanda did much of the cooking, with Amanda providing Ethiopian red lentil stew (Kik wot), and Michael grilling chicken (spicy and mild) for tacos. I was busy chatting and almost missed out on the food. A highlight for me was visiting with a fellow who, like me, had been the supply corps officer on the USS Guitarro (SSN 669). His father, another former submariner, was also at the party (we were both stationed at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California, in 1972--though he was running the place and I was just ordering spare parts).
One morning Julie and I branched off on our own to visit nearby Stoughton, Wisconsin. Its a small city known for its Norwegian heritage. In May of each year it hosts a citywide celebration of Syttende Mai, the Norwegian constitution day. The constitution was declared on May 17, 1814, though at the time Norway was not a separate country. It was part of Sweden, and the Swedish king didn't like the constitution idea very much. The day was finally established as a Norwegian national day in 1864. Norway finally became independent of Sweden in 1905.
Back to Stoughton: The city is named after its founder, Luke Stoughton, an Englishman who came from Vermont in 1847. The Norwegians started arriving in the 1860s. They were farmers and they made wagons. They also apparently invented the coffee break. Here is a paragraph from the Wikipedia entry on Stoughton:
"The coffee break is said to have originated in Stoughton, when the immigrant men became employed en masse at T.G Mandt's wagon factory, leaving their wives to fill the shortages at the tobacco warehouses, who agreed to work under the condition that they were allowed to go home every morning and afternoon to tend to chores and, of course, drink coffee. The city of Stoughton celebrates the coffee break each summer with the Stoughton Coffee Break Festival."
The Stoughton Sons of Norway lodge has its own lodge building, and judging from a poster of coming events I saw at the city library, its a very big deal in town with lots of activities. Its major fundraiser is the Syttende Mai Smorgasbord.
Its a pleasant little city with lots of small stores in the downtown area. Like most small cities it has a Wal-Mart on the outskirts of town, which is probably slowly sucking the life out of downtown. We had some excellent homemade pie at a local restaurant.
The big visit of the trip was to the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison. The gardens are relatively compact at a total of 16 acres, with lots and lots of features. The highlight is the Thai Pavilion, a donation from the Thai government and Thai alumni of the University of Wisconsin. It was built in Thailand, dismantled, shipped to Wisconsin, and then assembled and completed by Thai artisans in 2002. The teak in the structure withstands the Wisconsin winters, but the gold leaf has to be removed each winter and reapplied each spring. Here it is:
The Olbrich is a public garden owned by the City of Madison and operated by it in partnership with the non-profit Olbrich Botanical Society. It is part of a large park on the shore of Lake Monona. The property belonged to Michael Olbrich, a lawyer who was a disciple of Robert LaFollette, the progressive Republican senator and presidential candidate. He offered to donate the land to the city to be named "Robert LaFollette Park", but the offer was refused because of objections to the name due to LaFollette's opposition to World War I. Olbrich later donated the land without requiring the association to LaFollette.
Construction of the botanical gardens did not start until 1970, and it has developed gradually since then based on availability of private grants and fundraising activities. It has been the subject of four master plans, the most recent of which was adopted in 2000.
Here are some features I particularly liked:
 |
| Julie, Michael and Amanda In Front of the Sunken Garden |
The Rock Garden, which highlights various dwarf evergreens. (The Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis has a very similar feature):
I think these are False Chamomile, but I'm not sure. If they are, they are the seed pods of an aster:
Water Lily:
Dinnerplate-sized hibiscus in the perennial garden:
Our last stop on the trip was at the Table Fifty-Two restaurant in Chicago. I don't know what was the bigger treat, eating southern cooking in a gourmet restaurant, or eating southern cooking in Chicago. We went at the recommendation of my niece Elizabeth, who is our own professional chef and taste expert. The food and its presentation were outstanding. I ate fried catfish with grits, collard greens and a hushpuppy. Julie had fried green tomatoes and pistachio-crusted chicken breast.
