We didn't see any fireworks this 4th of July but we did hear some when we visited my brother Axel in Madison, Wis. This was his only 3 day weekend this summer, so we decided to share it with him, arriving Thurs. evening and leaving Mon. morning. Thurs. we had an unforgetable dinner at Madison's Indonesian restaurant, Bandung. The rendang (spicy beef), eggplant curry, and ikan rica rica (sweet and sour mahi mahi) were enhanced by a delicious Wisconsin white wine, a bite of loempia (egg rolls), and pisang goreng (fried bananas) for dessert.
We got up fairly early Fri. to head north to Appleton, childhood home of Harry Houdini. The local museum is in what was a Masonic Temple that looks like a castle. The A.K.A. Houdini exhibit is small but very hands-on, explaining how some of his favorite tricks were done. There are handcuffs to unlock, a box to disappear in, and other illusions to understand. The 2 1/2 hr. drive each way took us through some lovely countryside. Wisconsin has had a lot of rain this spring and summer, so everything was very green. For dinner, we were invited to Axel's friends Ken and Brian's in Mt. Horeb for a tour of their house, full of antiques. They saved the house from demolition and moved it to a new site a few years ago and have done some lovely landscaping. Our salad came straight from their prolific garden.
Saturday morning saw us on The Square for the amazing farmer's market, followed by a trip west to Spring Green, site of Taliesen, Frank Lloyd Wright's home and school of architecture. Our guide explained Wright's architectural principles very clearly, and it was fun to have lunch where we had celebrated Mom & Dad's 25th wedding anniversary many years ago. In the small family graveyard, we found the grave of Mamah Borthwick Cheney, Wright's mistress who was murdered at Taliesen and about whom Loving Frank was written. On our travels around the countryside, we saw quite a few fireworks stands, and it was obvious that evening that Axel's neighbors had visited them.
On Sunday morning, Axel took us on a tour of Madison's west side. It has really sprawled since our family moved there 47 years ago. Then we went to Johnson Creek, mid-way between Madison and Milwaukee, for a delightful brunch at Hi-way Harry's with old friends Henry and Gay. So we had a jam-packed weekend - lots of fun!
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