As I recall my first days at Valparaiso University 11 years ago, I think about the close friendships I developed there, and how some of those close relationships have persisted, spanning the years and the distances.
Indeed, keeping up with my friends has taken me to other places, and one such place is Madison, WI.
My good friends Tyler and Matthew both went to that area to work at Epic, a large company in the healthcare business.
A few years ago, in 2014, just over a year after graduating, I went on a weekend visit to Madison, September 20-21. I was eager to go on a short trip to visit them and see the sights.
Going there is a good time with friends and taking in those things that befit Wisconsin.
I rode the Megabus from Chicago Union Station to the Madison bus stop nestled in the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As soon as Tyler and Matthew picked me up, we headed to Capitol Brewery. Following dinner, we went to a hockey game, with a team from the Madison area playing a team somewhere in the Chicago area, though their names escape me. Then we went to Tyler's place and played games until bedtime.
The following morning, I went with Tyler to Mass at the church he attended, St. Thomas Aquinas. I'm very intrigued by sacred architecture, and what fascinated me most about this rather modern church is how there were three windows that functioned as skylights, focusing light on the area of the altar. Notably, the church sanctuary was like a lecture hall, with some of the pews rising high above the floor, so that I actually looked down from those pews at the altar below.
Later on that day, we also ambled around in downtown Madison, along State Street, where private cars are not allowed to drive, and up to the Wisconsin State Capitol, which we went inside to visit. Matthew has made politics a big hobby, and he's said so much about the state of Wisconsin politics, so it was interesting to visit the state capitol with him. This was actually my second visit to the Wisconsin State Capitol. From an observation area, there are great views of the city, and the nearby Lakes Mendota and Monona that flank the isthmus where the capitol sits prominently.
A year later, in 201, during my weeklong "summer break" in between summer and fall terms in graduate school, I went on another weekend visit there, with Matthew and Tyler again, and another friend, Arthur, joining us for much of the time. I arrived late on a Saturday night, August 29, onboard the Coach USA bus, which I booked through Megabus, and was able to snag the $1 fare. We stayed up late playing games. The following day, after Church and a meal, we went to visit the Epic company's campus, which is quite large. The buildings also have elaborate themed decorations.
Then we made our way over to the University of Wisconsin campus, and met up with my cousin Jessica. We lingered a while along the shore of Lake Mendota. My friends and I wrapped up with some Hispanic food for dinner and a walk to the convention center along Lake Monona before Tyler and I went back to his place. I departed early the next morning.
The years went by, and when this summer of 2020 rolled around, I felt it was time to go back for another visit. I also felt it would be a good chance to get out and travel for a short trip in the midst of the limitations posed by the pandemic. It was especially good timing to see Tyler before his move out of Madison for a new job elsewhere.
This time, I had the use of Avila, so I skipped on riding the bus there. (One thing I liked about the bus was how I could take in the view of the Chicago skyline as it traveled along the Kennedy Expressway toward Union Station.)
So I got in Avila in the afternoon of July 11 and headed northwest. Similar to the ride on the bus, the drive there was pretty straightforward along I-90, and it actually doesn't take more than 2-3 hours. Madison comes up especially quick once one crosses the "cheddar curtain" into Wisconsin.
After studying the nearby area on Google Maps, I'm glad I didn't make a wrong turn, especially when exiting the Beltline and getting on Verona Road. I met up with Matthew at his home in Madison, and Arthur was there, too. We carried out dinner from Monk's, and the drive there took us by some nature areas. We dined on his back porch, and then lingered for a while in the evening, playing a game of naming Wisconsin cities, ValpU buildings, and rivers, until the bugs compelled us to go indoors. I also enjoyed Matthew's piano playing of hymns.
Since there's no visiting Madison without doing something idiosyncratic to Wisconsin, because of the sleeping arrangements, I went to bed with Green Bay Packer sheets, as you can see in the photo below, though my loyaltieis didn't really change when I awoke the next morning.
The following morning, July 12, I met Tyler and his friend at St. Thomas Aquinas for 10:00 Mass. I once again marveled at the effect evoked by the design of the sanctuary, as you can see in the photo below.
Aftewards, Tyler, Matthew, Arthur, and I met for a meal at C's Restaurant and Bakery in Middleton. Driving around in the Madison area, I couldn't help but notice the winding nature of the streets. I had cinnamon swirl pancakes, which is in the photo below.
Like in previous visits, it was a great time of hanging out, making merry, talking about the latest circumstances in the world and with people we know, and musing on past memories. We also got to hear about Tyler's new work.
There's something so jolly about getting together with friends I spent quality time with in the notable years of college, and re-engaging with those connections that have persisted. Being with my friends triggered a sense of delight and pleasure within me. I'm grateful for having such great friends, and for the good times that we continue to have.
And that's what I carried with me as I traveled back to Chicagoland. On the way home, I had another idiosyncratic Wisconsin experience when I stopped for Culver's custard at what a sign on I-90 billed is the world's largest Culver's restaurant in Newville, which is in the photo below. The dining room areas certainly looked larger than the Culver's restaurants I've been to previously.
To add to my sense of reconnecting with the past, I saw a group of people I recognized from Oak Park at that Culver's, and one of them was wearing a shirt that had the name of OPRFHS. Later on the drive, I passed by the AMC 24 Theater in Barrington, where I participated in the 2005 Illinois State Geography Bee 15 years ago. Somehow, unlike other times when I was on that stretch of I-90, I noticed the theater this time around, perhaps because I recognized the Hilton Garden Inn nearby.
Oh, the wonder of good times and good friends, and the ways we can still connect with them as the years roll along.
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