Day 3: Chicago to Madison, WI

Miles: 952

States: 8

Kids: 1

Yesterday morning we took a cab from the hotel to see the "Mag Mile" and did a little shopping. The area reminds me of shopping in NYC except nicer and cleaner. Huge stores, and blocks and blocks of them. Ben did, in fact, find new shorts - seersucker and madras.

We left Chicago around noon and fought traffic again on our way to Madison. The drive was nice after we put some distance between us and the city.

We arrived in Madison around three and had a warm welcome from the Jaskowiacks. Chuck and Chris and their kids have been good family friends since before I was born; it was really good to see them all again. Chris, Ben J, Andrea, Ben M, and I went to check out the University of Wisconsin after chatting a bit. It's a pretty school. Ben liked the gorgeous, brand-new boathouse and

the Engineering campus looks top-quality as well.

We had drinks and snacks on the porch, Ben and Ben played lawn games, and I hung out with Andrea while she played in the pool. Trix, the cat, is one of the most friendly animals I've ever met. And he tolerates four-year-old Andrea remarkably well. Chris made an excellent dinner of chicken, veggies, rice, and fruit. It was great catching up with those guys. I forgot how conservative Chuck is - he was decrying "those moderate Republicans in Washington, like your dad," and I went to watch cartoons with Andrea when we put on O'Rielly in the evening.

We're taking our time this morning, watching more cartoons, Sports Center, and James Bond movies. We might take the scenic route up the river today, have dinner with Jodi, and stay at Aunt Nancy and Uncle Scott's tonight.