road trip: madison

mr. pike and i love a good road trip. there's something about seeing the country firsthand. it had been a while since we had such an adventure, and since mr. pike had a day off from work, i didn't want to waste the chance to travel.

it being baby girl's first overnight trip, mr. pike and i decided to travel closer to home. we headed to madison, wisconsin. i have visited the capital city several times, but mr. pike had not yet been. so, we packed up the car and headed for wisconsin.

madison is a beautiful city, nestled between two lakes - monona and mendota. we first stopped at the state capitol building. mr. pike and i like visiting capitol buildings -- the architecture in some of them is so beautiful. and wisconsin's is one of the more stunning buildings. it also has an observatory around the dome so visitors can get a view of the city from above.

on saturdays, one of the largest producer-only farmers' market in the country surrounds the capitol building. we ventured around the market where people were selling everything from honey and flowers to baked goods and produce. we tried wisconsin's famous cheeses, buttermilk donuts, venison jerky, and fresh carrots.

one of my favorite finds was grace's cheesecakes -- where i picked up a chocolate raspberry and a lemon mini cheesecake for mr. pike and i to try. both were excellent!

we finished the fourth of july with fireworks -- which baby girl seemed to enjoy. she watched mostly wide-eyed, probably wondering what was going on.

it was a great trip -- a place we'd like to visit again.