Backwards, then on to Chicago

So today I left Madison, WI. It's a shame because I really liked this place. If you are thinking of a University to go to, check out UW Madison, this place is amazing, the town is really a college town, and very progressive compared to the surrounding areas.

The Theatre

I had one of the most amazing experiences last night. Firstly, I took my host Allison and her brother to dinner, and had a great Tibetan meal at a place on State street. As we were walking around, we passed by the Overture Center for the Arts, where there were hundreds of well-dressed people milling about. I had seen a poster advertising Billy Elliot being played at the Overture, so we figured this was the intermission. Allison took advantage of life and suggested we sneak in for the second half, so we sauntered in like we owned the place and got some seats!

The dancing was amazing, the lighting, stage decoration, story, I was really amazed by the performance. I may pick up going to the theatre as a habit!

My eyes welled up with tears at the part where Billy and his dad are singing a duet, it was such a heartwarming experience. The live orchestra was captivating, the theatre itself was beautiful. All of this in Madison! I could fall in love with this place based on the Overture Centre and the Capital Building alone! I couldn't help but envy some of the dancers, they had obviously worked amazingly hard at their craft, and found a prosperous niche (at least I imagine these people are paid well). The kid playing Billy Elliot was 14, from Canada, woot!

What an experience, thanks so much Allison for encouraging me to break the rules. I forgot to make a donation, I think they deserve my money, I hope to see something like that again...

Today

Devil's Lake

Cool lake just north of Madison, they have a beach, hiking trails, visitor centre, etc. $10 to get in for the day, they let me drive through for free. A lot of families.

Dr Evermore's Forevertron

So after driving 45 minutes to Dr. Evermore's location, he was closed today (Tues and Wed). There was a big sign, "No trespassing Violators will be Prosecuted". A close friend of mine visited the states and trespassed, and ended up getting arrested and going to court. I was going to learn from her mistake so I didn't enter, but I did snap some pics.

You can see the Forevertron in the left of the photo, slightly covered by trees

It wasn't as big as I had thought it was going to be. A friend of mine, Kiwi Irwin has a brother (Kenny Irwin) who constructed more impressive ones in his back yard in Palm Desert, CA. Google Image Search of 'kenny irwin robots'.

I'm going to get a bit sidetracked here, but back to Kiwi (pronounced 'Keevy'). He was an acquaintance of mine who suffered severe brain damage in an auto crash about 4 years ago, he has been bedridden since. As far as I know he is responding to stimulation, improving slowly.

His brother is an interesting story. I've never met him personally, but I remember going to a party at Kiwi's house and having a BBQ in the shadow of huge robot sculptures made of trash and electronics and recyclables, it was awesome, and a bit creepy! Pics of that coming soon, I need to find them on my computer. Kenny converted to Islam and his name is now Eriani something. Mixed in with some of his sculptures are the carcasses of animals, with fur attached in some instances. Like a said, special stuff.

I'll try to find some more pictures but here's a link for the time being.

DCC4

Detroit Couch Crash #4 is a social event involving couchsurfers in the region. It goes until Sunday, and since I'm heading for Detroit this might be a convenient way for me to camp with some like-minded people.

[Detroit Camp City 2012 is 5-day event put on by the Detroit CS community, and is our fourth annual event meant help people have a blast in Detroit and surrounding areas. We believe that positive experiences in Detroit, and good memories, empower people to combat outdated misconceptions and spread realistic, experience-based impressions of our city.

Getting to Know Corn

I've noticed that in southern Wisconsin, the corn plant appear more pointy, with curled up trumpet-type leaves instead of floppy ones like I had been seeing before.

At first I thought they just planted different varieties of corn from what I've seen, but then I started seeing the floppy leaves and pointy leaves in the same field! What gives?! I was 5 minutes away from just going and asking a farmer what was up, until I thought about how the pointy plants were in high parts of the field or around the edges--where there is less water. They were also more blue-gray tone compared to the really green floppy-leaved corn plants. It appears Wisconsin's corn is just really thirsty!

As I said in another post, I rubbed the nose of the badger in the capital building and wished for rain, so I really hope Wisconsin gets it! It appears much-needed.

Driving to Chicago

Stopping in a few towns, namely Lake Geneva, which is basically one huge resort, I made decent time to Chicago. They rent JetSkis for $115/hr, but I had a time I needed to be in Chi-Town. I might come back here with a girl at some point in the future. I sent some more postcards from Traffic going into Chicago on the toll road was terrible, really not fun, and 50% of people are texting or talking on the phone, and I thought MTL was bad. I'd rate Illinois drivers almost as bad as Minnesotans. I don't know what's going on, because the Wisconsinites and South Dakotans are downright sensible.

Tomorrow

Taste of Chicago is running right now until the 15th of July. So I'm going to be eating a lot of food and listening to music.