The great escape(s)

I came to Wisconsin to see Wisconsin. My very good friend Steve helped me do just that. I thought I would show you all a few day trips we made. I needed to get away from camping on the asphalt and Steve helped a brother out to say the least.

We loaded up our families and headed for downtown Madison. State Street is closed off to vehicles and makes for a nice walk. The stores are very interesting and there is something for everyone.

Some of the stores were very welcoming to the rally goers. This is House of Wisconsin Cheese Company that many in our group visited. The owner was very welcoming and I took him a Frank's Trailer Works T- Shirt. He gave me a bag of cheese curds and gave Ava a bag of dill flavored potato chips.

Like I said, something for everyone.

I wanted to go have a drink here but no one in the group seemed too interested in drinking. Wonderful old neon sign to say the least.

Not sure what is up with the cows, but this place had a small herd of them .

This is some kind of public art at the Court House. I like neon, but do not understand what this has to do with Court house. Liberty, justice, and art for all...

We were able to squeeze a few group meals in. I threw out the offer for pot luck at my trailer, but the offer was met with deaf ears and a glazed over look. David Winick took me up on it though. He even brought his neighbors over too. The WDCU was on it like stink on shit. Good thing the WDCU was parked together. We had great feasts together under Anna's awning.

Another great diversion was Steve Klohn's kick Ass Cheese Tour. He took us way out into the heart of Wisconsin dairy country. The landscape was verdant and said "DAIRY" with every curve of the road and every roll of the hill.

Unfortunately none of the cheese operations we visited were producing cheese during our visit. It appears Thursday is the pressing and packaging day. Wednesday or Friday would have been more ideal. The process was explained and we did get a tour, even if we did not see the curds being separated from the whey.

This is an artisanal cheese that is aged in cave like conditions. These wheels are just a few weeks old.

As they age, they form a thick rind and mold grows on the exterior. We could not help but buy a half pound of this stuff. We also bought some 10 year aged cheddar and some baked cheese.

The best escape was from the rally itself. We left three days early, without ceremony and got our vacation back on track. Others had the same idea.

We saw a few trailers heading away, just as we were. Next up will be our fabulous trip South. Stay tuned for that.