Sunday, February 27, 2011

A Brief Getaway from Madison



I've decided it is best to keep the political situation that is happening here to myself and not publicize my opinion on my blog.

It is very close to home, physically and literally. For me, there is no way to avoid the news anchors as they film live coverage, the chants and the feeling of what "democracy looks like."

It feels good. Let's put it that way. These are peaceful protests, as I am sure you know by now.

For Christmas in 2009, I gave my boyfriend a bed and breakfast gift certificate. He decided to use it at an Inn near Milwaukee in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

After a charity evening at the Madison Club on Friday night, we packed our bags and left the "biggest rally" down the road from my condo to hightail it towards this quaint town of Cedarburg, not far from Milwaukee.

Supposedly there is a zoning law on the main drag that only permits independent businesses. My two favorite stores were Lillies Goods and their other store, Weeds, owned by the same people. If you are looking for a nice gift, I recommend either place. After walking around the Cedarburg winery & shops, we sampled a few wines (Cedarburg's wine is the "sister" to Wollersheim) and checked in at the Washington Inn.

Walking around the little shops, we were told that our Inn has a 5:00 wine and cheese hour (of course, we had read about it online), and we made sure to be there promptly for our free wine and "spread" hour. But first, we settled into a huge jetted tub that is inside the room and warmed up from a day of non-stop fluffy snow. It was so relaxing. After sweating and trying to cool off from this luxurious tub, we enjoyed the snacks in the dining room. We had unlimited wine and cheese spreads, crackers and grapes. The room was mainly full of other couples besides one older woman. There were just enough tables so that we didn't have to sit with strangers.

We then walked over to Anvil, a former blacksmith shop with neat concrete walls and a two story dining room. It felt cozy and special, though. Even though it is two stories, it had a warm feel to it. We saw about three other couples from our Inn and pretended like we didn't see them (just kidding). As we sat at the bar, waiting for a table, the couple next to us chatted us up and we ended up next to them when we were seated.

A friend, Taylor, recently got me hooked on Old Fashions, so I ordered one while we waited. Old Fashions are very popular in Wisconsin. And tasty.

Our food was pretty good. We had veggie burgers. I thought it was tasty. Nothing incredibly special. We then walked down towards the Inn and I stopped in a chocolate place where I had a delicious milk chocolate turtle that was pretty special.

We then sat in the whirlpool tub and I was asleep by 10 PM. The best part of the stay was when we got breakfast in bed in the morning. I think that is the first time I spent an hour in bed, drinking coffee, eating fruit, enjoying my book. (without a starving golden retriever begging for food by my side).

I was also able to finish my 562 page book this weekend. It was so relaxing. Cedarburg is a special place. We plan to go back.

Cheers.

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