The Country's Largest Farmers Market

Donna and I have been struggling with a bit of a flu bug the last few days.  The other day at the Wisconsin State Capitol she was keeping a sharp eye out for "the facilities", and today it was my turn!  Our plan had been to go back into downtown Madison to visit the Olbricht Arboretum,  and the Farmers Market.  The plan was a bit complicated by the fact that an IronMan Competition was being held this weekend with the finish just off the Capitol grounds. A large number of competitors in the IronMan are staying here in the KOA Madison rv park, and we've had a chance to chat with several of them.  That IronMan thing is crazy! Swimming, Biking, and then a Marathon?  No way!

Sooooo, Mary and Donna decided to go to the Farmer's Market, at least, and then see what else happened. Capitol Square must be a 1/2 mile on a side, and vendors were set up on both sides of the walkway, so there was plenty to see!

She said that there were so many people that at times she and Mary were scrunched in a crowd, moving as one large organism!

As usual, there were vendors of everything from soup to nuts. Literally.  Donna bought some tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, squash,  Poblano and Jalepeno peppers and a jug of Wisconsin Maple Syrup.  Yum!  We tasted one of the Brandywine tomatoes this evening and it was great.

A great many of the fruits came to Madison from the area east of Green Bay known as Door County.  Donna found out that Apples, Cherries and Peaches are in season now over there, so we may have to stop by!

Evidently flowers, both fresh cut and in pots are a good seller around here.  We already knew that Mums were very popular this time of year, but didn't think of this area as being a "hot house" environment.

After a couple of hours of crowds and farmer stuff, Donna and Mary left the area and went into an area west of the University of Wisconsin to visit Penzeys Spices. Headquartered in Wauwatosa, WI, Penzey's has a large selection of unusual and organic spices and condiments. Donna scored some salt-free items for us and Mary got a restock of her daily spices.

On the way home, since they had decided against the Arboretum, Donna and Mary stopped for a bowl of soup before stopping at a small park named Marshall Park for a view of Lake Mendota. I've tried to upload some of the photos she took of the huge houses, docks and boats that ring the lake, but it hasn't worked out due to a poor connection.  Apologies.



Since we're starting to be able to navigate the area without the GPS, we've decided that we've been here too long!  It seems that the consensus is to move on tomorrow.

Stay tuned!