Middleton and Madison With Lots of Mustard in Between

After a very satisfying Sunday breakfast buffet at the hotel, we stopped to fill the gas tank. The weather had changed dramatically from the day before. 50 degrees and sunshine--this really felt like the start of Spring. To capture the late morning freshness, I took a quick image of a coffeehouse in New Glarus.



A Start to a Day

Our first destination was Middleton, a suburb west of Madison, Wisconsin. According to the 2000 census, almost sixteen thousand people called Middleton home. Exiting the freeway at Parmenter, we arrived right in the heart of downtown Middleton. Lots of small shops and restaurants dot the area with plenty of parking. We found an available city lot on the block of our first stop.



Middleton's Hubbard Avenue

Both Sandra and I love mustard, so it seemed fitting to stop at the Mustard Museum. Formerly in the town of Mount Horeb, it is now situated in the middle of Middleton. The main floor is a gift and tasting shop, while the basement calls itself home to the museum.



Going to Court

The museum doesn't have a lot of information, but there were a few interesting stories like the above photo shows. Watching the video clips being shown was worthwhile. One showed mustard seed being harvested, while another told the tale of various condiments, including the tasty yellow and brown namesake. In addition, cases displayed several mustards jars, past and present, from around the world.



A Taste of France

A delightful collection of serving jars dotted the central part of the room. Here are a few images:



Fat Cat


Doggies

In the second image, check out the larger's tongue. It looks like it's also a serving spoon.

The main floor offers a wide selection from the United States, England, France, and even lesser known mustard hot spots like Poland. You can browse the aisles and pick out jars whose contents look tasty. You can go to the serving counter and actually get little tasting samples of each. Nine newly purchased mustards later, we left the museum to continue on our Sunday travels. If you want to find out more about the Mustard Museum, check out its web stie.

The next stop was Madison. We had stopped in the Wisconsin's capital back in August and I had written about the Saturday trip in a previous post. Though cooler on this visit, it was, once again, clear skies--simply perfect weather for March! Still when we stopped in James Madison Park on Lake Mendota, there were reminders of the previous season.



Ice on the Water

Like most American cities, Madison lost many of its architectural treasures in the period from World War 2 through the 1970s. However, a few remain. Some of them even were picked up and preserved at a new location, like the first Jewish synagogue in the city. During the 70s, it was moved. The synagogue now stands next to the James Madison Park and lets us connect to our past.



Gates of Heaven Synagogue

We ate lunch on the strip. For those who are not familar with Madison, the "strip" is State Street, a rather short road from the University of Wisconsin to the Capitol Building where car traffic is not allowed. State is home to an eclectic blend of shops, performance halls, and restaurants. On this particular Sunday, business appeared to boom as hundreds and hundreds of adults, children, and college students strolled the sidewalks.

After eating, we hit the road again, returning "home" for the night. Before leaving, here's one more image of Madison, which showcases the big Midwestern home, porch and all.



A Momentarily Quiet Madison Way