Day 5, and we're back to trip themes! We noticed a lot of buildings that were falling apart. They all lean, and they all look sad. We don't really think there is any significance here. Anyways, we started this day of great driving in Algonquin, IL.
Our lunchtime stop: Madison, WI. You probably are not aware that Madison itself is an isthmus - meaning a small strip of land between two bodies of water. In Madison's case, two lakes. It is a gorgeous little state capitol, and we had lunch in these trees just in front of the state capitol building.
Fromagination - what a great play on words. And even better than its name were its cheeses. Wow. We happened upon this store amidst parking spot woes.
The actual capitol building, and me taking a picture of it.
The picture that was being taken at that exact moment.
We noticed that these rocks were a subtle introduction to our future national park experiences. We also were making fun of the Wisconsin Dells for a few brief moments until we passed all of the cool water parks and other attractions that are located there.
Immediately after the Wisconsin Dells, we stopped at a rest stop that had a "scenic overlook." We were wondering what there was to see besides lots of trees.
There were just lots of trees.
While Minneapolis/St. Paul may not be in your top 10 cities to do business...is has served well as the primary location for a very important, innovative American corporation - 3M.
Remember that bridge in Minneapolis that collapsed? This is the reconstruction effort, with the skyline in the background.
I am blown away by the progress they are making.
We thought that seeing the reconstruction would be interesting, and we were right. We walked along a bridge adjacent to the construction site to get some of these pics.
Home of the old bridge, and future I-35W left lane eastbound direction.
Another theme - Jeff climbing things.
End result of Jeff's climb.
Seeing this site made me proud of this country. There were hundreds of workers whose single aim was to reconstruct a new bridge in place of the fallen one. It didn't feel like the maintenance type of construction we see on the east. This was hefty building - the creation of a new, massive structure.
We ended the day at the Mall of America, where we ate dinner at...yup, you guess it: Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. I took a few moments to chat with my fiance after the meal, at which point Jeff snapped this wonderful image.
