August 29


We left Cedar Rapids and headed northeast to the town of Dubuque, Iowa which turns out to have a history of being a major boat building center until the early 70’s. We enjoyed the National River Museum and Aquarium. Located right on the banks of the Mississippi River, it focuses upon the importance of rivers throughout the country to enhance travel, commerce, and the nation’s economy.
Crossing the river, we entered the state of Wisconsin and drove on to Madison. We checked into the lovely Mansion Hill Inn, which dates back to 1857. After resting a while, we went out for a nice Italian dinner.


August 30


After a very pleasant breakfast, we headed off to the Frank Lloyd Wright home and School of Architecture, known as Taliesen (a Welch term meaning “shining brow upon the hill”) about 40 miles west of Madison. As most people know, he was an iconic figure who brought about major design innovations in many buildings across the country. We very much enjoyed a two hour tour which took us to the building which serves as the school as well as his extraordinary home, where he lived until his death in 1959. We learned that his personal life was as unusual as were his designs. One may learn the details by reading the book: “Loving Frank”.
Driving back toward Madison, we stopped for lunch in the suburb of Middleton, a place which houses the world’s only Mustard Museum.
The next stop was the campus of the University of Wisconsin where we visited its Student Union, directly on the shore of a lake.
We enjoyed a nice Japanese dinner after a pleasant day of tourism.