Nashville

 I'm now in Nashville! Everyone told me prior to my arrival that Nashville would be cool, so how could I find it otherwise? I'm easily suggestible.

Nashville feels homey to me, actually. It's especially comfortable to stay in a beautiful, spacious townhome and look after this charmer.

Another great joy is that my friend Vanessa is staying with me, and we're able to have adventures together! Last night she took me on a drive around Nashville, so I could experience and admire the expected coolness of the town (very similar to Austin at a glance). As we were driving into downtown, she mentioned there was an award-winning Indian restaurant run by a famous Indian chef across the way. I instantly requested to go there, called to get a reservation, and all of a sudden we were eating papadi nachos and curry!

Yum!

Teutopolis, IL

 

Teutopolis is a place I enjoyed.

I stayed in an old wooden shoe factory,

which had a spiral staircase and winch, but also a fancy showerhead and huge TV.

I ate lunch at BrickBat Alley.

I saw plenty of bricks but fortunately no bats.

I would recommend Teutopolis to anyone.

I stayed there less than 24 hours. I would have stayed longer,

but I couldn't.

Judge Your Neighbor As Yourself

 I've been pondering the commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself." It seems like it's one thing not to treat people as well as you'd treat yourself, so that's one piece of it: if you're fairly good to yourself but approach other people with an attitude of indifference that you never have toward your own goings on, that's a problem.

On the other hand, to treat other people kindly, you first have to treat yourself kindly. After all, your behavior towards yourself is the only pattern you have by which to love someone else. You are your own practice ground when it comes to human kindness. Never has this been more true for me than now, when I'm mostly by myself a lot of the time or with helpless, innocent doggies. How do I treat myself? Am I internally harsh and impatient? Do I cut myself some slack when I make mistakes or don't meet a certain standard?

There's a fallacy I've fallen prey to that you can still love other people well even if you're not actually that loving toward yourself. It's not entirely false, which is what makes it appealing. You can love other people. But only to a point, and that point is an intangible, a secret something that stalls relationships and intimacy. 

So I'm beginning to see why all the common advice is "work on yourself"--it might be better phrased as, "work on loving yourself," because all these habits of generosity, gentleness, humor, putting things in perspective, and a light touch apply first to oneself. Then you can love your neighbor just the same.

Coastal Breezes

 

There's a particular smell of the breezes that waft from the Texas gulf coast, a mix of seaweed and fish and salt. I detect a similar, though not identical, aroma emanating from the mouths of the collies when I let them come close enough to me to breathe in my face.

Grocery Zero

 Something I am finding a challenge in this nomadic way of being is getting to grocery zero. Grocery zero is like inbox zero, except it has to do with groceries and trying to eat all of them before I move from place to place. With only 3 days left in Wisconsin, this is what's on my mind right now: how do I finish all my cheese curds?

I purchased two bags of cheese curds at the aforementioned farmers' market, and I now see that was a mistake. Not that I don't like cheese curds--they are essentially like mozzarella cheese, and I'm a person who appreciates cheese in all its forms--but each bag contains a lot of cheese curds. Now as you can see, each of the bags is about half full, which means that had I bought only one bag I would not be in constant cheese-eating mode.

It's not just the cheese. It's advantageous to eat all of the refrigerated groceries and as many of the non-refrigerated groceries as possible before leaving a place, in order to avoid lugging extra stuff unnecessarily. I have a lot of extra stuff in addition to things I can eat, so if I can eat the edible stuff rather than carry it around, it satisfies my faint sense of minimalism (I also use this same mentality on long hikes--eat the snacks first! reduce the weight in your backpack).

So I find myself getting creative. Last night, I heated half a jar of masala sauce and air-fried some fresh organic kale to make this cheese curd centered creation:

I think some cheese curd sandwiches are in my future. Cheese curds for breakfast. Cheese curds for snack. And the bummer part of it all is, the more food I eat at home, the less I can eat out and try the many, many restaurants on my list!

Ultimately, I need to find a way to buy less, even less than I think I need or want. Maybe divide the quantity in half in general? I didn't intend to buy a lot of groceries for Madison, but here we are. I'm only one person. A person who likes to eat ice cream.

Travel Guide to Madison, WI

 Many travel guides, including the Midwest Travel Guide I picked up, are filled with lists of things you need to do in the place, either eat or check out or even stay. What they don't tell you are the things you may want to know about a city, the things you pick up only from being there for a while. With all the experience of one week, I can now bring you a travel guide to Madison with the following helpful information:

1. The entire town is a speed trap.
2. You can get a free cup of chai at Little Tibet on Johnson St. (I do plan to order actual food from them at some point, but I happened to go in and it was takeout only but they had a chai stand!)
3. A nice morning walk is to grab a latte at Cargo Coffee and then go down to the lakefront path at James Madison Park.
4. Kwik Trip is a way to get gas, and also a way of life.
5. Madison is not large; don't expect too much.
6. The trails in this city are fantastic and not just for bicycling: they make for a highly pleasant walk in summer, with wildflowers (and domestic flowers in people's yards) everywhere!
7. Go downtown on a Sunday afternoon in the summer when it's nice and quiet. You can go to Monona Terrace and chillax.
   

Commonality

Things Gus and I have in common:

• Need lots of attention
• Irregular eating habits
• Quickly lose interest in one activity and move on to the next
• Ultimately quite lazy
• Able to go up a set of stairs
• Inconsistent personal grooming
• All about a comfortable bed or place to sit
• Cute exterior hiding needy, dependent interior
• Prefer eating with others to eating alone
• Keep scratching at doors in hopes they will open

Deception

 I've tried to be an honest person in life and generally don't aim to deceive anyone, but that has all changed because of these collies.

They are too smart for me and always know when I'm about to go anywhere, based on my sunglasses and footwear, and they are all about being included. Winston, the one on the left, will go right to the door and stand in front of it so that if I were to try to open it he would go out too. Mia follows in his wake.

So I've taken to going downstairs, which is a direct ruse, because downstairs is where their food is and the only thing they love more than walks is food. I'll go down the stairs next to the back door, then they'll follow me, and then I'll quickly go up the stairs, out the door, and leave. It's a low trick but it's the only way.

Then there's Gus. Gus is a miniature poodle, and, not to put too fine a point on it, stinky. Of course the collies have a definite dog smell--how could they not, they are very large dogs--but with poodles it's different. None of this is Gus's fault; it wasn't his choice to be a poodle and be bred to be a lap dog, but that is what he is. All he wants to do is sit on my lap, and all I want is for him to not do that. He is cute, though. Sometimes he will just capsize on the floor and wait for me to rub his tummy.

So those are the pups here in Madison. Honorable mention goes to the Roomba who also lives here and who does his best gathering up all the dog hair on a daily basis. He gets stuck in weird spots, he sometimes can't find his way home before running out of battery (as is the way of Roombas), but all in all he's a good little robot vacuum and I appreciate him.

New State: Minnesota

 I'll be honest, though I visited the state of Minnesota on July 1, I sort of forgot about posting about it till now. Not to say that Minnesota is forgettable. I kept forgetting to list it on the list of states I hadn't been to, though. Perhaps there are just too many states that start with the letter M.

Anyway, Minnesota! Here are some takeaways:

1. Trying to find a decent latte in rural Minnesota is an exercise in futility. The baristas will be very nice--but the finished product is not good. I tried two small towns. Probably Minneapolis has good coffee.
   
   
   
2. Upon the advice of a friend, I also looked for a Busch Latte to have instead, but they don't make those anymore. Cool liquor store, though. 
   
3. The coffee shops I went to had clean bathrooms. One of them also had a word search.  

   

   
   
4. I had this idea that I would try out local grocery stores everywhere I went and take photos and provide detailed reports. I don't know if I really care about doing that anymore, but I did go into a grocery store called Fareway and found some cheddar popcorn and a Midwest travel guide, so it wasn't a total loss. You could definitely say I supported commerce in the state of Minnesota. 

   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   
5. The town of Owatonna, my longest stop, was comfortable and nice. I'd go there again. The town square had this nice park in the center, aptly named Central Park. I chose Owatonna because Meredith was born there and it wasn't too far out of my way. There are several grocery stores to choose from, as well.

   

   
   

Growing Pains

 Everyone has a slant and this author, who grew up in the gorgeous and weird capital city of Austin, is no exception. The more time I spend in Madison, the more nostalgia I feel for Austin, not Austin as it is right now but as it used to be when I was growing up in the 90s and even before I was born. Austin was a small, compact city, eclectic and progressive with the University of Texas interwoven into the city center as it is to this day.

I can't help but see Madison in this lens: a small delightful city that will soon grow in population to outstrip its natural size. It already has glimmers of crowdedness and traffic as on the weekend everyone flocks to the cool spots right by the Capitol, such as the famous Saturday on the Square Farmers' Market.

Unlike Milwaukee, a city which many look down on as Chicago's poorer and dumpier little cousin, Madison has a great reputation. Locals are friendly and helpful. The city itself is beautifully situated with four sizeable lakes, and there are plenty of peaceful and open refuges, like the Olbrich Botanic Gardens.

Right now, to call Madison crowded at all would be a gross exaggeration: like the rest of Wisconsin that I've experienced, its density pales in comparison to that of Denver, for example. But it's coming. I predict the heyday of Madison to be 5 years ago up to 5 years from now, after which the city will grow past its infrastructure in the way Austin did and be unpleasantly busy. 

I don't plan to be here when that happens, but for right now I'm content to enjoy the kombucha and cheese curds.

In Madison

 When I arrived yesterday, I checked the menus of the restaurants nearby and thought to myself, "I could eat a lot in this town." So I got started with some mac and cheese, fried pickles, and a salad.

In fact, I couldn't go out for dinner as I had intended, because it was a stormy night and I had to console the fluffy creatures in my charge who do not enjoy thunderstorms. 

One successful Bucks game and a short but deep night's sleep later, I woke up to more fluff, the prospect of better weather, and a new thought. My second thought about Madison was that I could become very fit in this town. This is pure intuition on my part, and only time will tell if the second thought proves as grounded in reality as the first.

A third thing is that I simply must get cheese curds. One of my coworkers, a Wisconsin native, expressed direct disappointment that I hadn't gotten fresh, squeaky cheese curds and I had nothing to say to defend myself; it's an indefensible position. I do have high hopes about the famous Saturday on the Square farmers' market that Madison boasts--maybe I can find some cheese curds there!

Rats

 

If you are looking to get pet rats

I wouldn't.

On Watching Sports

 One of my coworkers is English and refers to sports as "sport" but never could that singular be more inappropriate than now! There have been plenty of sports to watch in the past couple weeks: soccer, basketball, tennis, even hockey, cycling and baseball (which I haven't tuned into personally). 

I've been following the EuroCup, NBA playoffs, and Wimbledon--all very different sports. Soccer is a long, drawn-out battle where a team's positioning on the field and strategy combine with conditioning and skill to result in only a handful of actual (but very exciting) goal-scoring moments per match. Basketball, on the other hand, is a short court and short format with lots of breaks, but also lots of plays and playmakers; quickly swinging momentum and the opportunity for streaks abound in a basketball game. Finally, singles tennis is one-on-one combat, physical and mental; doubles is also great to watch, with a different dynamic from the singles matches.

Amidst a season of change in my life, I find watching sports strangely comforting. Besides the fact that I grew up with sports on TV, I find it fun to get caught up in the stories of athletes who, both individually and as teams, vie for success. Sports is the original reality TV! I don't know the stars personally but I can quickly find allegiance for the most arbitrary of reasons: Italy because the pope probably cheers for them and because they seem joyous on the field; Milwaukee because I'm staying here and I think "Fear the Deer" is a hilarious slogan; Djokovic because he's mental.

I haven't just firmly planted my rear on the couch, either. Last week, I went to a couple local pubs to watch EuroCup matches, which I plan to do again tomorrow for the final. In the safety of a group, I even ventured to the Deer District (outside the Fiserv Forum, very accessible in MKE) to watch Game 2 of the NBA finals, sadly another loss for the Bucks. I enjoy the energy of fans cheering together, even though we're all actually just watching TV as a big group!

Don't Tell Anyone about Milwaukee

I kind of love Milwaukee. I love walking around the city and by the lake. I love the number of very good coffee shops it has, out of proportion with a city this size. I love the sun and the sky and the minimal traffic. I love staying in the city and being a part of a neighborhood with a vibrant feel. Did I mention I love the lake?

Last night, for the first time, I took a boat cruise that went out onto Lake Michigan and--predictably--I loved it.

There's just something about this city that I find very appealing, and I refuse to apologize for it. But also: let's keep it to ourselves, can we?

New State: South Dakota

What to say about South Dakota? South Dakota is a state that our founding father George Washington smiles down upon.

It is a state where many, many highway signs direct you to Wall Drug, and once you arrive (and take a restorative nap in your car), even more signs direct you through what is not so much a drug store as a tourism complex. If you can find the soda fountain area, it is appropriate to purchase a mocha shake.

South Dakota is a state where you can do a lot of driving, and I guess the government knows it because the state just got an $85.9 million grant to improve the interstate highways. Nothing can be done to impact the number of insects that die every year on the state's roadways.

Ultimately, South Dakota is a state you wish you could spend more time in. Hidden gems like the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Sioux Falls

make it clear that this state is much more than a drive-through. 

Nomad!!

 I’m a nomad now! It began early Wednesday morning, when after a long night of much packing and little sleep, I loaded my car so that it looked like this:

Then I hit the road, and I hit it hard. My first stop was Carhenge. My friend Karen had told me about Carhenge, and she pretty much had me at the name, which implies exactly what you think:

My next, and most substantial stop, was the state of South Dakota. Specifically, I went out of my way to visit western South Dakota, where I quickly and cheaply viewed Mount Rushmore from the side of the road:

I'm proud to live in a country where we carve some presidents into some big rocks. I'd definitely go back to the area to do some hiking or climbing in the future. Also, I had some good Cajun food in Rapid City. And a trip through South Dakota wouldn't be complete without a stop at the famous Wall Drug:

Fast-forward through an overnight stay in Sioux Falls, a placid drive through rural Minnesota, a lovely yet trafficky entrance to Wisconsin, and I reached my destination: Milwaukee!

There's a great opportunity in a travel blog to revise history, but to be truthful I must report that having started the journey in a state of exhaustion, I didn't find driving hundreds of miles particularly rejuvenating. After two days and four states, my states of mind were more varied even than that. Upon reaching my destination and unloading my many, many bags, I found myself with a Boston terrier and four rats to look after.

Then I danced around the house, Mary Poppins-style, pulling items out of my carpet bag as I enjoined on my charges the importance of order and obedience. Or I morosely lay on the couch, unable even to concentrate on watching tv, until merciful sleep overtook me. One of the two.