Tuesday, March 22, 2005
What I Did with my First Weekend of Spring Break
This Spring Break, I'm sandwiching two days of work between two extended weekends.
This past weekend, Linea and I travelled to
Madison, Indiana to visit
Clifty Falls State Park. A classmate recommended it.
Alas, I forgot my camera, so you don't get to see us freezing our asses off. Surprise surprise--the meteorological prognostications were about 10 degrees off, and 10 degrees makes a big difference when you have a 40 degree sleeping bag and nighttime temp is 30 (it was probably much lower thatn that).
Friday night wasn't bad, and it felt good to cook over a fire, star gaze, pee by moonlight (the bathrooms are closed until April), and hit the sack early, exchanging stories in lieu of reading or watching T.V.
But the next day was rainy and the night cold, so after cooking over a campfire again, we hoteled it Saturday.
The good thing was, the rain motivated us to go into town, where we met friendly folks and enjoyed home-made ice cream and a blast back to the 1950s at Roger's Corner.
Madison was hailed by the Chicago Tribune as "the most beautiful small town in the Midwest," and I can see why. Nestled among hills and trees, the town has one main drag that appears to be doing well economically, and it's mainly comprised of locally-owned businesses.
And unlike many Illiois and Wisconsin "small towns" that are popular with suburban tourists, Madison is an inexpensive place. you can get a good lunch, root beer float and all, for under $5. I found handmade earrings for $2, very similar to ones I'd seen in Galena for $35.
Clifty Park is perfect for a day hike, since it has 4 impressive waterfalls that can all be seen within a half-day hike.
The camping at Clifty is not for the super outdoorsy, but rather for the car-camper. They have electrical hookups and full bathrooms with showers.
We cut our trip short due the the cold, so we completed our vacation with one afternoon and evening of a C-U vacation, visiting the local food co-op and Nitaya Thai restaurant for the first time. We tried to catch "
The Sea Inside" at the Art Theatre, but problems with the sound system sent us out with a raincheck, just as the plot was getting started. Oh well. Maybe we'll catch it tomorrow night.
Now I'm back to work for two days, running errands, spring cleaning, working and studying. Thursday starts my Chicago vactation with diggerblue.
