On “Mornings With Dave & Natalie,” we asked for your help compiling a bucket list for my first summer in Madison – and boy, did you deliver! I plan to check off many of your suggestions throughout the summer – and beyond – and write about my experiences. You can also follow along on Life 102.5’s Facebook and Instagram pages, where I’ll be posting as I go. Thanks for helping to make my first Madison-area summer a memorable one!
I grew up on a peninsula in Virginia surrounded by water, so the abundance of lakes and beautiful water views in this area – even in landlocked Wisconsin – made me feel right at home when we moved here. So when many of you suggested I drive out to Lake Wisconsin and take the Merrimac Ferry across, I put it near the top of my summer bucket list. (You also said to get ice cream, so, of course, I was in!)
Cristina (from weekends) and I went out there on the last Thursday in May, and let me first say: What a pretty drive! I haven’t explored too much outside of Madison yet, so I was taking in the picturesque landscape and all the pretty lavender popping up this time of year as we drove.
Once we got to the ferry, it was easy peasy getting on, since there were only a few other cars needing to cross at that time of day. Cristina and I got out to stand on the side of the ferry as we crossed, and it was a short but cool ride across the lake – much more pleasant than other more touristy ferries I’ve been on that are packed with people and not as fun for those of us prone to sea sickness.
We got off on the other side and drove around the area a little bit before stopping at Memorial Park, where there were some picnic tables, a playground and a fishing pier. This place is surely packed on a Saturday, but it was just us and a fisherman that day. After we’d taken our pictures and had our moments of silence to appreciate the view, we got back in the van and took the ferry back across the lake.
Next up: Ice cream! We stopped at Merrimac Scoop to top off our trip.
I give this experience a 10/10 and will definitely be going back with the kids this summer!
In the meantime, where should I go next?