The suggestion by the previous post is a very good day trip. The Dubuque Arboretum is very nice. Also, Mineral Point on the way back from Dubuque to Madison is a nice small town with some older buildings converted to artsy type of shops. The southwest part of Wisconsin has alot of nice scenery. Also, if you are based in Madison and want to go to Wisconsin Dells - hwy 12 through Baraboo is a nice drive alternate rather than the interstate. Just a warning Wisconsin Dells is fun but its the typical commerical tourist place if that's what you are into. If you are based in Madison every Saturday morning there is a farmer's market on the Square which can be very entertaining. Also, on Wednesday, Aug 3 is the last concert on the Square in Madison which is a free concert at the Captial Square that starts at 7 -- but you should get there plenty early put out a blanket and relax with food and beverage. Have a great trip!! P.S. I think the Wisconsin Forum becomes dead in May because we can finally get outside after being cooped up for 6 six months! Here is a link that might be useful: Dubuque Arboretum

Just catching up with this. I didn't see the Trevi Fountain. It's under repair although I understand you can still walk past it on some sort of scaffolding. Coins prohibited during repairs! The Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel were mind blowing. Same for The Borghese Gallery. Bernini's sculpture of Apollo andDaphne was beautiful, along with many others. The Borghese Gardens reminded me of a mini Central Park. After 19 days, I was ready to come home although I miss being so busy and having so much company. I was lucky that the people on my tour were so nice (well, a couple pills). I've had major jet lag all week.I actually get to have the end of Daylight Saving twice -- once in Italy last week and then again at home tonight. My internal clock will never figure it all out, but I am always grateful for more sleep. The company is Overseas Adventure Travel. I can't say enough good things about them. I was originally attracted because they do not charge a single supplement, which is a huge plus for me. They limit the number of people on the tour to sixteen, max. I saw some of the larger tour groups walk by and I would have been miserable with them. Some looked as if there were as many as 60+ people, all following a leader who had to hold up a stick with a scarf or fuzzy duck to be seen by all. One group all wore lanyards with ID cards. Ugh. I understand it takes half an hour to get everyone on or off the bus. We had a small bus that seated maybe 20 people. Plenty of room for all and it was able to go places a big bus could not. Our drivers were friendly and funny. The hotels were all lovely and well located. They took us to great local restaurants for meals, which is possible with a small group. Our tour leader was fabulous. Now there is a job I would never want! We got to see and do many things because the company is well connected and because there weren't so many of us. I gasped when I saw The Pieta. So moving. Anyway, anyone postponing travel -- time to get out there and do it!

Aw, Les, I liked you so much until you outed yourself as a White Sox fan. Bebetokids, don't believe her: go to Wrigley! Ditto Second City. Not sure whether they still do this, but they used to have a very-late-night improv session. Reduced entrance fee, but mainly a much looser vibe than the regular shows, more audience participation... really great. Favorite jazz club: The Green Mill just off the Lawrence El station. Capone's former speakeasy -- there's a pic of him somewhere in the bar. See if you can find it. Also great: Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase, now in the Dearborn Station. if you like live theater, try to get into a show at Steppenwolf. The Art Institute is amazing and vast: don't try to see it all or your eyes will cross. Pick a single wing and wander. Their modern collection is astonishing. The North Side and Bucktown are great places to walk and wander. So is Evanston, if you want to get out of the city proper, but not too far away (still accessible by el). Whatever you do, try to drive as little as possible. Traffic is a nightmare, almost always. Try to plan your trip around the El and Metra (commuter train) lines. Enjoy! Sigh... I miss it.

I've lived next to a tournament bass fisherman. They live to get from fishing hole to fishing hole as fast as possible. They have competitions on their personal boats for getting oomph into the engines. The loud noise and smoke on Sundays while they tuned their engines is one reason why I used to live next to a tournament bass fisherman. Sorry, but those kind of serious fishermen would consider a nice quiet lake like that to be completely out of the question. That's a leisure lake, for the retired sit in the sun on the dock kinda fisherman. Market to them! But those kinda folks want easy access to emergency services, doctors, and hospital access. Chart those 15 minute routes and use that as a selling point. Make a list of local doctors and their specialties. And they want to go grocery shopping close, without having to worry about ending up some place "unsavory". That's where it's going to all fall apart for anyone out of the area considering the home. People use Google Maps second nature these days. They'll check out the whole location without ever leaving their armchairs. Are there any plans by the community to address this unsavory area? Downtown redevelopment? New industries coming to town? Who is taking on that challenge? Without some plan by the community to try to address the reputation of the town, out of towners only have that existing reputation to judge the place by. You're not going to be able to hide it, so find a way to address the problem head on.