MORE THAN JUST CHEESE

Most of the drive from the Twin Cities to Tom's parent's house is in Wisconsin (all but about the first half-hour or so), so I really had some good time to think about Wisconsin while we were driving. First, let me give you some background on my understanding of this state. I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, where Wisconsin is viewed as this strange land just slightly north that was wonderful and beatiful for summer vacations and summer cabins on lakes. It was this place that everyone secretly loved but everyone always joked about and made fun of and stereotyped as just a land of cows and cheese-heads. The roads are confusing and "the whole place is set up like bingo with letters and numbers" (as one friend put it). So I think that I grew up with a skewed view of Wisconsin and it's residents (just as many in Wisconsin have a skewed view of Chicago and it's residents).

Then, after my junior year of college, I was dating this cute boy from Wisconsin and I got to spend lots of time there actually seeing what it was like to live there and I loved it. It was more peaceful and scenic and the air was fresher. I struggled with my views of Wisconsin, still finding it a bit weird to drive by large white signs that had large black letters saying "CHEESE" and "RESTAURANT," but I also loved the whole culture of it. (All the while, I still struggled with similar views of Minnesota, which I loved and thought was completely weird all at once).

But as we were driving through, I realized that Wisconsin is one of the best overall states in the country. It is beautiful and scenic throughout the majority of the state (though I have not seen it all). It offers a diversity in landscape and nature, yet is all beautiful and you don't dread driving through the entire long length of it like you do in Illinois, or the width of it like North Dakota, which is wierd. There isn't much for parts you just have to "get through" to get to the nice places; you can enjoy for many miles on most drives. It has a good variety of small towns, smaller cities, bigger cities and suburban areas, yet still maintains it's farm lands and hasn't been fully encompassed by suburban sprawl. Plus, it has the Wisconsin Dells, what more could you ask for?

I am not denying my Chicago-land roots, and I still love my home and I am not putting down Minnesota, which is my home in this season (and has been for some time). But I just wanted to publically raise up the state of Wisconsin in a blogging tribute.