A Favorite Bookstore and a Night in Chicago
a quick road trip with cool kids
Well, here I sit in western Wisconsin: April 17th, snowed in (14” fell so far!), with no power, water or heat. But what better time to share with you my amazing weekend in Chicago!
My oldest and I, along with one of her friends, made the drive for a Daisy the Great concert we bought tickets for back in November, and we totally lucked out with the weather since it was 100% summer-like on Saturday. We left early enough so we could stop in Madison, WI on the way to go to our favorite bookstore and a cute cafe that’s right up the street. A Room of One’s Own is a trans and queer owned bookstore that is just phenomenal, and Daisy Cafe is yummy and right between the bookstore and Olbrich Botanical Gardens ~ we usually do all three of these things together when we’re in Madison since we can park and walk, but only had time for two this time.
Check out my haul! I always stock up when I’m at the shop because I want to support the business and also I always find things there I haven’t seen elsewhere. Like these Wonderstate Coffee blends made just for A Room of One’s Own! I buy Wonderstate at home all the time, but I adore these special bookstore blends.
After lunch, we hit the road again for Chicago and got there with an hour to spare before leaving to walk from the hotel to the venue. I am so happy with the hotel we stayed in! It’s less than a mile from the lake and a 1.4 mile walk to the concert venue.
This location was absolutely perfect since it was so gorgeous outside ~ I walked to the lake quick while the girls explored a record store and we all wish we would have had more time to explore the neighborhood. Next time we’ll stay for longer! I love being able to walk to and from shows rather than having to figure out transportation / parking along with everything else.
The concert was at Beat Kitchen, a tiny venue that was just perfect for this all-ages show. Daisy the Great is SO FUN to see live, and the crowd was all in. Panther Hollow and Olive Klug opened the night and they were amazing too. I told friends that it reminded me a lot of the utter joy of seeing Violent Femmes in concert back in 1998 ~ I sang along and jumped up and down with all the cool kids both then and now and it was so damn fun. I adore concerts with this kid of mine ~ she is an amazing adventure partner!
We were back at the hotel by midnight and on the road again by 8:00 on Sunday morning ~ arriving home just in time for the snow to start.
This was opening weekend of “Kate leaves the house” season (usually mid-April through mid-September) ~ stay tuned for more adventures in the coming months!
That’s all for this edition, my friends!
Thanks for reading,
Thanks for stopping by!
