Overnight Getaway

I mentioned that I was taking Chris on a secret overnight trip a little over a week ago.  I had two objectives - to find a place with a Ruths Chris Steakhouse (Chris's favorite restaurant) and an Apple store (because we needed to take in the cracked iPad).  The winner...Madison, Wisconsin.  I got an excellent deal at a Sheraton through Hotwire.  With the help of my parents watching the kids at home, we were off...

Before we left

My mommy and daddy are so mean!

Part of our mission was to find out what it would cost to fix our cracked iPad which was being protected by packing tape. 

Wow - that was reall icky!

We made an appointment in advance at the Genius Bar at the Madison Apple store.  They offered us a swap program where we received a brand new iPad for $283 (with tax) and they took our old one (which was the 16MB $499 version).  The iPad is used almost exclusively by Deane so we wanted to come back with something in hand.  I should also mention that Kate is quite fond of the iPad and her 5th or 6th word was actually "iPad" - I guess this is a sign of the times!

After our Genius Bar appointment, we traveled to downtown Madison and had lunch at Cooper's Tavern.  The food was good, the service was great, and the beer was Ah-MAZ-ing.  It was nearly Chris's perfect lunch!  Those chalkboards behind Chris were filled with the names of their draught beers, many of which you don't commonly find in the region.

We spent the afternoon walking, shopping (Fromagination was a highlight for me), and taking a nap.  Then we enjoyed our dinner at Ruth's Chris in Middleton.  I had made an online reservation and mentioned we were celebrating Chris's birthday.  Although it's a chain restaurant, it felt very personalized and intimate since they greeted him with a "Happy Birthday"at the host's stand, birthday confetti on the table and a complimentary creme brulee.  It was a perfect dinner.

We checked out the Great Dane Pub & Brewery as well and came home early the next day to see the kiddos.  It was a great, short escape from the day to day. 

Happy Birthday to Chris!