Verona, WI

May 23-26

Sure, it was a trip for work, but that didn’t stop me from exploring a little bit.

Epic headquarters are in a town called Verona, Wisconsin, just outside of Madison. I have three Epic accreditations due to all my training being done virtually, but was finally given the opportunity to go to the campus to 1) get a new certification, and 2) convert my existing accreditations to full certifications.

Departure

After a quick morning’s worth of work on Tuesday, I signed off early, finished doing some last minute packing and tidying up some last minute chores. Brandy and I headed out just before 11:00 to head to Pella to pick up the rental car I’d be taking.

We got to the Enterprise in Pella just before noon. I checked in and was given a Kia Sportage, a bit smaller than I cared to have, but it was fine.

I transferred the excessive amount of stuff I had with me into the cargo area of the rental, said my good byes to Brandy and headed out.

The drive from Pella to Verona was an uneventful four-hour drive. After a stop for road snacks, I made it to the Holiday Inn Express in Verona a few minutes after 4:00. Check-in was quick and easy, the front desk attendant was exceptionally helpful and I was given a treat bag that included two tiny bottles of water, a granola bar and one “fun size” Twix bar.

The hotel was remarkably clean for a hotel in the Holiday Inn Express range. Sure, there were some small things that could have been touched up, some small chips in the paint in the halls and rooms, but by and large, the hotel was in fantastic condition. It looked and felt clean.

I let myself into my second-floor room, dropped my stuff and Googled Mexican restaurants near me. I settled on La Penca Mexican Restaurant. It was close and had great reviews. I hopped back into the rental and made the quick couple minute drive up Verona Ave, and walked in to see I was the only patron in the place.

It was a small strip-mall Mexican restaurant. I knew exactly what to expect. Sure enough, the menu contained the expected fare- tacos, burritos, combo plates, enchiladas, and so on.

I was quickly brought chips and salsa. The chips were warm and the salsa was fine, typical for this type of place. I ordered a margarita on the rocks and the carnitas plate. It took my server as long as it took to get to the back to bring my food out.

I ordered the carnitas plate with corn tortillas. The tortillas were blisteringly hot. I opened the packet and had to let them cool for a few minutes before I was able to handle them. The food was delicious, the margarita was fine for a well drink and I left satisfied.

I stopped at a Walgreens on the way back to the hotel for some snacks and ibuprofen that I neglected to pack, and headed back to the hotel. I settled in and watched the Dodger game on TBS while ironing my shirts for the rest of the week before heading to bed just after 9:00.

Wednesday

I beat my alarm, waking up at around 4:30. I knew I had time to kill so I took my time getting ready. Dressed and ready to go by 6:30, I headed to the lobby of the hotel for breakfast. It was disappointing- sausage patties, McDonald’s-style hash brown patties and pre-fried eggs, alongside standard hotel breakfast fare, like cold cereals, fruit and juices.

I ate anyway, I was hungry, then waited for the next shuttle to the Epic campus.

I was on the bus just before 8:00, arriving at the Epic headquarters 12 minutes later.

The Voyager learning center is a huge, two-story crescent shaped building, the main doors at the apex.

Immediately inside the doors are electronic boards listing the classroom assignments for the attendees. I found my name, got my bearings and started heading up to my assigned room.

The building’s architecture is typical of tech companies, lots of glass, steel and concrete, the main walls made almost entirely of windows, affording expansive views of the surrounding rolling hills. The choice of décor, however, injects whimsey throughout.

The learning center itself is ENORMOUS. It’s divided into four quadrants named after colors (red, blue, green, purple.) Each wing is further divided into several themes (Shakespeare, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Star Trek, Roaring 20s, murder mystery, etc) then each theme is then further divided into two classrooms. I was in the green wing (fitting) in the Shakespeare themed section (called “Much Ado About Healthcare”), in the Romeo & Juliet room.

This is what was outside our classroom:

and this was the view out the wall of windows in our classroom:

I had two and a half days of training in that classroom. Our lunch breaks Wednesday and Thursday were 75 minutes giving me plenty of time to eat the gourmet lunch provided by Epic, then explore the campus a little but.

Tuesday I explored just the learning center, walking through all four wings to the furthest of my physical ability. I saw some funky theming and decor throughout the sprawling building.

We were dismissed from class just before 5:00. I had to wait a bit for the shuttle back to the hotel, where I walked in, had a quick conversation with Brandy then headed out to meet my first co-worker after working at UnityPoint for over a year. Jill and I met at Buffalo Wild Wings in nearby Fitchburg where we sat, chatted and ate. I walked back into the hotel room just before 8:00, talked with Brandy for a bit more then hit the sack.

Thursday

I beat my alarm once more Thursday morning, waking up at around 4:30. As I’d done the morning before, I took my time getting ready, but instead of having another disappointing breakfast at the hotel, I caught the early shuttle back to the Epic campus, arriving just as they were opening the lines for breakfast at 7:30.

I had a luscious egg bake, a couple of sausage links, some pan-fried breakfast potatoes, fruit, and yogurt. It was much more fulfilling than the Holiday Inn Express offerings.

I wandered around for a bit, finding some more cool stuff, then headed back up to the classroom. I’d read Wednesday night about an “elevator to Hell” so I asked my instructors about it. I was told it was in the nearby “Heaven” building, where there was also a large curved slide leading down into the level where I’d find the elevator (“You HAVE to take the slide!”)

Class started at 8:30. I was super excited about my upcoming lunch break when I could go to Heaven to go to Hell. Finally 12:00 rolled around. I headed down for another SUPER lunch of roasted turkey, a phenomenal sweet potato cup and a couple of veggie sides. I also visited the soup bar and got a small cup of chicken noodle soup. I ate, holding myself from wolfing it down so I could get to Heaven. When my plate was empty, I begged for the recipe for the sweet potato cup (the secret ingredient was cumin) then headed out to try to find the fabled elevator to Hell.

I wandered through the campus, lost, crossing Central Park, walking across a fantastic bridge over a pond in the middle of the park, then found the building.

I walked in, headed straight back and promptly happened upon the slide (I didn’t take the slide.) I found a gorgeous, sweeping spiral staircase down to the correct level instead, and after a few wrong turns, finally found myself at the elevator to Hell.

The buttons on the left were addressed with different names for the devil (Beelzebub, Mephistopheles, etc) and each activated different humorous pre-recorded lines. I made sure to play them all, then made my way back up to ground level. I found my way back to the learning center much more quickly than I did getting to Heaven, and still had a bit of time to kill so I did a tad more exploring, finding a full carousel and the Blues Brothers.

I made my way back to the classroom and finished out my learning for the day right around 4:30. We were released from class, I headed back to the shuttle stop where a bus was sitting there waiting. I boarded with a couple others from my class and we headed back to the hotel. I had some “networking” type conversation with the passengers on the bus, then disembarked when we arrived back at the hotel.

I headed to my room for a quick bio break then headed out to dinner. Someone in my class had mentioned that they had dined at Quivey’s Grove, specifically Stable Grill (they also have a high end steakhouse on the property called the Stone House but I opted for the more casual atmosphere of dining in a barn.)

I ordered a Spotted Cow beer and the Lodi Sausage Sampler for dinner:

Three select sausages grilled and served with our apple-cherry kraut and baby red potatoes smashed with butter, cream, garlic, and fresh herbs

Stable Grill Menu

The food arrived quickly and was accompanied by a hunk of a nice, hardy sourdough bread.

The food, overall, was very good. The portion was just enough to leave room for a small dessert of turtle pie, which was a chocolate mousse in a caramel-coated flaky crust. The caramel was so thick and cold, it was nearly impossible to cut through with the fork that was brought with the dessert. I was given a steak knife that I STILL struggled with, but finally got through enough to satisfy me. I wished I’d gotten the apple crisp instead. Ah, well, live and learn.

I paid the bill and headed back to the hotel, stopping for some Captain Morgan and Coke on the way. I spent the rest of the evening having a couple of drinks and watching TV before calling it a night and hitting the sack.

Friday, the Return Home

As soon as I got up Friday, I got ready and packed the car up in anticipation of my return to Iowa. I took the car to fill it with gas and took the car back to the hotel, parking it in the front this time. This would allow me to hop off the shuttle and be in the rental in no time.

I made it back to the Epic campus for breakfast that was pretty much the same as Thursday, swapping out some of the aromatics in the egg bake and serving bacon instead of sausage.

I ate then headed off to find a little girl that I was told about on Thursday.

There are a couple of these uncanny statues throughout the building. That little girl, the butler in front of the murder mystery rooms, and a bust of a ballet dancer seeming to come out of the wall of the hall leading to the restrooms. I didn’t get a picture of her though.

I got back to the classroom in time for the start of class. It was a short day Friday with class ending at noon. We were dismissed and I made my way downstairs for a quick lunch before calling for a shuttle to get me back to the hotel. I was back in the rental and on the road by 12:30.

Four and a half hours and a couple of pit stops later, I was back in Pella to return the rental. Brandy showed up right away, I transferred my stuff to our car and an hour later, we were back home.

Conclusion

While I didn’t get to do as much exploring as I’d wanted, I still saw plenty at the Epic campus. It reminded me a lot of House on the Rock and Tinkertown with lots of little bits of detail to catch your eye. I can imagine that each time I go back, I’ll find something new that I never noticed before.

I did once more take plenty of pictures, though, thankfully, not as many as I did at House on the Rock. Those, as usual, can be found on my Photo Diary page.

The day after I returned from Wisconsin, we turned around an headed out for a weeklong trip that saw me add three new states to my list of states visited, and two more added to my fucket list. Stay tuned for the report from that trip. I hope to have that up before heading to Colorado this weekend…

(yeah, that didn’t happen…)

As always, thanks for stopping by. I appreciate you.

-Phil