Today Mark and I hit the road to see Richland Center in a closer light and to look for inexpensive housing in the area. Before we headed out, we picked up our copy of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince from our local Barnes and Nobles to read on our trip. By the end of the day, we made good progress in the book and were hooked to finish it.

The drive down to Richland Center is really very beautiful with rolling tree covered hills and valleys full of farmland. Mark liked the setting- being a fan of hills verses plains. We walked around the campus, it was all closed, but we could see into the windows and I showed Mark the classrooms I would be teaching in. The campus hosts 500 students- a nice small size that Mark and I both liked.

On the way back, Mark pulled off to the side of the road so I could get a shot of an amazing house- rather like a hobbit home, with the frount open to the world, imbedded into the side of a hill. I would love to talk with the owners- I bet the heating and cooling bills are really low year round.

Next we took a side trip to the Bruce Company to admire the plants and then visited to the Bavarian Family Restaurant for a bite to eat. Mark enjoyed a Gyro while I tackled a warm ham and cheese. Someday we are going to have to come just for desert!

We spent the rest of the day reading Harry Potter- we both think that it is her best book yet.