Steven’s Point, WI
Last night was cold, down to 42 degrees this morning. They issued a frost warning for counties north of here. Here, we had lots of dew and a need to keep socks on this morning. While my grandparent’s house is elegant, the floors are Tennessee stone. Fabulous in summer, but cold, cold, cold.
My Aunt Bernie & I went today to a sporting goods store called (strangely enough) Hostel Shoppe. I took my bike along; the gears were skipping badly when I rode the other day, and I wanted to get it looked at. While they checked out my bike, we went over to Emy J’s, a coffee shop, and I got all my internet needs met. We picked up my bike – bent derailleur hanger and $18– and went to the library. There I took off on my bike, and tooled around Steven’s Point. It’s a small town of about 24,000, according to the sign. I could swear it was 26,000 when my grandpa died in 1987, so the population hasn’t changed much. The town has and hasn’t. A lot of the buildings are still old and stately. The University of Wisconsin has a campus here, so Main Street now has stores like herbal tea and aromatherapy instead of Leo Gwidt’s pharmacy. It’d be great to live in a place where it would be so easy to bike, although of course here about 6 months out of the year that’s near impossible because it’s so cold. There’s not much of downtown that I remember. There’s a mall now, which apparently has a lot of empty storefronts and certainly underwhelms from the exterior. There’s a mural they’ve added that has my Grandpa in it and my Uncle John’s father, Norm Oertel, right next to him.
My grandpa is in the bottom row, just above the "W" in Wisconsin; Norm Oertel is the man to the left.
I visit St. Peter’s Cathedral, where my parents got married. While I’m not much for religion, I’ve always had a thing for churches, and this one is fairly traditional and impressive. I rode over to Bukolt park, which sits right on the river and has both an impressive collection of ducks (being happily fed by humans) and has a nice bike trail that apparently goes on for some miles. I just follow it as far as the bridge, then head west out of town. The shoulder are great along Hwy 10, very wide and easy to ride. Still, the traffic is going 60+, so I turn down Okray Dr. to get off Hwy 10 instead of passing the three bars & turning at the fourth. By now it’s a beautiful fall day.
One thing I love about hanging out with retired people is they love to nap. My aunt likes to read, watch Oprah, and doze. I come home and start in on a book we picked up at the library, then take a nap myself. It’s cold in the house by now, and it’s barely after four. I blame it on the stone: it’s not that cold outside yet. Cousin Sue comes to visit with us for dinner, and my uncle grills pork chops. Roasted potatoes & sautéed zucchini as well, and homemade angel food cake with strawberries for dessert. I am doing the happy food dance. Yummm….
The whole east side of the house has floor-to-ceiling windows that face the river, including the dining table. The river is completely still tonight, and it’s a treat just to watch the light change. I’m getting very spoiled.
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