First Impressions of Appleton

August 29, 2006

There it is: our house. It is a duplex, as the two doors in the front show. We are on the lower floor. The house is located on a corner and the garage faces the other street. There is no doubt that we will need another room as our family grows, but generally we will be happy with a smallish home.

This is the view down Winnebago Street. The homes remind me of the Queen Anne Hill neighborhood in Seattle—the wooden houses with high roofs. The main difference being the general flatness, as opposed to Seattle's hilly terrain. But aren't those cute houses? And it is a neighborhood filled with these old houses.

Many of the houses have yards filled with flowers and even garden vegetables. Emily wants to have this kind of yard.. that is, if I don't buy us a farm out in the country! I think you have to buy the house before you can uproot the yard and plant all kinds of things..

Did someone say buy? Yes, there are a number of houses available here. Although, this is an unusual case where there are two in a row displaying a for sale sign. Odds are that we will before long be taking a great interest in these signs, and what lies behind them.

Could this be our future house?? If I lived in that house, I would not be moving any time soon..

Walking around the neighborhood, one has no question about what country one is in.. It is patriotic, no doubt. Not the conservatism of the south.. but getting there. We will see what we can do to encourage the local blue.

No question either about the sports loyalties. All Packers. Someone around the corner has a "Packers Fan Only" sign on their parking space. On our way to Wisconsin we discovered an unsuspected confusion that can result from that Packer "G" on the helmet. Emily saw it on a billboard and exclaimed: "The Bulldogs are even up here!" But of course that was not the "G" of the Georgia Bulldogs.. but the Packer "G". Get it straight!!

A short walk (or pregnant run) away is Peabody Park.. which lies along the Fox River.. which empties into Green Bay. Plenty of park benches for a picnic.. plenty of paths for a jogger. It is a beautiful area, no complaints on that score.

The best thing about the area is the quietness I think it will offer to work/write and to concentrate on our little family. For a little while we will contemplate the world from the porch of Appleton, Wisconsin.

We will contemplate, but Quinn will be peeing on all the trees.