Call me DORA!

Official first day of summer vacation. Summer school is over and now I have the freedom to do whatever I want. Thanks to my dog Blue, sleeping in has never really been an option so today I decided to meander around town in an overdue exploration tour of my favorite town, KENOSHA!

My walking tour was basically the southeast side of the K. My mission was really to hit up the three local bike shops (hoping to get a road bike) and just weave through neighborhoods as I go. I really love the area of 39th ave and 55th street. Super cute little gem of brick homes and well kept yards. I even saw a home for sale that charmed me enough to pull a flyer. Sad to say that I bought my house a few years too soon because the cute two story brick home was well worth the $114,000 asking price, dang it!

Walked past a ton of local business including Kenosha Steam Bath. I have noticed this place my entire adult life and have always wondered how it stays in business, today I walked in! Yup, I went right into the location and there was a vending machine (I mean who doesn't want a pepsi and snickers while steaming away?) the man at the counter explained the process of steam baths and then told me that the rumors I may have heard are not true.... Wonder what he was talking about?!?

The goal of my tour was to stop at all three bike shops: the Bike Shop, Total Cyclery, Ski and Sport Chalet. I was on a mission to price out starter style road bikes. The selection seemed to be similar in terms of price and features but the businesses had wildly different customer service approaches. Pretty sure I interrupted the afternoon nap when I walked into Bike Shop. The guy was annoyed by my presence alone so I kept the questions to a minimum. Total Cyclery got right down to business on price but didn't have any bikes for me to try. Seemed like it was more a repair shop than anything else. Finally (mom was right, good things are worth the wait) my last stop, Ski and Sport Chalet. The three employees worked together to explain the hybrid to road bike transition and also informed me that the sale price will be available to me now but not advertised till thursday. They offered to measure and test out a bike if I was ready and gave me information to take with me. Guess where I'll be buying my bike?!?

My walk and bike hunt seemed successful. Not only was I happy to get the bike information but I was also happy to see the new Book store going in downtown. I will be posting more as they progress but I think this is the exact addition needed to our fab downtown area!