2015 Day 1 - Walking the Streets of Hatchet Creek

This is the map of where I left off last year (in green and yellow), walking the streets of my hometown, having been inspired by Matt Green’s blog of walking all of the streets of New York City. My town is much, much smaller than NYC, and yet I didn’t get around to all of the streets last year. I am going to give it another go this year, getting a much earlier start.

My earliest recollection of this house on Tomahawk Avenue was that it was Nick and Sons Funeral Home. It has had a few owners over the years, most memorably a couple who called it Pride Manor (after a previous owner) and set up a graveyard in their front yard for Halloween. For a few years they offered tours of the yard, taking a free-will offering which I believe went towards a college scholarship fund.

The old Alamo Plaza restaurant was Loaders Bar for a while, but recently reopened as Ingman’s Parkway Pub. I’ve eaten there twice in the last week (and I never go out to eat), so you be the judge whether or not the food and atmosphere passes inspection.

Does anybody know what this is now? The sign says “Krabby Karen’s”. When I was a kid, it was a gas station. Remember when gas stations only had two pumps (four pumps at the most) and inside it always smelled funny, but you could pick from a selection of a dozen or so candy bars. And best of all, remember the bathrooms, always outside around back and you had to get the key from the clerk.

Redeemer Lutheran Church. They put on an addition quite a few years ago and added a day care center. Today when I walked past, when it was 29 degrees out, all the kids were outside playing, as kids should be no matter what the weather. Me? About the time I got here I was thinking it was too cold to be out walking today.

I found the Schwan’s truck on Hillcrest Drive. As I am writing this, the Schwan’s guy (whose name is Guy) was just at my house. Num, num.

The Tomahawk Armory. No words needed.

Ugly snow.

R&J Body Shop. When I had two teen-ager drivers in my household, I think we gave this business enough business that the “R” in R&J was able to take several vacations to all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean.

Next door to what was once Alamo Plaza Restaurant is what was once Alamo Plaza hotel. I don’t care what its name is now, that’s what its name will always be.

I didn't do a map of today's walk. I was still hoping to make some great technological wonder occur and be able to post a map straight from Google maps. Work is in progress. I did get Google maps to tell me that I walked about 1.86 miles. So I am getting it figured out.