With the big game still a day away, I wanted to spend the Saturday getting to take in some of the main attractions of Green Bay, not having to do with football. I looked it up on the internet and one of the interesting features here appeared to be the locomotive trainsit museum. In order to get there I needed to either take a few buses or call a cab. Not feeling in the mood to pay cab fare, and wanting to get to know more about the area itself, I decided on taking the buses. I checked the local bus maps and I needed to walk a few blocks, take the number nine bus for a few stops, transfer to the number twelve bus, and then from there still needed to walk several blocks after getting off.
I returned to Perkins, the diner I had a great meal at the day before, to start out with a hearty breakfast. What I didn't notice the day before is that the back of the menu had a section for people aged fifty-five and over(I wonder if they check IDs). I selected a bacon and cheddar omelette wrapped in a potato pancake, with a side of home fries. Knowing I was going to be out in the cold for a while, I also had a hot chocolate to warm my body up. I found the number nine bus stop rather easily, but had to wait nearly forty minutes for the bus to finally show up. I had a sweater and jacket on, but didn't dress as warm as I should have as I wasn't expecting to be out in the cold for that long a period of time. The bus fare is normally $1.50, but, to my delight I found out it was a free ride as per the town's Green Saturday program. I'm guessing its a method to cut down on motorists producing gas fumes by encouraging people to take a bus for free to get where they need to go. I sat towards the back of the bus and was surprised to see a civil rights notice up top towards the usual advertisements. Perhaps some riders in the area still don't know segregation ended around fifty years ago.
The stop I was supposed to transfer to the number twelve bus was called Ashland, but I was riding for quite a while and there was no Ashland, the bus had an automatic voice system annoucing each stop. Eventually we did reach Ashland Avenue, in which I got off at, but it was basically a residential street, and furthermore, there was no other bus stops or transfer areas in sight. I looked around and saw a sign that said the neighborhood I was in was called 'Tank'. Not sure what do to, I saw an overpass down the road and figured if I crossed it, maybe they would be something there, but all that was there was another residential area, this time named 'Olde Norwood'. By this time my feet were beginning to get cold and I had given up on all hopes on getting to the museum, I just wanted to get back to my warm motel room. Across the street I did see a bus stop sign, but it wasn't for the twelve bus I was seeking, it was the eight. The good news though is that I saw the eight stops at the same area near my motel, so it was good for me to take. Luckily, the number eight came within minutes and I was on my way back from where I started out.
I felt disappointed I didn't get to see more of Green Bay, so I did the next best thing I could by looking at some of the local stores near the motel. I found it amusing that one of the stores had a sign telling patrons that they weren't allowed to enter carrying concealed weapons. It was a store that sold indoor pools, I'm not sure how, even with firearms, that could turn deadly. Then another thing stuck out in my mind. Almost every stripmall, shopping center, and block had an establishment offering loans. There were cash loans, car loans, loans for this, loans for that, and it made me think, aren't there banks for that? Looking around, there were no banks, nothing. Unlike New York where every block has a Citibank, HSBC, Bank of America, Chase, Capital One, or local bank, in Green Bay none of these places are present. There are a few big building that have US Bank and M&I Bank, which seem to cater more for businesses, but for the local person, it seems around here these loan stores are relied upon for cash advances.
Walking a little further I was distracted by the sounds of geese flying above me. When I looked up I saw them in formation, but not the usual V-shape I've always seen geese make, this time there was a straight line in front of the V-shape, making it look more like an arrow. I saw other packs of geese flying around in the afternoon with the same arrow look about them. Another interesting establishment I came upon was an apple store. I never been inside an apple store before, not dealing with macintosh, and since it was going out of business soon, I wanted to check it out. There wasn't much in there except bags of apples, canned goods, and apple cider. The cider was only $3.50 and I felt bad they were going out of business soon, so I bought one. The last store I visited was called Shopko, it was one of those stores that does everything, like a Walmart or Kmart. Checking out their DVD section I had my second delight surprise of the day by seeing a release of the latest and final edition of the Columbo series, a DVD I didn't even know existed. It was a no-brainer to buy that one as it gave me something to look forward to for the rest of the day.
At that point I was happy I couldn't find the number twelve bus...
I returned to Perkins, the diner I had a great meal at the day before, to start out with a hearty breakfast. What I didn't notice the day before is that the back of the menu had a section for people aged fifty-five and over(I wonder if they check IDs). I selected a bacon and cheddar omelette wrapped in a potato pancake, with a side of home fries. Knowing I was going to be out in the cold for a while, I also had a hot chocolate to warm my body up. I found the number nine bus stop rather easily, but had to wait nearly forty minutes for the bus to finally show up. I had a sweater and jacket on, but didn't dress as warm as I should have as I wasn't expecting to be out in the cold for that long a period of time. The bus fare is normally $1.50, but, to my delight I found out it was a free ride as per the town's Green Saturday program. I'm guessing its a method to cut down on motorists producing gas fumes by encouraging people to take a bus for free to get where they need to go. I sat towards the back of the bus and was surprised to see a civil rights notice up top towards the usual advertisements. Perhaps some riders in the area still don't know segregation ended around fifty years ago.
The stop I was supposed to transfer to the number twelve bus was called Ashland, but I was riding for quite a while and there was no Ashland, the bus had an automatic voice system annoucing each stop. Eventually we did reach Ashland Avenue, in which I got off at, but it was basically a residential street, and furthermore, there was no other bus stops or transfer areas in sight. I looked around and saw a sign that said the neighborhood I was in was called 'Tank'. Not sure what do to, I saw an overpass down the road and figured if I crossed it, maybe they would be something there, but all that was there was another residential area, this time named 'Olde Norwood'. By this time my feet were beginning to get cold and I had given up on all hopes on getting to the museum, I just wanted to get back to my warm motel room. Across the street I did see a bus stop sign, but it wasn't for the twelve bus I was seeking, it was the eight. The good news though is that I saw the eight stops at the same area near my motel, so it was good for me to take. Luckily, the number eight came within minutes and I was on my way back from where I started out.
I felt disappointed I didn't get to see more of Green Bay, so I did the next best thing I could by looking at some of the local stores near the motel. I found it amusing that one of the stores had a sign telling patrons that they weren't allowed to enter carrying concealed weapons. It was a store that sold indoor pools, I'm not sure how, even with firearms, that could turn deadly. Then another thing stuck out in my mind. Almost every stripmall, shopping center, and block had an establishment offering loans. There were cash loans, car loans, loans for this, loans for that, and it made me think, aren't there banks for that? Looking around, there were no banks, nothing. Unlike New York where every block has a Citibank, HSBC, Bank of America, Chase, Capital One, or local bank, in Green Bay none of these places are present. There are a few big building that have US Bank and M&I Bank, which seem to cater more for businesses, but for the local person, it seems around here these loan stores are relied upon for cash advances.
Walking a little further I was distracted by the sounds of geese flying above me. When I looked up I saw them in formation, but not the usual V-shape I've always seen geese make, this time there was a straight line in front of the V-shape, making it look more like an arrow. I saw other packs of geese flying around in the afternoon with the same arrow look about them. Another interesting establishment I came upon was an apple store. I never been inside an apple store before, not dealing with macintosh, and since it was going out of business soon, I wanted to check it out. There wasn't much in there except bags of apples, canned goods, and apple cider. The cider was only $3.50 and I felt bad they were going out of business soon, so I bought one. The last store I visited was called Shopko, it was one of those stores that does everything, like a Walmart or Kmart. Checking out their DVD section I had my second delight surprise of the day by seeing a release of the latest and final edition of the Columbo series, a DVD I didn't even know existed. It was a no-brainer to buy that one as it gave me something to look forward to for the rest of the day.
At that point I was happy I couldn't find the number twelve bus...
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