Home ... Again

Saturday morning dawned cloudy and with skies threatening to spit rain. But I ventured out to Waterfall Glen anyway, hoping to get in a 20-miler. Didn't happen. The cold wind and rain moved in and kept the mileage to 10 miles. With cold hands, the decision was to call it good enough and try again tomorrow.

After eating the last piece of Giordano's pizza (YUM!), it was off to Downers Grove to rekindle memories of my formative years. But first, a stop at the D.G. Trader Joe's was in order. There's always something I "need" at T.J.'s!

Next stop: my church and high school which are across the street from each other. From the front, church looks just the same as it did when I left for Minnesota in 1982.

But inside, the changes were many including a beautiful new narthex.

The sanctuary remained virtually the same with the exception of some additional lighting. The altar guild was preparing for a wedding and I chatted with one of the gals who had been a member back in the years when I was also a member there. We both remembered pastor Nelson.

There is a beautifully appointed kitchen which occupies the space that at one time was the youth room.

Across the street, my high school, Downers Grove North. The side facing east, Main Street, had an addition which was very nicely done.

The south face remained unchanged.

To the west of DGN lies my "junior high" as it was called in those days. These days it's usually called middle school. I attended Herrick Junior High for the 7th and 8th grades. It too had an addition on the west face.

Next stop, a few blocks to the west, Pierce Downer where I completed the 3rd through 6th grades.



Grace Hambel's classroom was on the far left

 Lastly, Longfellow where I attended Kindergarten through 2nd grades, only partially completing K-1 at this location. For remainder of those school years our family lived in Woodstock, NY.

Then it was off to Northcott to see the house in which I'd grown up. This is what it looked like in the 1960s.

This is the 2010 version.

Quite a bit different. These lots are, and were, very nice. Large, and with mature trees. Many of the houses have been torn down and replaced with all new structures, as is true of the homes on both sides of 4907 Northcott. But the first level of my childhood home remains, and it's been added onto both to the back and a new second story. I have to say that it looks very nice. I'd love to see the inside. I stopped up the street to see my childhood best friend's parents. It was so nice to visit with Ann's mom again after many years. She's still the same sweet person today that I remember growing up. In many ways, she was a surrogate mom to me after my mom died. So many memories in my memory bank ...

Then it was a quick walk down Main Street. "Downtowns" are a dying breed. Downtown DG is alive and well, I'm happy to say.

After doing a little shopping, but no buying, it was off to Gino's East in Naperville for another sampling of Chicago-style deep-dish pizza.

Our servery Joey

Me and my sister Alison

I started chatting with our server Joey, and it turns out she'd gone to music school in St. Paul and was now back in the Chicago 'burbs because of a family situation. Nice gal. I have to say that I didn't think that Gino's pizza held a candle to Giordano's. Giordano's made me swoon. :-) Also, the atmosphere at Gino's East in Naperville is nothing like that of the original downtown.

Then we walked the busy streets of Naperville for a little while, stopping in a few shops, but again, I didn't find anything begging to go home with me.

And besides, feeling fat these days, I wasn't in a big shopping mood. We drove by one more Trader Joe's on the way back to Alison's apartment.

Alison had purchased a delicious chocolate turtle tart as a birthday treat for me. It was silky smooth and divine.

Me and my camera ... silly!!

Saturday. A very good day. :-)

Good night.