Ode To My Hood: Part 1

We have delayed house hunting until November for reasons that I must stay oh-so-mysterious about (for now).  And November is the earliest...our move might not happen until later in 2011.  I was pretty bummed when we made that decision, but I'm (mostly) OK with it now.  I will write more posts about house hunting and all that goes with it when we actually start looking, but for now the wind has flown out of my sails when it comes to writing about it. (Good gravy, it's like I can't help myself with the nautical references after becoming the MotherSHIP.)

So I won't write about our future home right now, but I can write more about our current home, or more specifically, our neighborhood.  When I wrote the two posts that gave you a tour of my place, it felt sort of lacking to me.  The reason for that is that the true gem about where we live is the location.  Our neighborhood is truly fantastic.   I'm going to do a short series of posts that take you to various places within walking distance of our neighborhood.  I've shown pictures of my regular 3.5 mile neighborhood walk before, but this will be more in depth. I'm also learning to use the manual settings on my camera so you get to see all manner of over-and-under-exposed pictures.  Lucky you!  But practice, practice, right?

The first neighborhood gem I want to take you to is Nicollet Island.

I adore Nicollet Island and I'm bummed I didn't take advantage of it's loveliness sooner.  I only really "discovered" it when I was in the super pregnant stage of having zero lung capacity and needed to shorten my walks dramatically.  Anyway, glad it's now one of my regular spots.  There is a more public part of Nicollet Island that you can access just off Main Street and that is where the Nicollet Island Inn and the Nicollet Island Pavillion are located.  I prefer the residential part of Nicollet Island that consists of a whopping 22 houses and a few multi-family residences.  That is what I'm going to show you today.

You can access the Island from a few places, but my favorite is through Boom Island Park.  You can pretend you aren't really in the city, but are actually taking a hike through the woods.

Once you cross the woodsy path, you get to the railroad tracks and the high school that is located on the island.  This picture lets you see the proximity to downtown.

The football stadium was built a couple years ago and caused all sorts of drama as the residents of the island were opposed to having it built.  I don't know, though, I kind of like it.  It's fun to walk by and see the high schoolers outside for gym class or see soccer or football games going on in the evenings.   We can even hear the cheering from our place if we leave our windows open in the fall and spring.  There just something so homey about that.

If you turn the other direction, away from the football field, you see this quiet little scene.  The left is a foot path and the street will take you to some of the houses.

Bella and I like the foot path.

This next one is a terrible photo, but her little face is so cute in it.  And, um, yes, she is indeed wearing a pajama shirt.  I thought it was cold out and the lack-of-changing-from-pjs would be hidden by a sweater.  And if this was smell-o-net you would be able to smell the tea tree oil she spilled on both of us.  Regular hippies smell like patchouli and yuppie hippies smell like tea tree oil. It's a working theory, anyway.

I really love the Victorian houses on the island.  I didn't want to freak anyone out by obviously taking pictures of their house, but this picture will give you an idea about how cute they are.

A lot of them are so intricate and detailed.

Pretty sure Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle lives here.

 

There are lots of white picket fences.

 

There's also an artsy feel to the island, like this funky piece of sidewalk in front of a house.  I think Bella could happily devote an hour to poking at all those treasures in the concrete. 

I think one of the reasons I'm so in love with Nicollet Island right now is because it gives me a place where I can feel comfortable letting Bella walk around on the sidewalk.  On the regular city streets we have to be ready to pick her up at any given second due to the traffic and bikers and motorcycles and trucks and all of that.  On the Island it's quiet and quaint and just feels so safe.

 

Anyone else out there love Nicollet Island, too?