Well, the snow has fallen and the temps are in the 20s. Disgusting winter. I cleaned my bearings and skated in the basement with Rhen for about a half hour. He uses his Razor. The space is tight but doable. I figure once I am desperate enough I will try out an indoor skate park and hang with the 13 year old kids. Fun times.

Yesterday I went to Lacrosse to find a Christmas present (YAH CHRISTMAS!) for Rhen. A Pillow Pet to be specific. We had spotted one at the Children Museum last week and Rhen really wanted one. We told him it would be put on his list. So, gotta make good on it.

I really love Lacrosse. It’s downtown is a mix of renovation and failed urban renewal. I like being able to see the buildings I remember as a kid. Unfortunately they put a big ugly jewelry shop where they had a funky split level McDonald’s (an open air sub street level dining area with a walkway above it, so cool). They filled in the dining area. Sigh. There was also a super cool toy store around the corner from it. We’d go there after McDonald’s. The only time we’d go to Lacrosse was for our dentist appointments. Long story, another time. So I have all of these great childhood memories of Lacrosse.

The Pillow Pets in the Children Museum turned out not to be real Pillow Pets but an expensive knock off. No good. I took some photos of downtown Lacrosse. After that I made my way over to the Pro Skate and Snowboard shop. Friendly staff (two dudes) and a nice selection of equipment but I was pretty sure I was only authorized to purchase a Pillow Pet. The Pro has an indoor skate park called “The Coalition” attached to it.

Skate parks weird me out. I spent some time at the Winona skate park earlier that morning. No one was there. I skated the half-pipe for about a half an hour. It’s cool. There’s a spine on it where you could transition over to the other side. No luck on that. Really, my balance is shit. Ramps freak me out a bit because you go from zero to really fast in like, one second. Also, there’s not a lot of time between walls so if you screw up your balance, you’re going to eat it, fast. I don’t have a helmet so that makes me nervous too.

4.8 Skatepark - Winona, MN

Over to the Valley View Mall, a stop at Zumiez (skateboarding stuff!) and The Coach House for one last look for the illusive Pillow Pet. No luck. Fail.

The car did this weird thing in the parking lot that will not be mentioned for fear of it happening again. Everything is A-OK. Right, car? A friendly Samaritan (aren’t all Samaritans friendly?) offered a “kick start” but I declined. I sat in my car for about 5 minutes pondering his usage of the term “kick start” for what I’d call a “jump start”  – perhaps a regional difference between Wisconsinites and Minnesotans? The car started up and I quickly made a “let’s get the Hell out of Dodge” exit of Onalaska. I said a much much stronger word aloud in the car but you know, this is  a family blog.

I’m getting a new skateboard deck in the mail this week. A Krooked Mark Gonzales deck (the sweatpants one). It’s going to be awesome. I hope it holds off on the snow so I can take it out on the street but no worries, I have this little area in the basement that I can practice tricks during the winter months.