Newfie on the Loose in Kenosha

My nephew Tom came and stayed with us in 1996 for 7 months when he was 18 years old.  He helped out with the kids, turned me on to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and even took one of our dogs home with him when he went back to Newfoundland.

He was skilled at avoiding the camera so this is the only photo I have of him from that time that shows his face.  We were at the kids' school Christmas program, if you couldn't figure that out by my groovy holiday sweater.  Funny that those are back in, but now they are worn "ironically".

Twenty years later Tom finally made it back for a visit again, and the past two weeks he's been hanging out with us just like the old days.  Not only part of the family routine, but he's even spending time watching the game in the neighbors garage and wooing the local ladies.  

Tom on the steps, Cory and his visiting friend behind him

I dragged him out to Kenosha which is where we were living when he stayed with us all those years ago, driving by the old house and exploring a few local spots nearby like the Dinosaur Museum.

The Dinosaur Discovery Museum isn't much, but it's a free museum with donations accepted which I was happy to do. The building was actually the old U.S. Post Office and was moved to the spot from a different location when the new one was built and the road widened.  Photos and a description of the move were just as interesting to me as the dinosaurs.

Where did the dinosaur fossils come from that were used to make the replicas?  Not Wisconsin, there have been no dinosaur discoveries here.  Wisconsin used to be mostly underwater, and erosion washed away most sediment that might have contained fossils.  By the time of the glaciers fossils reappear, including giant beavers, woolly mammoth, walruses, and whales! Unfortunately none of those were on display, perhaps I should make a request.

 The lower level houses the Carthage College Institute of Paleontology's research lab and information about their recent dig trips.  It also had a Pokemon Go charging station which was interesting to Cory and his friend.

After the museum we wandered around downtown by Lake Michigan, an area which is seeing new growth with the museums, restaurants and boutiques moving back in.  We had lunch at Mike's Chicken and Donuts and as we exited I spotted a mural I didn't know was there.

Mike Bjorn's Clothing features fine menswear from "mild to wild" but the best aspect of the store was the imaginative displays.

I don't know if they skeletons are on display all year or only added for the month of October, but they were spooktacular.

I don't know what was my favorite, the flying PeeWee Herman or the pimped out skeleton in the display window that got us in through the door in the first place.

We also dropped in to my cousin's new business venture just down the block called In the Garden of Eden, a tasteful lingerie shop that I hope does well for her.  Tomorrow Cory and I board a plane bound for Newfoundland with Tom to go to his sister's wedding this weekend. Hopefully I won't freeze to death when I try to go hiking!

Linking up to Monday Mural.