Rollerbag Goddess Global Communications

La Crosse, Wisconsin is a unique and beautiful place. You might be from La Crosse if…

1. You’ve ever worn lederhosen non-ironically.
2. Sixty degrees in September requires a sweater. Sixty degrees in March requires flip flops and a tee.
3. You’re still mourning the widening of West Avenue, due to the loss of Mr. D’s. (Oh, what we wouldn’t give for a bite of that “Presidential” apple fritter big as your head!)
4. You know which President tried the apple fritter.
5. You’ve cursed at someone for driving straight through an intersection from the left lane.
6. You were sad when VH1 cancelled “Off Pitch.”
7. You’ve wondered how much water is wasted because of those historic, constantly-running fountains, but you wouldn’t want to lose them.
8. Grandad is more than a relative to you.

   

9. You’ve placed a blanket on the grass along the Mississippi in Riverside Park on the Fourth of July.
10. You’ve moved a couch or other furniture to Copeland Avenue the last Saturday of September. For a four-hour parade and its aftermath:

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11. You know the steamboat era is still alive and well.
12. You miss the mayor with the top hat who used to ride around town on his scooter.
13. Your six pack is bigger than their six pack.

    

14. You believe having to walk more than two blocks represents a “parking problem.”
15. You’ve shoveled the snow in front of a neighbor’s house, just because it’s the right thing to do.
16. Eating deep-fried oreos in a beer tent in October is swoon-worthy to you. Even better if you’re wearing one glove.
17. You’ve posted a snarky comment incognito on the La Crosse Tribune web site. Or read them and wondered what those people do for work.
18. You believe The Pearl is the best historic ice cream/candy shop in the world, and you miss seeing Oscar Peterslie working the fountain.
19. You’ve eaten a Logger Dog or had your photo taken with Louie.
20. You’ve marveled at the beauty of Mary of the Angels Chapel, and you know what the Franciscan Sisters have been doing round the clock for well over 100 years.
21. You’ve hiked Hixon. Upper and lower.

    

     

22. You’ve run out to move your car at midnight so you don’t get a ticket.
23. You know that two hours is not enough time to shop, eat and enjoy downtown La Crosse, so you move your car for that as well.
24. You know to avoid Taco Bell, the Cass Street Bridge, and the river during and immediately after the May Fly hatch.

    

25. You’ve ordered pizza and beer to your table while watching a second-run movie at the Rivoli.
26. You know winter is over when Rudy’s opens.
27. You’ve passed through airport security in less than five minutes.
28. You know the best hashed browns in town are at Fayze’s.
29. You argue about who has the best cheese curds in town. And you have tried all of them.
30. You know which news anchor went viral.
31. You know the best bar in the world is Bodega because they have more than 400 types of beer.
32. You know tavern culture = a real thing, and you’ve taken out-of-town visitors to experience it.

    

33. You drive I-90 sometimes just to see the icicles on the bluffs, the colors in fall or the view of the Mississippi River.
34. Some of your friendships exist only because they have a boat.
35. You know any event will be successful if Pat Stephens is involved.
36. You know “the castle on Cass” is for sale, and you’ve schemed up ways to afford it.
37. You don’t wonder why there is a fence around the 10 Commandments.
38. You remember that the statue “Le Pinau” caused a ruckus, and you’ve taken a peek at why.

What would you add to the list? 

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Charish Badzinski is an explorer, food-lover and award-winning travel and food writer. When she isn’t working to build her blog: Rollerbag Goddess Rolls the World, she applies her worldview to her small business, providing strategic communications, media relations and writing support to individuals and organizations.

Find Charish on Twitter: @charishb.

Rollerbag Goddess Rolls the World by Charish Badzinski is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Based on a work at rollerbaggoddess.wordpress.com.