I've been happy with Appleton's taxi services such as Fox Valley Cab and Appleton Yellow Taxi. Safe, reliable, and friendly drivers are what I've encountered the few times I've needed their help.

Here's a photo from the side of one of the taxi offices in town. Just thought it was interesting.

  

Appleton offers many interesting scenes for photography, including portraits. Here's one of a few spots that I think has possibilities for self-portraits - albeit the "self" part will be very small. It's a surveillance mirror on a telephone pole just south of College Avenue and a couple blocks west of Lawrence University.

Appleton homes are featured tonight at National Open House airs at 9:30 pm Central Time. If you're thinking about moving to Appleton, this show will help you know just how much of a mortgage you'll need.

FYI, real estate and property taxes in Appleton have declined slightly, but properties have just been reappraised, typically at slightly higher values than four years ago. So property taxes aren't going to ease off much, and home equity loans and other financial burdens need to be used with great caution giving the increasing expense of living in this nation. The cost of living in Appleton, though, is a healthy 12% below the national average. Makes up for some of those higher taxes.

Appleton's housing market is softening right now, especially in light of some corporate downsizing, so it's a buyer's market.

Anyway, enjoy the show tonight on HGTV and look at some of the real estate opportunities in this area. (It will also be broadcast again at 1:30 am for you night owls.)

Just got back from San Francisco last night. As beautiful as California is, it was great to see Appleton's sunset (photo above) as we drove away from the Outagamie County airport. Appleton's climate can be more challenging than California's, but it's a safer, cleaner, more wholesome environment with a cost of living far less than California. Housing prices here are about 1/4 or less the suburban housing prices in much of California.

Appleton's relatively new Latino restaurant, Casablanca, located right between Fusion and Senor Tequila's in the heart of Appleton, offers an exotic array of foods from Mexico and other nations to our south, as well as Spain. It's a classy, more expensive restaurant with a beautiful interior and excellent service. Interesting combinations and adventuresome presentations are offered, such as my Veracruz-style tilapia served on a large banana leaf with a couple of perfectly cooked habaneros on the side. Marvelous flavor - and intense heat. Whew!

My wife had a lamb roast encased in a pastry coating that was one of the best lamb dishes I've tasted.

Entrees are typically about $20 or more each and include a side dish. Fun place and great food.

Casablanca is at 531 W College Avenue. Phone (920) 954-1010.

HGTV's National Open House program will feature several homes from Appleton on a show to be broadcast July 24. According to email I received from Devora Rogers, an employee of Pie Town Television Productions that is producing the show for HGTV, the hour-long show featuring Appleton is slated for broadcast 10:30PM and
2:30AM (PST and EST). I assume it will be shown here at 9:30 PM CST, but check listings to be sure.

The National Open House segment on Appleton will feature several local homes and a local real estate agent, showing the world what you can buy in certain price ranges in Appleton. Should be a lot of fun!

Shortly, I'll be announcing my photogallery of Appleton homes. Stay tuned!

The embroidered cloth shown in this photo is an example of Hmong "paj ntaub" (pronounced "bahndao") or flowery cloth. The scenes depicted there tell the story of persecution in Laos, due to supporting the US side in secret operations against the Communists during the Vietnam war, followed by the dangerous trek to Thailand and then the US. It's a story I tell more fully on my page, Tragedy of the Hmong - Why the Hmong People Are in the United States.

The secret war in Laos during the Vietnam War will be the subject of a new memorial to be dedicated in Sheboygan, Wisconsin on July 15. It will pay honor to the Hmong, Laotian, and American veterans who fought in that tragic and misudnerstood secret war, where the Hmong people sacrificed much to help their American friends.

Here is an excerpt from a July 9 story by Eric Litke in The Green Bay Press-Gazette:

SHEBOYGAN — The city is a week away from the dedication of the Lao, Hmong and American Veterans Memorial, a tribute to the thousands of Special Guerrilla Unit soldiers who died alongside Americans in Vietnam.

"The relationship between the Americans and the Hmong that has been developed, this memorial will preserve that friendship, that loyalty to each other, the respect they have for each other," said ChaSong Yang, director of the Hmong Mutual Assistance Association of Sheboygan.

The $140,000 circular memorial in Deland Park is 44 feet in diameter and tells the story of the Hmong and Lao soldiers who died fighting the North Vietnamese army in the Vietnam War's Laotian front, known as the Secret War. The granite panels of the memorial will bear the names of hundreds who died there, names painstakingly researched because no official records exist.

"The spirit of the soldiers is going to be there," said committee member Vue Yang. "People can learn the story of the Hmong, the reason why they came here and the people that sacrificed themselves, gave their lives for freedom."

Organizers are expecting several thousand attendees at the dedication, which will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday and include a flyover, a parade and ethnic entertainment and food, Yang said. Gov. Jim Doyle and U.S. Reps. Mark Green and Tom Petri have promised to attend the event.

Solea Mexican Grill, at 709 N. Appleton Street in Menasha, used to be Los Compadres. Solea now has a new owner but still has a lot of the outstanding flavor of its predecessor, with some new twists. My family and some friends went there for lunch recently and we quite pleased with the great food. They still have the awesome bean dip that Los Compadres had (and still has in its new locations). The meals are not too expensive and full of rich flavor, including great guacamole. I also was pleased that they serve good horchata, my favorite rice drink.

This post was for the year 2006. For the 2010 fireworks, see my later post: 2010 Fireworks in Appleton and the Fox Valley of Wisconsin.

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Fireworks! Yes, the Appleton area is loaded with fireworks festivities and pyrotechnical delight during this time of year. Appleton has a fireworks show Monday, July 3, at Memorial Park (1819 Witzke Blvd.). A celebration sponsored by the Jaycees begins at 5 PM, with games, live music, and food. The bands playing are Auburn at 5:30 PM and the Yo=Yo'z at 7:30 PM. Fireworks erupt at 9:30 PM. For more info, see AppletonJaycees.org.

Kimberly has a good fireworks show on Wednesday, July 5, in beautiful Sunset Park (426 W. Kimberly Ave.). The fireworks begin at dusk, sometime after 9 PM. From 7 PM to 9 PM there will be a musical variety show at the Kimberly Amphitheater with Lee Alex and Lloyd Gosz.

Menasha has one of my favorite fireworks displays, right on the Fourth of July (Tuesday). The show is in Jefferson Park, right next to the water. If you go out on a dock at Jefferson Park, you can have an especially good view and fun photos of fireworks reflected in the water, though you'll get more ashes falling on you. Community activities begin there at 3 PM, including at Webfooters Water Ski Show (6:30 PM). Fireworks are at 9:30 PM.

Neenah's fireworks show is also Tuesday, just a couple miles down the lake from Menasha's show. The show is at Riverside Park (500 E. Wisconsin Avenue, Neenah), where events begin at 8 AM and the fireworks show is at 9:30, right after their famous Venetian Boat Parade at 8:45 PM with numerous boats lit up in beautiful lights moving past the park. Great event!

Green Bay has a fireworks show at Leicht Part on July 4 also. Oshkosh has fireworks on Monday, July 3, at Menominee Park (there may be admission). Winneconne has fireworks over the Wolf River on Tuesday at Waterfront Park ($5 admission if you come after 6 PM). And New London has a Tuesday show at Riverside Park at 9:30 PM.

If you're in Appleton, I suggest catching the Appleton show on Monday and then either the Menasha or Neenah show on Tuesday. Menasha offers better visibility (Neenah's park has a lot of trees that can be in the way for many people), but Neenah has the fun boat show, including boats with pyrotechnic displays.