I (Jeff Lindsay) have been doing the Appleton Blog for about five years now, and have been doing web pages about the Appleton experience since 1994. After nearly 20 years of living in and loving the world's best small town, Appleton, a dramatic change has come into my life. Now I'm in the world best large town--in fact, the world's largest city proper (population of the official city limits excluding suburbs): Shanghai. My last day of work in the Fox Valley was Friday, June 10, and the next morning I was on a plane to Shanghai, where I began work on Monday, June 12. I've accepted a big opportunity to guide intellectual property at a large global company based in China but expanding toward the west, and will be in Shanghai for 1-2 years before returning to the US to help create some jobs in the States.

Walter Reade, a longtime Fox Valley enthusiast, will be taking over this blog, but adding a broader Fox Valley twist. He's a great friend and has sharp insights and lots of great tips, so I hope you'll be back.

Meanwhile, if you come to Shanghai, let me know. We'd love to meet some fellow Fox Valley fans.

My wife and I just moved into a great place with a stunning view. Such a beautiful skyline! Such an amazing place. It's a lot like Appleton, but with a little less snow, a few dozen million more people, and a somewhat different accent. Probably about the same number of Packers fans!

A big adjustment for a small town guy, but I love it. I love the chaos and bustle, the excitement and charm, the thousands of new faces each day and all the adventures on every street.

If you'd like a free car wash, stop by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building in Neenah (map and directions) Friday from 10am to 5:45pm.

115 W. Castle Oak Drive, Neenah. (Just south of Copps)

This free car wash is offered as a service to the community by youth ages 14-17 from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Absolutely no donations accepted.

June 18 is a big day: the summer opening of the famous Farmers Market in downtown Appleton. This will run each Saturday morning from June 18 to Oct. 29 , 8 am to 12:30 pm. This lively and entertaining market is one of the quintessential elements of the Appleton experience. Large, friendly, diverse, awesome food, good music, many interesting vendors with zillions of great products, and lots of fun. It's being expanded to cover an additional block of College Avenue, so now it's bigger and better than ever!