My college town is divided into several neighborhoods but the streets closest to the university are very wide and lined with old trees that give a feel of small town America from another era. Also, the homes tend to be quite unique with no two being alike. On summer mornings my wife and I like to ride our scooters up and down these streets which are lazy and slow. Here are a few homes in this area of town.
These homes are well kept and lovely….
Many of them have a 1940′s Hollywood feel to them….
Note the wide tree lined street where these homes have room to breathe….
It never really gets old cruising slowly while saying good morning to those we might see…
Have you noticed how each home looks nothing like the last. No tract housing here…
No dogs chasing us, and very few people outside this early. Our scooters are very quiet…
We usually go for a fresh apple fritter and a hot cup of coffee before heading home. Life is good, and enjoyed all the more when we go slow and see the things around us.
All images and text © 2012 Michael Fiveson
This is wonderful Mike! I can certainly see kids in leather jackets sauntering down the streets with slicked back hair. Not to mention the girls in poodle skirts, bobby socks and saddle shoes giggling in groups behind them with their ponytails bouncing as they skip along. Dads with pipes and the newspaper being brought their after dinner scotch by wives as perfectly made up as June Cleaver.
Or maybe I just watched too much Leave it to Beaver as a kid…
The Beaver and I are the same age. I remember all those girls in bobby socks. Wish I had one more opportunity to woo them.
You have such a great mind Cat. Share a milk shake with me?
Strawberry with real ice cream and two straws? You betcha. *blows a kiss*
I love these old frame homes. They are more practical than a lot of modern layouts, too – which are designed to show well, not necessarily to be efficient to live in. Imagine the stories these places could tell.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the rich comment Bill.
Beautiful photographs, Mike…I can imagine rolling through the neighborhood with you…what a peaceful morning…and there are truly few things as wonderful as an apple fritter and a cup of coffee on a sweet Saturday morning….
It generally is a Saturday morning Scott. Thanks for the comment my friend.
Always a pleasure, Mike.
Lovely houses. I like the third one particularly. Thanks for sharing these!
I will let you know if it comes on the market. Perhaps it could be your vacation bungalow.
Thanks for the morning venture…
You are certainly welcome.
I love this…I could look at homes like that all day long…I too live in city with a university and while not a typical ‘college town’, definitely some of that energy! We have some neighborhoods where the homes are just charming and well loved…and each one is unique from the rest. Makes me happy to know there is still a bit of Mayberry around!
Thanks for this comment. Yes, to have the past still in the present is a gift I relish. The notion of Mayberry is mostly lost in a complicated and techno driven world, so it becomes particularly sweet to have it so close.
Beautiful neighborhood and tree lined streets. Your photos do evoke a peaceful lifestyle..we also live in a neighborhood in northern Cal. where the houses are all custom, no track, and trees all around. It’s something to be thankful for and a cuppa o’ coffee and apple fritter sounds just like the perfect start to anyone’s morning! Thanks for sharing, Mike!
Lauren
Nice Lauren. I love Northern California and you are lucky to be living there. All this fritter talk has me hungry for one and I might just go get it.
Thanks for this comment and it is nice to say good morning to you.
Makes me hungry, too, but our lab is “tail-wagging” ready for his walk first. (who rules the household?)
Have a great day, Mike!
A beautiful set of photographs Mike. A shame that the beautiful corner house (rental property) is allowed to go to ruin. Around here that would mean the owner is possibly after rezoning and certainly after new and modern development for that property. I’m enjoying this on the phone and look forward to perusing it some more on a larger screen.
What a keen eye you have Joseph. That corner house, while not quite in ruin, is directly across the street from the university and is most certainly a rental. It looks better than it used to, and was added to this post to give a feel for the diversity in the area.
Mike, I love this walk, too. We are on 10th Avenue…old white victorian house…well actually, we’re in Kansas City now, but will be back in a couple of days. The university is really lovely. I love the swedish style looking dorms and all of the unique houses around the area. I really like this town.
I thought this post might hit home for you Holly. I’ll check out your house on my next ride. Drive home safely and be well.
Thanks Mike!
This was the only home I thought might be by people who actually came from there… or were long time residents…
The homes in our community look so alike that one night I pulled into the drive way and the remote control to the garage door wouldn’t work. I kept pushing the button, then realized the garage door two houses down was going up and down.
I usually don’t believe you Paul and this is one of those. But I like the story and totally get the concept. Funny man.
No, it’s true. Really! How could you not believe this face? Where’s your email address. I’m going to send you a photo of my house and my neighbor’s house so you can see I’m not lying.
m5son@comcast.net
I love these homes, especially the last one with the ivy. Very nice.
Thank you. Yes, that last home rocks.
After reading your blog a while, I was beginning to think that all of Colorado was rusted, run-down, weather-beaten, and abandoned. So nice to see there’s more to it.
And, by extension, more to me?
It looks to me that the people building homes there did not come from there, but designed their homes to reflect where they did come from.
That is an interesting concept and one that did not occur to me. hmmmm.
Such a beautiful neighborhood! I love wide, tree-lined streets like that. It looks like a wonderful place for an early morning ride.
We moved back here in 1999 but Judy and I both went to college here back in the day (I like that expression).
Yes, thanks Robin.
What a beautiful area! Gosh, you live in a place with beautiful areas!
Seriously though, I’ve noticed that myself.
yep.
¡Que lugar tan bonito!, tiene que ser una maravilla vivir hay!!, me encanta la casa blanca y verde redonda, abrazos
Gracias a mi amiga. es una comunidad agradable.
A fresh apple fritter and a little scooter ride along those wide streets on a sunny morning sounds absolutely wonderful! Beautiful houses, I love this post, thank you Mike.
Thanks Lorna. Thought I would appear normal for a bit.
Very convincing.
Great post!
“Life is good, and enjoyed all the more when we go slow and see the things around us”
Words to live by my friend!
Its much easier when you live in a small town and are not caught up with the hassles of a stressful job and a noisy city.
Thanks amigo.
I wish real estate companies took these quality photos. Nice work Mike!
danke.
Thanks for a picturesque and oh-so-relaxed cruise down that beautiful tree-lined street!
Nice! What an intelligent and sweet comment. Thanks so much.
I love the different styles of homes and the wide street lined with trees, where I live everything is starting to look the same and it gets boring.
Yeah me too. Been awhile since anyone has commented on this one so thanks!
You’re welcome. I don’t always have the time to read and comment on blogs so when I do have time I find myself wandering all over the place, discovering new things