Lucky...

Lucky is not an unknown in the End of the Rainbow Valley. We've inherited 2 cats named Lucky in the last 8 years who didn't like it well enough to stick around. I guess the neighbors had better food.

But I have had better luck with my female friend groups. You have heard about the Rosh Chodesh spirituality group and JWL - the synagogue women's league and I have alluded to the Jazzercise girls which are part of my weekly things to do.

Every Tuesday and Thursday after Jazzercise class we religiously meet for coffee before heading off on our days' chores. Although for most coffees we meet at a local coffee house, we also go to individual's homes and even field trips. This past Tuesday 15 of us went on a jaunt to a charming town called Viroqua after class, of course. Viroqua is located about an hour from downtown La Crosse.

These little towns's histories are always interesting to figure out how settlers ended up there. Viroqua has a couple settler possibilities one of which people came from Southeastern Ohio on paddle wheelers which joined the Ohio River and then the Mississippi. It is even possible some of the early pioneers may have been on board the vessel Viroqua on their way to Bad Ax (Vernon) County. Some pioneers came by boat while others came by covered wagon.Since the paddle wheeler’s name and the town's are spelled the same some one from the boat may have suggested the name Viroqua for their new town. Then there are the many variations of the Legend of the Princess. Those stories for another day...

Anyhow Main Street is filled with cute shops that of course we had to explore but not before getting sustenance at the newest addition to Main Street, Pangell's Wine Bar. I really like it when businesses do their best to buy local like this establishment. BTW Hats off to Viroqua schools for being first to buy local for their 'lunch' program. Don't forget to patronize and thank these endeavors. OK back to the adventure...Whenever we descend upon a place we tend to raise the place's noise level and that's before the beverages. We are just a chatty group made up of all ages. We even have different generations of the same family.

Here's our illustrious instructor Debbie with her Aunt Ellie.
Since we were in a wine Bar Many tried a 'local' Vernon Vineyard wine called Edelweiss. It's a great dessert wine which we stock at home. I tried a nice Spanish Wine Besitos. I was not so 'lucky' with my entree. Grrr. Have you ever ordered the wrong thing? It was called a Black Bean salsa roll and they must have used the entire package of cream cheese. Note to the chef: less is better.

We were lucky enough to be treated to dessert samplers by 2 of our group after which I didn't mind that I couldn't eat my entree. Heck, there's a reason we exercise and besides we knew we'd be walking it off too. :) Don't we look like a happy sated group?

After lunch we descended upon the downtown stores. Many Chicagoans make their weekend destination Viroqua as it's known for good fishing and hunting so there's even a Fly shop besides a great bike store. Viroqua is also very eclectic with a large alternative community. One of my purchase stops was in a shop with merchandise made by local artists including the town's Waldorf students. And there's a great antique mall with great finds like these glittery pumps.

You just never know what you are going to find. There's a terrific bakery at the southend of town which I had to frequent before leaving. It was getting close to 4 and I was all shopped out...It was a terrific day with the Girls and I thank my lucky stars that they are part of my life but time to head back to the End of the Rainbow Valley to join Natureman. Boy am I lucky but then you already knew that I was 'lucky' in LOVE...