Moving to Rhinelander

Some friends introduced us to Learning in Retirement at Nicolet College. We started taking classes in Autumn of 2008. We continued with even more classes in Spring of 2009. In June we wondered why we should continue to drive to Rhinelander once or more each week; why not live there? The community has many amenities that appeal to us, we have made some good friends, and Oneida County has 1100 lakes (adjacent Vilas County has even more!)

We camped July 6 thru 9 (2009) at Lake George Campsite, so that we could look for an ideal lot on which to build a home. After looking at many lots, we found a perfect one and put in an offer to purchase.

It is on North Shore Drive, just east of Rhinelander and within a half mile of St Mary's Hospital. It is a heavily wooded lot with mixed hardwoods, and is almost 3 acres in size. We worked for a year on a home design to take advantage of the characteristics of the lot.

In May of 2010, we moved some of our belongings to an apartment on Mohawk Shores Drive (on Boom Lake). Our home at Crooked Lake is for sale.

We spent many enjoyable hours paddling in our kayaks with friends on Boom Lake and the Rhinelander Flowage in summer of 2010. It is a wildrness experience until you realize that the city of Rhinelander is in the distance.

We are enjoying many outings with the Newcomers and Friends club. This is a social club with many projects of volunteer work for people in the community.

Learning in Retirement is the medium of the majority of out activities. We are also involved in leadership and planning for this organization.

After an 18 year hiatus from Square Dancing (for a number of reasons), we have connected with the Hodag Twirlers in (Rhinelander) and the Levis & Lace (Woodruff) clubs. They are helping us refresh our long unused skills; it is similar to coming home again. This is an activity that is social, yet it is physical exercise and very good mental exercise! We can have fun even if we make a few mistakes.

We'll be posting some photos of the area. As I write, the first snowflakes are falling. We put the boats away this week, and will be dusting off the XC skis and the snowshoes.

Rita and Mike