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Milton Rocks

Excuse me Mr. Lyke, I hope you don’t mind if I write about Milton for a moment. Yes, it’s all of four minutes from my house, but I rarely get to enjoy your warm and charming town. There is only day I’m guaranteed to be in Milton and that’s on July 4th. Why? Because your town celebrates it well.

For the fourth year in a row I donated to the Milton Optimist Club. As a thank you they let me run in their 10K/1 mile event. Instead of running solo in the 10K this year, we made it a family affair. The one mile fun run was fun with the kids. The last half mile was a challenging one with my daughter on my shoulders. I think we still averaged a 9:00/mile pace though! Afterwards, it was great to enjoy the people, converse and laugh. The vibe was so positive.

After watching a few of my running buddies cross the 10K finish line we went in search of breakfast. Sadly, I didn’t know the “hangouts” for local grub. I asked a willing listener on the way to the car and we decided on Parkview Cafe. Parkview is like a Sizzlin Grill. The people were SO friendly, the food was great the service was exceptional. No offense to Perkins, but they have you beat on breakfast.

After breakfast, we took a quick break from the hustle and bustle of Milton and retreated back to good old Janesville. It wasn’t long before the Uplander was fired up and was heading north again. This time - PARADE! The Milton 4th of July parade has become a staple in our “must do” summer activities. This year we had an added bonus: great hosts. Thanks to the power of Facebook I received a note from someone who said “stop by”. They lived right on the parade route. If allowing us to plop the lawn chair on the terrace wasn’t enough, they invited us into their home for a picnic...so Milton :)

The parade? It was your typical feel-good parade. A ton of candy (my kids swear it’s Halloween in July), a bunch of politicians, 4-H floats and the best marching bands in the area -- Milton Middle School and Milton High School. They Rock. Heck, I even pushed a collector car for a while after it stalled. The parade was big but the feel was small. There was just something about sitting on the terrace watching the Milton parade.

As I sit here writing I am a tad torn. Where to watch the sky light up tonight? Milton hasn’t had the fireworks drama that Janesville has experienced over the past few years. A strip club owner doesn’t contribute, a flood hasn’t moved the festivities and a last ditch attempt to save a festival hasn’t dogged Milton. As tempting as it is to drive back to Milton tonight I’m going to have to head to Traxler. I'll be there for the boom in the river valley.

Thanks for more 4th of July memories Milton. Mr. Lyke, you have a fine town.

Steve Knox was born, raised and landed back in Janesville. He encourages you to participate as he writes on Janesville and beyond as this Generation X guy supports his Janesville mission, global vision. Steve is a community blogger and is not a part of The Gazette staff. His opinion is not necessarily that of the The Gazette staff or management.