Memories of Cruisin’ the Ave

A few weeks back I wrote a blog up at khak.com about Urban Dictionary ragging on Cedar Rapids.

It got a lot of attention, drew plenty of comments on our Facebook page, and prompted a discussion on all things CR.

I posted several excerpts from the Urban Dictionary post in my blog but excluded this one at the time of posting:

A city located in East Central Iowa... It is known for... absolutely nothing... One of the few places in the nation over 100,000 people where people are actually known to cruise the town's First Avenue. 

That got me to thinking: How many current residents of CR can relate to cruising down First Avenue?

I definitely did it, especially when I was in high school. First Avenue is the main artery for Cedar Rapids -- it runs the length of the city and cuts right through downtown. It's also where most of the action is -- bars, restaurants, and stores run all along First Ave. It's kind of like CR's own version of American Graffiti.

Here's my list of the top three things I remember from cruisin' First Avenue:

• Rampant jaywalkers along the stretch running from the Road Ranger (formerly QuikTrip) to Hy-Vee.
• The wannabe Fast & Furiousers revving their car engines in the Taco Bell parking lot near downtown.
• The car facade sticking out of the side of the former DeSoda's (now a hot yoga studio) in the Town & Country Shopping Center.

Did you ever cruise First Avenue? Do you still? What are some of your favorite memories/attractions?