Summer Travels ~ A Hidden Gem

We took a day to travel to my childhood hometown: Goldendale. A true gem, this small town isn't the first place on a tourist's radar. But it was my childhood home, a place full of more than just memories. A place to relish in the spectacular views of Mt. Adams.

 A place to reflect on my smallness next to the Columbia River Gorge.

A town set up in the hills, past hundreds of windmills and lots of rolling fields.

 Not much had changed with the town itself (except everything seemed much smaller). The downtown signs were the same, the library was exactly how I remembered it, complete with the "stadium" seating outside where I spent hours running and jumping from one level to the next.

 My childhood home was the same...although the trees were larger, and the yard was much smaller.

 Maryhill Museum and the Columbia River brought me back to summers long ago. As a child, I had the Museum memorized (as I visited on countless field trips). It is more than a small town museum now. With new additions, a real parking lot, a viewing deck, fences all over the place, and a lot more people. I missed the old museum, but I delighted (as a tourist) in the new museum and so did the kids.

The Columbia River held new surprises: rocks. The smooth rocks that I took for granted as a child were a delight to my own children. We brought back a huge bag of rocks because they were all so intrigued by the smooth, round stones.  My children splashed and played, we enjoyed the views and took many photos (as tourists do), and I realized that I did not truly embrace what I had while living there. I did not take advantage of the beauty that was available to me. I took a moment. I took it all in.

 Sometimes we have to look at our world through tourist eyes in order to truly see it. Sometimes a gem is hidden in plain sight.