...while that sounds like the title of some kind of inspirational post, it's actually not. It's the description for my last move. A couple of years back, I moved from Virginia to Washington. And like most people, found there's a big difference in visiting with your parent and living with them; I grabbed the first house I could find.
Beautiful place, lovely neighborhood, twenty miles from the Cascade foothills. I have this thing about trees. Living in a Virginian suburb for such a long time, trees were a rarity. Small trees, sure. Big trees? Not so much. There's a lot of development, and tiny little houses squished up to sprawling big houses. Lots of graffiti and places you
know you shouldn't go to at night.
The day I woke up in my last place and discovered every fence in my neighborhood tagged was the day I knew I needed to move. I'd been thinking about it for awhile; every time I couldn't get out of my circle during the winter because the city only owned one snowplow. But graffiti? Nah.
I'd been driving through this one place, way up against the mountains, for years.
They stopped development years ago, and started "re" development. Lots of old Craftsmans, Victorian mansions, funky little fifties row houses and strange forties era "courts", one or two trailer parks and a couple of up-to-date suburbs that got in before they shut down. Huge police presence. Lots of state patrol. Forest rangers. Hobos are politely--ala First Blood--invited to leave. People obey the speed limit, children play outside, and it's beautiful--like a postcard.
It's also twenty miles from any kind of civilization, at the end of an uphill, narrow and potholed road, but I think they like it that way.
3 comments:
Beautiful. I remember hearing the name of Enumclaw all the time when I lived in Tacoma, but I don't have a grasp of where things are. Guess I can check a map. I'm happy for you, though I can see where the grass allergy stuff comes from (we have that issue here in the Willamette Valley, too). Trees are worth it. :o)
Lovely pictures. There is something to be said for small town living. Twenty minutes is the difference between the sprawling horse farm at my back fence and the strip malls in town.
While I love trees, especially the old growth pecans around here, I would cut down my blasted sweet gum tree in a heartbeat if I could. It's enormous and beautiful and the messiest tree on God's green earth. :/
Geez, Deanna. I'd never had a legitimate "hay fever" kind of allergy until I started living next to pasture grass. My eyeballs bubbled up and scared me to death. I think I need to do something before next spring. But I agree--trees are worth all the aggravation and more. :)
lol, Hailey. I live behind a strip mall, but it's one of those old mom and pop style seventies things. I keep expecting to see one of those old kiddie rides in front of the Rite-Aid. (and sweet gums are beautiful "and" just as messy as a Japanese maple
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