Of Ancestral Places: Home, Sweet Home

My heart longed to go there-

to one of the places where I felt at home from the first moment I arrived there

many years ago now.
A place our family has ancestral ties to--

a place that was home for them;

a very Sweet Home...

Why the appeal to me?

Well it is a lot of things--

our family history, local history, the mountains, the foothills, the rivers, the parks

and the places I haven't even explored yet..but am very aware of:)

But much of the appeal the first time was-

the small town atmosphere.

with murals on many buildings...

Sorry the photos are so small--we had our mind on other things at this point.
The A & W drive-in that is not a drive-thru!

A drive-in like I remember, except no Papa, Mama & Baby Bear figures outside (sigh)

with friendly staff,

great root beer

and a good cheeseburger (yum)...

A town with lots of hanging flower basket and median strip plantings --

oh how I love a town that includes flowers in its design!

A hometown movie theater-

the kind I grew up with!

The kind that invites you to come in and explore its history--

not the new type which you know what to expect.

Technologically advanced but just too dull for me.
--

You know, I miss my childhood at times--

well except for the rotary phones and the computers which took an entire room.

Well and maybe a few other things.

(Can you tell I am feeling nostalgic this week?)

But back to the tour...

when you have passed all the way through the town and a bit further,

you will reach the lake..

and this little viewpoint/rest area/picnic area.

Great place for some photographs of the water with the mountains and foothills

in the background...

and if it is summer, the water skiers and boaters of course!

You should see it when the mountain is snow capped.

I love snow capped mountains!

In fact, I can hardly wait till we get more snow on the mountains--

although I am definitely not ready for snow elsewhere-

yet.

By the way,if you do stop here--you must take a look at the information area--

because you are going to want to go up into the mountains (Cascadia and the pass to central Oregon); I know because I've done that trip before and loved it!

Or cross this lake to even more natural wonders.

And another great reason to take a look at the information area?

So you can see the impressive and very beautiful artwork done by local children

of the flora found here--let me tell you, that alone is worth a visit to here!

--

So what's it going to be?

Up to Cascadia where you will find one of the many covered bridges of this county,

a waterfall, hiking trails, trees and the mountains?

Or across the lake and up to Quartzville to parts still unknown to me and DH,

but probably well known to our ancestors?

You never know what history or wonders you will see no matter where you choose to go in this beautiful, historical area:)

Till next time...bon voyage!

Blessings,

Aimee

-

Note:

A big thank you to the staff of the local A & W for giving me permission to post photos of their establishment. YUM! All photos taken in Linn County summer 2010 except the one of Short Bridge taken quite a few years ago.

I would love to give credit to the painters of the murals,

I posted photos of, but do not know who to credit...I apologize!