nostalgic…

the washington-family-reunion-road-trip-vacation-documentation continues on…

after our stop at lake quinault, we continued on to montesano. Montesano, Washington is my hometown. i was born in Juneau, Alaska and also moved to American Fork, Utah the year i was in third grade, but I definitely claim Montesano as my hometown. I lived their most the years from the time i was an infant till i was thirteen years old. and now, my kiddos have been there! so cool.

when i was a kid my grandpa would always tell me this story:

in the early days there was an indian chief named Monte, and one day the indian chief from the next village over paid Monte a visit. His son wanted to marry Monte’s daughter. The neighboring chief asked permission for his son to ask the daughter for her hand in marriage, and Monte said, “Monte say no.” which quickly gave our town the name, “Montesano.”

I have no idea where this story originates, but thought i would share — because it is one of many stories my kiddos had to hear on this trip. ::smiles::

…we pulled into town and i gave my family a driving tour of my cozy pacific northwest corner. i had half a notion to just keep on driving in circles. driving on roads my childhood knew so well around lakes, down gullies, across weathered bridges that we used to jump off of. the sky was blue and clear. i took my kids to see my elementary school, the softball field i played on, and the lake where i learned to swim.

we also briefly stopped at the house i grew-up in…

{when i lived there it was all white, no fence, and sans house-accessories. my grandpa was also an amazing gardener, and our yard was always perfectly mowed with beautiful flowers and a rose garden down the left side along the neighbors driveway.}

isn’t it an interesting feeling to experience nostalgia? to feel so completely attached to something that is now gone and only a memory. have you seen your childhood home lately? is it something you see often? never? has it been passed down through generations, and you still live there? were you like me – and you had a collection of childhood homes?

while in town we stopped by one of the local diners “the Beehive” {my mom worked here when i was really young.} to meet up with one of my childhood bestie – Ranee – and her family…

i used to have free reign in this town – just looking at those streets reminds me of how often i road my bike to the store for a treat… all the small town parades and festivals. such magical memories.

we then headed on down the road a bit farther with a stop in Chehalis. i have a niece who currently lives there with her kids. we had just enough time for a quick visit, and dinner…

from Chehalis we cruised west on highway 12 trying to get to our cabin in time before we were locked out for the night…

happy to report, we made it.

on this evening, i put my camera aside and only took a couple of pictures on my iPhone. we rented a cabin via Jasmers at Mt. Rainier, and we were snuggly tucked in under Mt. Rainier’s shadows.

i feel so proud and nostalgic giving my kids a piece of my childhood memories this summer. i feel more complete.

{photos by me, Jane Beckner Rhodes}