Summer holidays are great. While it is amazing to explore ones own back yard and get out and do all the things on your growing list, sometimes a trip to another place is a refreshing change. A few weeks back I wrote about some phenomenal local places to head out and experience and heading to the Old Cannery in Port Edwards is a must for those who enjoy a little history mixed with beautiful scenery. Learning how cans were made and just how rugged work packing fish into tiny cans was many years ago is a great eye opener and a wonderful way to appreciate the great jobs many of us are fortunate enough to have now a days.
Other times it’s great to go away to new places in further locations or to visit family and this is a fun way to spend time too. Yet, while it is great to go new places or old places and see and do different things, for this Hazelton resident, it is also a great way to appreciate where we live.
There are so many things that I take for granted that sometimes a few days away makes me see the world a little differently.
The big one the last few times has been the smell of the area. Yes, I said it, the smell of the Hazeltons is amazing. While I love the smell of the ocean, I also love the smell of the sweet lush forests and mountains we live in here especially after it rains. Now I am sure many of you are about to throw something at me as we have had more than our fair share of rain and icky weather this spring and summer but still, if we had a few weeks of hot and dry weather, the smell of a summer rain might just be more refreshing than one would anticipate.
Then there is heading to places like Prince George. Now I hope the people of P.G. forgive me but, boy-oh-boy can that city stink! Sulpher. Ick! The other day driving through in the rain, the smell of the pulp mill was so thick it was almost hard to breathe. By the time I got home to the rain of the Hazeltons I was extremely grateful.
Then there is other weather factors that make me appreciate where we live, such as the wind. On the ocean, that wind can blow so hard you can’t see or walk straight. Now we do get wind here but not very often do we eat sand or dirt just walking down the road. Further more, we sure don’t get things like tornados ripping our communities apart so really another great reason to love where we live.
Add to all of this how great it is to have family and friends to come home too and sometimes, coming home is almost as fun as going away. Not to mention, for me, there is nothing like sleeping in your own bed!
Shannon Hurst writes the My Town column and is the regular correspondent for the Three Rivers Report.