Visits to Ashland

If home is where the heart is, then my home lies just off of exit 186 on I-71.

Every time I drive to Ashland I have this awesome sense of excitement. I count down the miles on I-71 south... mentally noting how many miles I have left until my exit after each mile marker I pass. And then I finally reach my exit...number 186, and the familiar sight of the Goasis gas station and hotels greet me.

An old picture, but appropriate.

As I drove through Ashland yesterday I realized that the place hasn't changed in the two years since I've left...or even in the six years since I started there. The same businesses line route 250 on the way into town...The Scrap Shack, Sherwin Williams, Barefoot Floors....all businesses that existed in 2007 when I made my first trip down to Ashland as an Ashland University student.

Campus hasn't changed either. I've gotten so used to Kent and the high pace, ever-changing lifestyle that the campus seems to have. Kent is so big...and things are always changing. New buildings downtown, renovations on campus...Kent in the two years I've been there has changed more than Ashland has in the past six.

But that fits the attitude of Kent. Kent is a busy community with a large student population.

Disclaimer: I was not driving when I took this picture.

Ashland? Ashland is small town America with its street corner shops and small local population. The town survives outside of the college campus that sits in its heart.

Ashland's campus is still the most beautiful place I've ever lived. The trees are in full bloom right now...the buildings while packed together give a sense of a community. Whenever I'm there I can't help but smile.

Ashland was a home to me from the moment I moved into my room freshmen year. Going back for whatever reason always feels like coming home. And when I'm not there, it's as if a part of me is missing.