Right Off Main Street

In the heart of Oregon's Willamette Valley is a time capsule located along the 45th parallel, half way between the North Pole and the equator. The bustling three and half square mile City of Silverton was built around the banks of Silver Creek and was incorporated in 1854. Although the area has been inhabited for 6,000 years, it seems as though Silverton came into its own during the 1950s and has never let go. When you are here, you are sure you are still there.

Our favorite coffee house in town.

Steve and I happened into Silverton in May on our way to Silver Falls State Park for an afternoon hike. After a magnificent lunch at Gather, we walked around and were captivated by its innocence and charm. There was something very special about Silverton; it was a small town that did not seem small-minded. 

Overlooking Silver Creek

Three months later almost to the day, Steve and I returned to Silverton to stay, permanently. We bought a house––site unseen with the help of a trusted realtor and friend––and saw it in person for the first time on the afternoon of 6 August. It was a risk well worth taking. I was overwhelmed with emotion the moment we walked inside. It was better and more impressive than we had expected. The photographs online were stunning to be sure, but they could not convey the sheer openness, the positive vibes or magnificent surroundings in which we had landed. I was speechless. This is ours? I thought. How is this even possible? It was like a dream. Every day since has been like a dream that I cannot wake up from, cannot fully absorb or understand, and yet I feel awake. It is as though I have lived a lifetime during the past three weeks as every moment of every day has been so intense that I collapse with exhaustion at the end of it.

Home

Steve and I both are restless spirits so it may seem a bit strange that we have made such an enormous commitment to a place that we know virtually nothing about. But then, maybe it doesn't seem that strange at all. We understood that something was missing from our lives––that there was a disconnect between us and the people and things that were the most important. We needed to reconnect with ourselves, our families, our community, and Mother Earth if we were going to be happy. Living in an ultra urbanized environment felt like we had been forgotten and that we were forgetting what it meant to be one with the earth, our community, and our fellow man.

Hood

We sold most of our things and arrived with little. Our new home was a blank canvas for us to create and reinvent how we do life; a place that we could share with those who we love, an experience we could give to others who want to explore Oregon, and an opportunity to be a part of community with a tenderness almost as soft as the tip of a dog's ear. It is here, right off Main Street, that we've found a place called Home.

Here's to new beginnings, hopes and dreams, love and peace.