where we've been

Since I started my job on the first of July last year, this town has been our full-time home.  Cory's been in school here all four years, of course, but it's only since we got married and I started working here that he's actually stuck around for the weekends.

It's a small town here, with about ten thousand people, of whom at least four thousand are directly connected to the university.  There is some industry here, with an Amazon warehouse and a few factories, but for the most part, it's just quiet and small.

{I work in the building at the top}

Chain stores and restaurants (which I didn't bother to photograph--you can see a Kroger, Arby's, Wal-Mart, and the like any day you want) seem to dominate the town, but main street has some small business that have been around for ages and keep the small town charm alive.

I hope they're doing well, even if the Wal-Mart parking lot is usually the most happening place on a Saturday night, filled with kids sitting on the backs of trucks and the occasional bunch of folks grilling out.  Yeah.

There's definitely an effort to bring some more life into these gorgeous older buildings and preserve the history of the town, but the plain and simple truth of an area like this is that the money isn't around.  

I've captured some of the prettier, more quaint spots, but in reality, I haven't spent a lot of time in them.  Still, the buildings are pretty interesting, and everything has some history to it.  I love that.

But we are really ready to move.