Last Thursday night, Max came home from work and we piled Parker into his stroller and strapped on our portable folding chairs. We walked twenty minutes down our same street, changing neighborhoods from Blossomwood into Twickenham for "Twickenjam" :)
We picked up dinner from the food tents near the stage, set up camp at the top of the hill, and enjoyed the tunes and the summer evening. Parker danced non-stop (only stopping for sips of chocolate milk and bites of teriyaki chicken) and was obsessed with the applause that occurred after each song. He would say "clapping!" and clap his little heart out. The event was so happy and chill, and it totally represented so much of our new little home, Huntsville. There were literally sweet older ladies carrying trays of cookies to hand out. Living here is a bit like stepping back in time, possibly because the town was founded in the early 1800's.
The downtown area is full of historic buildings, like this one housing Alabama's longest running hardware store.
The store now also sells tons of other items including artwork from local artists, and purchases are run up on this vintage register that's still in use!
I'm in love with the houses downtown. The historic area is divided into three sections: Five Points, Old Town, and Twickenham. I affectionately refer to the houses as the "plaque houses" since they all boast signs with the year they were built.
I so wanted to buy one of the plaque houses, but Max pointed out they wouldn't be practical (not to mention that the historic title alone doubles the price). We ended up buying in the neighborhood next to downtown, which was a perfect compromise.
Huntsville, at 180,000-ish people in city proper and 450,000-ish in the metro area, is actually much, much bigger than the small California town where I grew up. However, it retains the small town feel.
I don't know if it's the age of the town, the smallish size, or its location in the South, but it's also a bit kooky. And I love that. (Think Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls but bigger).
Here's to our first summer in Huntsville! This family of three is going to take advantage of every food truck and outdoor concert that we can!
Huntsville looks like such a cute, fun town! & if it reminds you of Stars Hollow, all the better, right? :)
ReplyDeleteTwickenjam sounds like so much fun! And your town is just the cutest! I love that you compared it to Stars Hollow. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is just awesome!! Makes me want to come to Huntsville...I've never been!!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like so much fun - I love summer outdoor activities like this! This also looks like the cutest town - I love those houses!
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