What goes around comes around

Sous-Chef is back at the keyboard as "MB"  has had a little too much adventure and is trying to recover...  Our day got off to a splendid start, downstairs at the coffee shop.  On one hand it was like stepping back in time on the other it had a very cosmo feel.  No sooner than I had sat down at the counter when I began to overhear a conversation between a couple I suspected was from Australia (and I was right) and a local woman of about 80 who obviously makes the Dude Rancher Restaurant a regular outing.

They were engaged in a lively conversation regarding world travel.  Where they each had been and what they had done....and discussions about the "next" trip to be taken.  The Australian couple were asking questions about the area including local history, industries, and even the woman's own personal history.  It was obvious that these three seasoned travelers understood what it means to travel...not just "visit the sites" but learning about the people and places you visit. 

I listened in silence as I took stock of my surroundings. Not much had changed in the 30 years since I had last been there. I did notice the dishes bearing the Dude Rancher's own pattern were gone expect for the collectors pieces on display. The dishes like the carpeting throughout the Lodge were designed using livestock brands of local ranchers. The food, however, was still made from scratch (including the pies)...and was just as good as I remembered it

After breakfast I met up with my sister from another Mother and recently departed Father and her husband.  We spent part of the afternoon touring the area.  I swear the city has tripled in size in the ten years since I was last here.  With the "new" I was also able to see how the community has adapted and rediscovered itself over time. 

Driving up Grand Avenue through the heart of town on the street where our high school is located, more than a few ghosts were recalled. Rolling past Daylis Stadium (home of the Broncs) we noted the last time our high school won the state football championship was the year we graduated. Sandy's just up the next block is but a faded memory as we recalled the $0.25 crinkle cut fries served in a brown paper bag, and just what was the name of the place that served the pizzaritos anyway? 

We also drove through my old neighborhood.  When we first moved to town, the neighborhood was brand spanking new.  All the folks up and down the block were the original owners and had invested time, money and energy into the homes and the yards that went with them. We all were transplants moving into Billings from somewhere else, and within a span of a few short years we had all moved on to our next adventure.  On my last visit 10 years ago I was in tears as I drove up the street and to our house.  It hadn't been well taken care of and our neighbors homes hadn't  fared much better.  Much to my delight on this visit the neighborhood appears to be on somewhat of a rebound.  
 

Negotiating my way through downtown was based more on muscle memory than the missing landmarks of my youth.  The locally owned department stores and long standing businesses were long gone replaced by specialty shops, eateries and such; just another example of how the town has reinvented itself.  With the majority of retail and commerce moving out to the ever expanding "West End" downtown has come into its own, not the dust bowl of my last visit. 
 
 Life is like a wheel, what goes around comes around and it applies to communities as much as it does people that live in them.