Tell Me Something Tuesday:

Tell Me Something Tuesday is hosted by Rainy Day Ramblings and discusses a wide range of topics from books to blogging.

Question: Tell me about your home town.

Answer: When I first moved to WA, we lived in Longview – of squirrel bridges and squirrel fest fame. We now live in Kalama, WA and I’m inching closer to brushes with fame and celebrity lol

Kalama is a very small town – population under 4000 – and doesn’t have much going on. But what we do have is adorable.

There’s downtown which consist of a small grocery store, the post office (which I LOVE because it’s tiny and no one is ever there – even during the holidays), city hall, a hardware store, the library (which is VERY tiny and hardly ever open lol), several vintage/antique shops, a laundromat/coffee shop & a few small restaurants – a Chinese, Mexican, a burger joint, The Twisted Grapevine (beer,wine,coffee, small bites) & Willie Dicks Taphouse (cheeky name but good locally sourced food – mostly hot dogs with fun names like the Scooby Snack lol).

And that’s it. You need to drive about 25-30 to get to any type of shopping like Walmart or a chain grocery store & all that.

Kalama has two claims to fame.

The first is the Columbia Inn Restaurant which serves basic, but yummy, comfort foodand had two famous visitors – Elvis Presley and Jack Benny.

According to the Elvis History Blog – Elvis had “three eggs, the yoke broken and fried hard; 10 slices of bacon, fried to a crisp; a side order of hash browns; one bowl of dry cereal; one bowl of peaches; and five cups of coffee with cream” for breakfast during his stay in 1962. You can even stay in the same room as he did if you plan ahead since it’s usually booked during the summer.

And the second…A Twilight filming location. Forks high school exterior shots were filmed at Kalama HS – less than 5 minutes from my house – including the pivotal scene where Edward saves Bella from the oncoming car in the parking lot. A lot of the movie was filmed around here and nearby Oregon and not a weekend goes by that we don’t see cars circling the school parking lot & people out taking pictures. lol

One of my favorite things about the area though is the Port of Kalama on the Columbia River. Just a few minutes from downtown, the city has just finished a big renovation project at the park. It now has a beach that I love walking along, picnic areas, courts for soccer/volleyball/tennis and more, a small amphitheater for summer concerts and movies, lighted walking paths. There are also new amenities and McMenamins Harbor Lodge where you can grab a bite to eat or spend the weekend.

We usually grab a coffee or hot cider and take Fonzi down there for a walk or to watch the ships and trains go by. It’s stunning no matter the weather. I can also see parts the Columbia from my house (between houses) and can hear the fog horns at night which I love.

I’m really looking forward to the summer and being able to take Fonzi down by the water for the concerts or a picnic by the water.

So there's a glimpse of my small but quirky town!