18 years ago yesterday we closed our house in Georgetown in a rainstorm. A day later we and our household posessions arrived in Almonte. We had a new home, a new life experience – and we were close to family again.
This is was the way the river looked then as it made its way through downtown. Today a lot less water flows over the falls. Two expanded hydro facilities suck away most of the river flow. The old flour mill has been upgraded and features a fancy new powerhouse. The trains are gone from the bridge. It is now a recreational rail trail.
Almonte was a quaint, off the beaten path place in 2005 with a slightly seedy but still functional downtown. It has become a Hallmark movie town since then, and is now an antique and collectibles mecca – a day trip destination featured in a lot of online magazines and blogs. It has also grown substantially, especially on the east side of town. We now have a rush hour. And our trendy youngest granddaughter plans on living here someday.
We’ve had our share of joys and sorrows while residents of Almonte, we’ve done plenty of travelling, and we’ve aged in place. We were very junior seniors when we came here, now not so much. It’s hard to believe but this little valley town has been home for the 2nd longest time of our lves, and we couldn’t have asked for a better place to be. We’re home.