I realized that this was my favorite place in the world. It didn’t hit me the first time I saw Ashland. Or the second. It happened slowly, until one day I found myself staring at the last traces of sunlight on the surrounding hills and realized there was literally no place else I’d rather be. Funny how people and places can creep up on you like that, until suddenly you can’t live without them. This is not to say that Ashland is perfect. If love comes from knowing something really, really well, then it comes from knowing all its shortcomings, too.
