As children, many of us fantasize about the day we can wave goodbye to our childhood home and explore the magnificence of the rest of the world. We leave in search of better jobs, a better place to raise children, lower cost of living, or any number of other reasons.

But wherever life takes us, we seem to carry at least a tiny piece of our hometown in our hearts. Perhaps the nostalgia even grows as the years pass and as we remember the simpler times, when people interacted with one another. Before electronics consumed our lives. The memories of childhood friends, family picnics, and splashing in the local lake during lazy summer vacations – these are the things that seem to leave indelible impressions.

My hometown, Cleveland, Ohio, is notorious for being the butt of many jokes, but, to me, it is home. I see the beautiful Metro Parks, the inviting shoreline of Lake Erie, and the amazing architectural network of bridges joining one place to another. But most of all, my heart knows it is home when I am there.

What are your favorite hometown memories?

 

To see more photos by David Ploenzke, visit his site here.