Sometimes I Creep Around Old Houses and Take Pictures

The summer before I started first grade, my dad took a job in southern Utah and we moved 250 miles to Cedar City.

That was a strange time in my life, so I remember it more vividly than some other periods of my childhood. Each room of our new house had a different color of carpet. We had fire ants in our backyard, and I kept a jar of them in my bedroom. The kid next door was deaf, but I didn't know what that meant so I thought he was just being rude when he ignored my invitations to play. I befriended a big fifth grader on the school bus who looked out for me on the ride to and from school each day. In class I sat next to the first other Nathan I ever knew existed, and he became my best friend.

I could go on, but I'll spare you. Tl;dr: I remember lots of stuff about living in Cedar City.

Anyway, after six months my dad's job ended up not working out, so we moved back to Salt Lake and Cedar City became just another awkward family memory.

Fast forward twenty years.

Last week my wife and I took our kids on our very first family vacation. We wanted to keep it small--the boys would need breaks and we couldn't afford much anyway--so we drove to St. George and stopped in Cedar City for dinner.

Cedar City is still pretty close to how I remember it. I found the Lin's Market where my family used to shop, the historic Rock Church I loved to explore, and the big city park.

But a lot can change in twenty years. Like my house.

Definitely not what I remember

The grass is gone. Business hours hang in the kitchen window. Pickup trucks parked to the side (not pictured) suggest someone's going to shoot me if I creep around the house with a camera.

I basically had my own Ocarina of Time moment. I kind of wish I could return my old house to the glory it still has in all my gilded childhood memories.

Now I understand.
Image source: Zelda Informer

But on the plus side, if you're ever in Cedar City and need to find a credit reporting agency, I know a place.