Community is one of Hope Valley’s core strengths. If sometimes it means being the subject of gossip and having the whole town know what you’re doing, it also means you can always count on the generosity of your neighbors. Although Hope Valley is a small city, it is not lacking in ambition, and its festivities are as good as those of any large metropolis. The occasions when the residents come together in joy or adversity make me want to join them. If I had the chance to live there, here is a list of things I would do:
- Have breakfast at Abigail’s Café
- Grocery shopping at Yost’s Mercantile
- Hang out at the Mounties office to visit some bandits in jail
- Spend the day with Elizabeth as a teacher assistant
- Help direct the Founder’s Day play
- Participate in the Annual Miner’s Games
- Search for clues with Bill and solve an investigation
- Attend the baseball (or soon basketball) game of the kids
- Help out with the Christmas Committee in some way
- Drink a beer at The Queens of Hearts Saloon
- Window shopping in Dottie’s Dress Shop
- Chaperone the students on a field trip
- Bake cakes with Clara and Minnie in the Café kitchen
- Get my fortune told by Rosemary at the Carnival
- Vote in a town hall meeting led by Abigail or Hickam
- Play the teleoperator under Florence‘s supervision
- Spend the afternoon reading at the library
- Wait patiently for a loved one to arrive at the Stage Coach
- Admire the lanterns and drink hot cider at the Christmas Hope Valley Festival
- Enjoy a movie night at the saloon
- Get a closer look at Jesse, uh Lucas, uh Henry’s oil well
- Learn to play guitar with Carson by the pond
- Then join the Hope Valley marching band
- Accompany Robert on one of his mailman’s rounds
- Have a romantic picnic by the river
- Organize Elizabeth’s book signing
- Write an article for The Valley Voice
- Referee the race between Lucas and Nathan with Hickam
- Dress up with Lee and Rosemary for (Halloween) Hope Valley Days
- And of course, sit around the bonfire with the entire town
- Have my picture taken at a party
- Hang out with the girls at the Barber Shop
- Ask Gustave to be my sous-chef to cook a meal
- Eat an ice cream at the Soda Fountain (oh wait, I did that for real!)
