“It all starts with a visit.”  —Maura Gast

The little four-seater Cessna buzzed above the evergreen treetops, as my mom held a map in her hands, ensuring the pilot, my dad, stayed course on “just another” one of our weekend family adventures around the Pacific Northwest. But the bird’s eye view was soon erased by a wall of gray sky. Dad asked Mom for coordinates, in order to dance around the outer edge of the storm. The engines seemed to go silent as we cut into the quiet oblivion of darkness.

The seatbelt tugged at my hip bones as the plane bounced up and down. My parents’ voices remained calm, but urgent. Robbie, my baby brother, began to cry. Mom swiftly pulled off her headphones as she clamored between the front seats toward Robbie and me, wrapping her arms around us, map clutched in one hand as she and Dad continued speaking in aviator’s language. Dad was a skilled pilot; Mom a skilled copilot, and together they managed to find their way out of the storm.

When not in the air, we were hiking, camping, fishing, boating, four wheeling, and trekking throughout our region. The adventures made me feel whole and unstoppable, which eventually gave me the confidence to spread my own wings, board a jet plane to the East Coast, and embrace the journey of adulthood while embarking on my own fearless adventures around the country, often with a map in hand (long before I owned a cell phone).

The many bits and pieces that make up who I am have been inspired by the many people and places I’ve experienced along the way, but none of those people or places have made as much of an impression on who I am—and continue to desire to be—as my time spent exploring Spokane and surrounding areas has.

During Visit Spokane’s recent annual meeting, I was pleased to hear stories of hundreds of residents and businesses working to make Spokane a destination, and learn more about the long-term benefits to cities that are able to create communities visitors can’t wait to brag about visiting. The direct impact of tourism is calculated in an infusion of millions of dollars into local hotels, eateries, hot spots, and recreational activities; but in the long run, being a destination city is what inspires community growth and prosperity. Those who visit—the “first date,” as destination marketers like to refer to tourism—and fall in love with Spokane today, are those who choose to eventually come back permanently: to make a home, to build a family, to create a business, to live the promise of a good life.

As my team and I pulled together the annual Summer Fun issue—a “map” of activities worth exploring—thoughts of escapades throughout my life and the decision to move back to Spokane to make a home with a family submersed in the offerings of our community, along with nuggets gained from Visit Spokane’s event crescendoed to the forefront of my mind. I’m pretty jazzed about my city and surrounding areas, and continue to find ways to soak it all in.

I encourage you to choose your own adventures, and experience our region as a destination worth bragging about. There is no lack of activity, experience or opportunity in our area, and I challenge you to prove this notion to yourself by getting out and living large.

We are Spokane Coeur d’Alene Living, and we are Spokane. Please find me on Facebook—and hop over to “like” the Spokane Coeur d’Alene Living page—to stay connected between press dates, and share your thoughts, stories, and life in real time. 

Adventure on,

Stephanie Regalado

stephanie@spokanecda.com