Today’s blog details the brilliance of my hometown: Long Island, Kansas.

I was born and raised in Long Island and grew up in the same home my dad was born and raised in, as well. Living in Long Island, Kansas, was its own little joke growing up (How can you have an island in Kansas?), and with a population of only 150 residents, most people often drive through it without even acknowledging the city limits or lack of stop lights.

But Long Island is the homestead of my family’s farm, and the slower pace and sparse community make it one of my happy places.

It had been 16 months since I set foot in Kansas, and I was excited to visit my rural hometown over the holidays. However, there were a few unexpected moments that left me shaking my head, marveling at the difference a few decades could bring.

Less than 10 years ago, I could hardly receive a cell phone call from my office in Denver without reception issues, but now, Zooming with the Southern Hemisphere was surprisingly pretty simple. From Long Island I was able to host a video chat featuring guests from New York City; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, with no tech trouble whatsoever!

In addition, the TV antenna on top of the house that received only three channels in the early 1980s has now given way to a smart TV that allowed us to stream a few rounds of Fibbage on our mobile phones, mirror an online video of my son’s favorite football plays and watch any college bowl game under the sun.

But while some things change, some still remain the same.

My mom is known as The Hoopla Queen of the county (really much too small a title), and my nieces and nephews always appreciate all the costumes and accessories that can easily be found in grandma’s basement. During this trip, my sister decided to create a family video, and we all agreed to pick a piece of headgear tolerable for the eternity of the internet. We jockeyed for position, we laughed, we even learned a few simple eight-count dance moves that could be mastered by both 6- and 60-year-olds alike while Tones and I played in the background.

I’m not sure how long it will be before I can visit again, but between the family, fun, farming and fast internet, it’s good to know my hometown will continue to be a weekend destination worth blogging about.

All from little Long Island, Kansas.

— Carrie Cox, account executive