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One thing that is most appealing about children is that they are the finders of lost things. I still have a box of things I picked up when I was a child: A barber dime that was washed out of the soil after a storm, a fossil that I found on the underside of a rock and even an uncut emerald I found, inexplicably, on a gravel path. I found them all and I’ve kept them with me for a long time.

My own children were always bringing me things they had discovered or uncovered: Pottery shards dug up in the backyard, buttons found under the clothing racks in department stores and bird’s nests blown down by the wind.

But children – even though they seem to have a natural talent – aren’t the only seekers.

Whenever we are at the coast I love to watch the adult treasure hunters sweep over the sand with metal detectors. I wonder what they find and what they do with their discoveries. And anyone who has watched women in a shoe store knows that you never get too old to love a good find.

Curiosity is part of the package we’re each born with and it’s nice to know we never outgrow it.

This week in Home

While talking to the crowd at the Spokane stop of the Antiques Roadshow I met a man with a cart full of discoveries. He’d picked it all up from the bottom of Lake Coeur d’Alene. The story of Ron Hotchkiss, and his house full of sunken treasures, is our cover feature.

Another Spokane jewel, the penthouse of the Paulsen Building, has been hidden from most people for more than half a century. Thanks to its starring role in a movie that was recently filmed in Spokane, we got a peek at that, as well.

From the bottom of the lake to the top of one of the most beautiful buildings in Spokane, there are still hidden people, places and things to be discovered.

That’s the appealing thing about this part of the paper. Each week we look for new places to explore and we fill the pages with unexpected goodies.

So, dive in. Take a look around.

Welcome Home.