Idaho Vacation Days Two and Three

On Tuesday, I went into Couer d'Alene to do some shopping. I wanted to find a few antique stores to browse. I was only able to go to one.

I had to get back so that J could drive to the nearby store for lunch for him and the boys.

In the afternoon, J met with a realtor. We're seriously thinking of buying a condo at Arrow Point that we could rent out (for income) and so we would have our own vacation spot. I floated in the cove, and sat in the sunshine and read. We had a homemade supper of roast chicken and Caesar salad. The boys prepared it with some guidance from us. I noticed how quiet it was at supper. No barking dogs like at home!

On Wednesday, J, A and drove to up the highway in search of kayak rental. We were unsuccessful.

We had lunch at Huttons General store (5 minute drive from the condo)

and ate outside. While we were there, two different people asked us questions, assuming we were local.

I floated in the water again. J and the boys played some beach volleyball.

J read his book about Winston Churchill.

We had dinner at Latitudes (food truck) at Carlin Bay.

Everyone else having dinner arrived either by boat or jet ski. We saw so many beautiful sunsets in Idaho.

remember to click on the photos to enlarge

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Idaho Vacation (Day One)

J loved the view from the deck of the condo.

We picked Idaho for our vacation spot this year. The sunshine, the lakes, and the freedom were the draws. We left home on Sunday Aug 16th.

We stayed in a Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO) at Arrow Point, south of Couer d'Alene. We loved the condo, especially the central air. You can see photos of it here. They had a price drop which was our tipping point. The boys took turn sleeping in the bedroom or on the couch.

Close to the condo is the well known "House on the Rock."

If we had planned better we could have eaten more meals in the condo. The nearest real grocery store was 30 minutes away in Coeur d'Alene. I didn't want to plan much since I plan meals all the time at home! My favourite feature of the condo was the double sink vanity.

On Sunday night we had dinner in Harrison (a small town south of Arrow Point) at Ride and Reel. It was super hot. We ate outside in the shade. Our waiter had just moved from Seattle.

When we returned to the condo, we watched our church's (morning) service on YouTube.

On Monday, J and I went into Coeur d'Alene for supplies. I went to Goodwill to shop for a dress. I wanted one for our dinner cruise.

In the afternoon, we floated in the cove. We could sit in the sun and float around without many people around. It felt very private.

On Monday night we did a Sunset Dinner Cruise, leaving from the CDA Resort. This was the highlight of the trip for me. Here's a photo of the boat.

This is J's account of our cruise.

After our first full day in CdA, we embarked on a very pleasant 2-hour dinner cruise of the lake. The weather was perfect so the only real problem was making sure we were dressed for the occasion and knew where the boat left. We ended up getting there to early so we headed over to the Resort to kill some time. Fortunately we returned in time to get one of the last tables on the top deck, right on the front left (ahem, port bow) corner.

The dinner was excellent, starting with a salad bar and then a main course starring smoked salmon or carved roast beef (or both!). The only problem was the long line which was partly related to having to done plastic gloves to minimize touching of shared surfaces. 

The cruise itself circled the northern part (or heart as they called it) of the lake, hugging the shoreline for most of the time. The commentary didn't start up until about 30 minutes in, otherwise we had some relaxing "smooth jazz" Muzak. The boat speed remained about 7 mph or 6 knots, so it was in no rush. As night fell the sunset was simply amazing. 

The southernmost point of the cruise was actually the condo area we were staying in Arrow Point, so we literally could have been dropped off and walked to our place! At that point it was dark and the only real attractions from the shoreline were a few large house or properties where the lights were on. The end of the cruise was perhaps low on features and seemed like it perhaps could have been sped up -- unless you were on a very successful date and you just wanted to enjoy each other rather than the view.

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Mt. Baker Highway and Bellingham Bay

We finally had a summer vacation, even if it was really short. J took a day and a half off from work (!!) and we drove up to Bellingham. We left on Monday afternoon. We drove straight to Bellingham. We had dinner outside in the sunshine at Lombardi's on the Bellingham waterfront.

We stayed at the Best Western which was just adequate. No free breakfast and no use of the outdoor swimming pool, due to COVID-19.

On Tuesday we got a fairly early start. We drove along the Mt. Baker highway. We stopped at Nooksack Falls. J was skeptical as we left the highway, wondering how long it would be to the falls. All the tourist information places were closed and there were no brochures about the Bellingham area at the hotel. Very strange. They had plenty about BC and the Seattle area.

Nooksack Falls has a deadly past. There is a sign up with all the deaths.

We accidentally got too close to the top of the falls and we didn't go past a fence or a barrier.
This is the view from the top of the falls.

This is the view from the much safer designated view spot.

There were lots of Christmas tree farms and blueberry farms along the Mt. Baker highway. We stopped for a bathroom break at a store in Maple Falls.

We gained elevation and stopped at Picture Lake, with a view of Mt Shuskan.

More Mt. Shuskan.

We finally arrived at the literal end of the road. We had hoped to drive to Artist Point viewpoint but that road was closed due to snow. We were left wondering when all the snow is gone. August?

We walked/hiked for a while (following the road somewhat) but stopped when C's back was bothering him. He and I found a shady spot with this amazing view

 and J and A scrambled up a steep hill. I was hoping they could see Mt. Baker.

If you squint (or click on the photo) you might spot J and A.

The funny thing was that we never actually saw Mt. Baker. Next time we go, I sure hope we do! I researched the best viewpoints for another visit.

You can see the mix of snow and green here.

J took this photo of me as we came back to the parking lot.

It is a bit deceiving. I didn't have to climb up many steep hills in snow but it looks impressive. One of my friends commented on Instagram that I'm brave.

There didn't seem to be any places to eat near Heather Meadows. This is a ski area in the winter.

A and I remembered passing a Subway on the highway but we couldn't remember how far it was. Unfortunately, it was more than half way back to Bellingham. We were pretty starved by the time we found it. We couldn't sit inside so the boys tailgated (sat in the open back of our car) and J and set up our own chairs with a great view of this darling church.

Back in Bellingham, I suggested returning to Whatcom Park which we visited several years ago.

When we were walking in the park, we saw lots of teens and young adults carrying towels and dressed to swim. We eventually found the swimming hole with a high spot for jumping. We saw a few kids jump from it into the water. Very popular on a hot day when all the swimming pools are closed.

We were ready for some cold drinks and A/C which we found at Barnes and Noble. We found this display amusing.

For supper, I googled best views in Bellingham. We went to the Lighthouse Bar and Grill on the waterfront. We had to wait a while but enjoyed the gorgeous patio of the hotel attached to the restaurant (Hotel Bellwether).

The hotel has this interesting "lighthouse" suite. It is three storeys high. It is their honeymoon suite.

Here we are at our dinner table. I had to wait until some ladies left (nearby) so I could get this photo.

A and I had fish and chips. We walked a bit after supper, C read his new book.

Tame bunny spotting.

On Wednesday morning, we had breakfast at Denny's and then returned home.



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Sunshine, Roses, and Good Conversation

I asked my fiend Linda to join me on an outing last Friday. I wanted to go to the Rose Garden in Tacoma. I saw some photos of it and thought it looked like a great place to visit. The official name is Point Defiance Rose Garden.

I did the driving. Since I'm not driving much these days, I didn't mind. The drive takes just over an hour. Once we were there, we had a bit of trouble finding out where to park and where to find the garden. With COVID shutdowns (the rose garden is in the same area as a large zoo), some roads were closed. We had to walk a ways uphill to get to the garden.

I love arches. This is the entrance.

Here is Linda

There are so many roses! I didn't note the names of any of the roses, except this one. Cherry Parfait.

These roses were my favourite. I love the colour variation.

These roses look like a dogwood tree.

The highlight of this park is this rose arch. We saw some people taking graduation photos inside.

This is the view as you look up, inside the arch.

We noticed this very strange plant. I don't know its name.

Our outing wasn't perfect. I forgot to put on sunscreen so I got a burn on my shoulder.
We looked all around the park and the surrounding area for a bathroom and nothing was open.

We drove a few miles away to the Port Ruston area. Everything is new. Lots of restaurants to choose from. We did find a public restroom (after some walking). We got lunch from What a Catch! We both had fish tacos and basil blackberry lemonade. Delicious!

This was our incredible view as we ate our lunch.

That's Mt. Rainier.

It might be fun to come back here another time and rent the pedicabs with the family. They were in use.

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Party in a Parking Lot (for a 15 Year Old)

This was a very unusual birthday celebration. C only wanted to invite a few of his friends.

Our county just entered Phase 2 which loosens up some of the lock down restrictions.  Gatherings of 5 people are completely allowed by the governor, by the way, I think even in Phase 1.

There is a large parking lot not far from our house that is next to an office complex and a hotel. My son A practiced driving there when he was first learning.

The weather was pretty unpredictable on Saturday. C set up a card table and folding chairs. He brought along UNO and Monopoly. He also had hand sanitizer for his "guests."

I bought him a balloon bouquet. The balloons came in handy when a security guard came along to find out what was up. C and his friends also did fun things with the balloons.

The boys were there for almost 4 hours. They did play Monopoly. We brought them hamburgers from McDonalds near the end.

I'm glad C was able to be with his friends. It has been a very long time since he's been with anyone his age, in person!



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