Two Visits to Idaho

My lovely parents came to Idaho twice in the last six months and both times it was wonderful to have them. The first time they came up, it was during the crazy roommate situation, but before I knew I was moving the second time. They flew on Thursday night and we went to dinner at the Ha Penny with some of my grad school mates and then Friday, we spent some time on campus and then some time at the new place (#1) setting up my new room. Which lasted for another two weeks or something like that. Anyway. I made yummy veggie and shrimp pasta for dinner that night which we enjoyed after hitting up the Nampa Warhawk Museum.

I had never been the museum before because I was saving my two for one entertainment book coupon for when Abba could come with me. There was some really cool things there- old planes that Abba helped me identify, an old hot air balloon and so many artifacts from various wars and conflicts, especially from Idaho battalions and crews. There were some amazing cartoons from WWII and these great old concrete walls that were covered in graffiti that reminded me of the Berlin Wall

On Saturday morning, we headed into Boise for the rest of the weekend. First thing was my rehearsal for MSO since we had a concert that night (luckily that concert we didn't have a Friday concert). Afterwards, we went over to Salt and Tears for some coffee and sandwiches, which were absolutely delicious. We wandered around the art gallery as well as Abba met a friend. Because of that late lunch, we didn't really have anything for dinner that night but went on a run through the foothills and then chatted with Brooke and Kevin before we had to head out to our concert. I loved playing "Lincoln Portrait." It was a great concert and I'm glad that they were able to hear the performance.

The next day, the foothills had dried out and so after breakfast we headed out to Table Rock to hike. It was such a beautiful day and the view was spectacular. It wasn't too cold and there weren't too many people up at the top. I love the view of Boise from above. After our hike, we stopped into the Old Pen, said hi to April and then wandered around. I had never been there before and parts of it reminded me of Alcatraz. The cells were freezing but there were some great stories that were fascinating to hear and read about. Also, there was a tombstone with the worst pun ever. On the way back, we drove through downtown Boise and stopped at the Ann Frank Memorial, which was bright in the sunlight. It was such lovely weather, after it had snowed on Thursday, three days before.

 

Dinner on their last night was a pot-luck extravaganza. Kevin BBQed, I made bruschetta, Brooke and her mom made some various salads and it was all delicious. We ate inside but then spent the rest of the night out around the fire-pit, talking, telling stories, listening to music. I loved that my biological family and my adopted family were able to meet and spend time together.

A few months later, after I had moved into better new house, we caravan-ed back up to Idaho with all the things in the garage. There was a little snafu at first picking up the U-haul trailer but that was the only snafu of the entire trip. We left early, early in the morning, before the sun was even up, and started over the Sierras, stopping at Bishop, like usual, for sandwiches and some bread and muffins for the next morning. The views of Mono Lake were beautiful as we drove over the mountains and we had installed an app on to our phones to  stay in touch without having to make phone calls.

OK, I guess the other little snafu was on the way to Carson City where the roads were washed out. We all sat for a little while and eventually, I turned around so we could take a detour. It added an extra hour onto our drive and it took me a little while to catch up so Mom and Abba turned around once to try and find me and then I also needed to get some gas last minute but finally we made it to Reno and the Lenzes and got to bed early for another long drive.

Day 2 had one stop in Winnemucca where we all got big drinks and by the time I made it to the Idaho border I had to pee like a racehorse. Finally we all made it back to the house and started the two days of cleaning, unpacking, organizing, etc. We got all the books organized and into the shelves, set up the furniture, went to Boise to find a few extra things, including a couch and love-seat for $100 which we finagled into the house. We still had time for some fun things- we went to dinner at Bitter Creek, walked around downtown, including Freak Alley, went to thrift stores with no plan in mind. We also took an afternoon to drive out to Marsing, hiking to the top of Lizard Butte (although the visibility sucked- thank you fires), driving along the Snake River, sitting on the pier by Lake Lowell, enjoying the sunshine and luckily not too incredibly hot day.

I'm definitely incredibly grateful for my parents coming up to Idaho both time. The first time to see what my life was like and the second time to set up my house. Best parents ever!