Idaho
The photo format has been changed to include links to the original, larger photo's so you can get a clearer picture of things in the distance.
I hope you like the format. If not, let me know.
Arriving at Boise airport a little late I am hoping that
Michael and Laura took their time getting to the airport and haven't been
waiting around too long. Not having a clue where I am and having
to find the baggage carousel, I follow the passengers that seem to know
where they are going. I am looking at the people waiting to greet
passengers hoping I can pick Laura out from a photo I had seen of her.
I didn't recognize anyone so on I went, maybe they are waiting at
the baggage carousel knwoing that'swhere I would be headed.
The luggage seems to be taking forever to come through, but whilst I'm waiting I hear a voice approaching saying "Georgie, Georgie", I turned and it was Michael walking around the people gathered around the carousel trying to find someone he didn't know. I guess the look on my face told him he'd found me.
We now had a 2 hour drive, in the dark, to their home. Michael filled me in on what I couldn't see outside. A landscape developed on volcanic rock. There will be time to see it over the next 2 days though.
Once home, Michael went to return his mum's car to her and pick up his own car and Frank, their pug. Frank also seemed very pleased to meet me, he jumped up on my knee for a welcome scratch. Michael's car is a small 3 door hatch which it would have been a struggle fitting the luggage in, but it was a great little car for our excursions.
We talked for a couple of hours before hitting the sack. My bed was made up in the lounge room as the basement guest room was a little chilly at this time of year. Frank seemed to like having an extra place to snuggle up on too, I think he thought he was going to be sharing the bed with me.
Monday morning we have breakfast, Michael drops Frank round at a neighbours place (Terry and Janet) for the day, and off we go to see the sights. Twin Falls, Shoshone Falls, and part of the Grand Canyon which runs up through Idaho. There is no way I can even begin to describe the views, again, you would have to be here to appreciate what I was seeing. One question though, how many of you have seen and upside rainbow? Almost 53 and this is my first time seeing one against the backdrop of the waterfall. Laura and Michael can understand how difficult it is for me to describe the falls as they are having difficulty trying to describe to me what they are like in summer after a really good winter.
No matter where you are there is a 360 degree view of mountains, some covered in snow. There is a lot of farming in this area, which at this time of year is all brown, dead grass, but in summer I can imagine how green it will look. We had an interesting lunch, free samples at Costco, a huge place, similar to our FAL, where you buy in bulk and save, but they sell everything, from furniture and tv's to books and cd's as well as food, drink and clothing. The samples were good, I ate things I'd never heard of before, Chipalote chicken, (I think that's the right spelling), a spinach and artichoke dip (that was really good) and a chicken salad that we can't remember what was in it, but I know I'd like the recipe for it.
Laura and Michael also introduced me to Michael's, a craft store that I could have been left in for 24 hours and still not wanted to leave. This place was as big as Joondalup Spotlight but had no bedding, bathroom or kitchen section. It was all art and craft. My kind of heaven. The section for weddings was incredible, I bought a few things for my wedding cakes and I'm sure I'll be ordering more stuff online once my funds are in a better position than they are right now. Michael just about had to drag me out of the place. I think Laura was enjoying herself though, watching me looking at all the stuff they had and debating whether to buy it or not.
Michael stopped to show me the point where Evil Knievel attempted to jump across the canyon, the jump was aborted, which is understandable, there's no way on earth he could have made the 1/4 mile gap.
Back home and Michael is preparing dinner while Laura and I chat. Of course Frank is now back home and doesn't want to be left out. He is just so cute the way he jumps from lap to lap sharing his affection between us.
If I'm up early enough, Michael is going to drive me out to watch an unobstructed sunrise from the desert. Wednesday morning and I'm up not quite early enough so on the way out of town I keep an eye on the horizon and when I think it's just about time Michael turns off down a side road that heads towards the sun. I didn't know it took forever for the sun to rise so we could have made it to the desert and seen it without any power poles blotting the landscape. I'll remember that next time.
Back home for breakfast and Terry and Janet call in to meet me with their son Joe. Another vegemite taste test goes on. Joe was a picture of agony once it the flavour hit. That's 2 kids I've now got petrified of vegemite. Janet offers to have us over for dinner tonight and when given a choice between T-bone and meatloaf (which Michael was going to make) there was no hesitation from Laura, T-Bone won hands down.
Today's drive was taking us up into Sun Valley Ski Resort, where both Michael and Laura have worked. I heard about some of the stars that have stayed up there, Clint Eastwood, Jamie Lee Curtis, Barbra Streisand to name a few.
On the way up to Sun Valley we stopped at a little store, Bear Claw, which was another shop I could spend some time in, dream catchers, crystals, sculptures made from wood, iron, stone etc. There were some beautiful dolphin sculptures that were far too big to carry home, elephants, bears etc. I think you get the picture so I won't dwell on what I couldn't have.
Lunch was had at a fish shop where we had clam chowder (it was really good), fish and chips and salad, all washed down with a Czech beer. The resort is a beautiful place, but the one thing I did find very interesting was the fact that there was no snow on any of the pathways, although there was deep snow all around. The paths are heated along with the pool, which looked more like a spa without the bubbles with the steam coming off it.
Leaving the resort we headed further up into the mountains, 8710 feet up at Galena Summit, I took a photo of the sign so I wouldn't forget. The roads were winding and Laura wasn't too comfortable with it considering the drop on the side, but as Michael said, we were all very safe as the snow and ice banks were so high and thick there's no way we could go over the edge. At the lookout I had to climb up and over the bank to get to the platform, which was under snow also, to get the full view of the valley. One word, awesome, can describe the view from up hear. Laura said I climbed like a mountain goat.
As much as we were all enjoying this drive out, it was time to head back before dark and the traffic through town got busy. We didn't want to be late for the dinner with Terry and Janet. Michael's mum also joined us for dinner. The food was wonderful and the company great fun. Michael had been telling me earlier that they played marbles sometimes, to which I replied "I haven't played marbles in years". Little did I know the marble game they played was more cut throat than my childhood memory of the game. I'm definitely going to have to toughen up. I will be getting a board made so I can play it at home.
I had a lot of fun though playing, and although it was to her detriment, Janet was helping me by telling me what move to make. A couple of times, Michael went to go before me and he got the "Oi" from me which cracked Janet up. I can see them using that term a few times now themselves.
11pm and it's time we went home, an 8am start in the morning for the airport. Michael and Laura both want me to forgo the Vegas visit to stay longer with them, but I will be back, in spring or summer, one year, to spend more time with them. Again, I felt like I was at home and Laura even said that next time I come home, I should base myself with them so I can come home after each visit I have scheduled.
Oh dear, we've slept in, it's 7.15, no time for the wonderful breakfast Michael had planned for us, just a muffin and a cuppa and pack up the car once again. I got to see the things I missed on my trip in, the mountains here seem to go for ever and it's hard to imagine what it was all like before the volcanoes erupted. It didn't really matter that we got to the airport a little late, once again, my flight was delayed. Many people in the queue were getting really upset because they couldn't make their connecting flights and had to postpone their travel till night time or another day. Much to Michael and Laura's disappointment my flight was delayed 2 hours which meant I would still make my Vegas flight. I know they were hoping to take me back home with them, and to be honest, I would have loved to have been able to spend more time with them.
I thank you both for taking in this stranger and making me feel like part of the family from the very beginning. Thank you for all you did for me and showed me. I appreciate it very much. Thanks also to Terry and Janet for the wonderful dinner and the fun we had.
I look forward to seeing you all again one day.
The luggage seems to be taking forever to come through, but whilst I'm waiting I hear a voice approaching saying "Georgie, Georgie", I turned and it was Michael walking around the people gathered around the carousel trying to find someone he didn't know. I guess the look on my face told him he'd found me.
We now had a 2 hour drive, in the dark, to their home. Michael filled me in on what I couldn't see outside. A landscape developed on volcanic rock. There will be time to see it over the next 2 days though.
Once home, Michael went to return his mum's car to her and pick up his own car and Frank, their pug. Frank also seemed very pleased to meet me, he jumped up on my knee for a welcome scratch. Michael's car is a small 3 door hatch which it would have been a struggle fitting the luggage in, but it was a great little car for our excursions.
We talked for a couple of hours before hitting the sack. My bed was made up in the lounge room as the basement guest room was a little chilly at this time of year. Frank seemed to like having an extra place to snuggle up on too, I think he thought he was going to be sharing the bed with me.
Monday morning we have breakfast, Michael drops Frank round at a neighbours place (Terry and Janet) for the day, and off we go to see the sights. Twin Falls, Shoshone Falls, and part of the Grand Canyon which runs up through Idaho. There is no way I can even begin to describe the views, again, you would have to be here to appreciate what I was seeing. One question though, how many of you have seen and upside rainbow? Almost 53 and this is my first time seeing one against the backdrop of the waterfall. Laura and Michael can understand how difficult it is for me to describe the falls as they are having difficulty trying to describe to me what they are like in summer after a really good winter.
No matter where you are there is a 360 degree view of mountains, some covered in snow. There is a lot of farming in this area, which at this time of year is all brown, dead grass, but in summer I can imagine how green it will look. We had an interesting lunch, free samples at Costco, a huge place, similar to our FAL, where you buy in bulk and save, but they sell everything, from furniture and tv's to books and cd's as well as food, drink and clothing. The samples were good, I ate things I'd never heard of before, Chipalote chicken, (I think that's the right spelling), a spinach and artichoke dip (that was really good) and a chicken salad that we can't remember what was in it, but I know I'd like the recipe for it.
Laura and Michael also introduced me to Michael's, a craft store that I could have been left in for 24 hours and still not wanted to leave. This place was as big as Joondalup Spotlight but had no bedding, bathroom or kitchen section. It was all art and craft. My kind of heaven. The section for weddings was incredible, I bought a few things for my wedding cakes and I'm sure I'll be ordering more stuff online once my funds are in a better position than they are right now. Michael just about had to drag me out of the place. I think Laura was enjoying herself though, watching me looking at all the stuff they had and debating whether to buy it or not.
Michael stopped to show me the point where Evil Knievel attempted to jump across the canyon, the jump was aborted, which is understandable, there's no way on earth he could have made the 1/4 mile gap.
Back home and Michael is preparing dinner while Laura and I chat. Of course Frank is now back home and doesn't want to be left out. He is just so cute the way he jumps from lap to lap sharing his affection between us.
If I'm up early enough, Michael is going to drive me out to watch an unobstructed sunrise from the desert. Wednesday morning and I'm up not quite early enough so on the way out of town I keep an eye on the horizon and when I think it's just about time Michael turns off down a side road that heads towards the sun. I didn't know it took forever for the sun to rise so we could have made it to the desert and seen it without any power poles blotting the landscape. I'll remember that next time.
Back home for breakfast and Terry and Janet call in to meet me with their son Joe. Another vegemite taste test goes on. Joe was a picture of agony once it the flavour hit. That's 2 kids I've now got petrified of vegemite. Janet offers to have us over for dinner tonight and when given a choice between T-bone and meatloaf (which Michael was going to make) there was no hesitation from Laura, T-Bone won hands down.
Today's drive was taking us up into Sun Valley Ski Resort, where both Michael and Laura have worked. I heard about some of the stars that have stayed up there, Clint Eastwood, Jamie Lee Curtis, Barbra Streisand to name a few.
On the way up to Sun Valley we stopped at a little store, Bear Claw, which was another shop I could spend some time in, dream catchers, crystals, sculptures made from wood, iron, stone etc. There were some beautiful dolphin sculptures that were far too big to carry home, elephants, bears etc. I think you get the picture so I won't dwell on what I couldn't have.
Lunch was had at a fish shop where we had clam chowder (it was really good), fish and chips and salad, all washed down with a Czech beer. The resort is a beautiful place, but the one thing I did find very interesting was the fact that there was no snow on any of the pathways, although there was deep snow all around. The paths are heated along with the pool, which looked more like a spa without the bubbles with the steam coming off it.
Leaving the resort we headed further up into the mountains, 8710 feet up at Galena Summit, I took a photo of the sign so I wouldn't forget. The roads were winding and Laura wasn't too comfortable with it considering the drop on the side, but as Michael said, we were all very safe as the snow and ice banks were so high and thick there's no way we could go over the edge. At the lookout I had to climb up and over the bank to get to the platform, which was under snow also, to get the full view of the valley. One word, awesome, can describe the view from up hear. Laura said I climbed like a mountain goat.
As much as we were all enjoying this drive out, it was time to head back before dark and the traffic through town got busy. We didn't want to be late for the dinner with Terry and Janet. Michael's mum also joined us for dinner. The food was wonderful and the company great fun. Michael had been telling me earlier that they played marbles sometimes, to which I replied "I haven't played marbles in years". Little did I know the marble game they played was more cut throat than my childhood memory of the game. I'm definitely going to have to toughen up. I will be getting a board made so I can play it at home.
I had a lot of fun though playing, and although it was to her detriment, Janet was helping me by telling me what move to make. A couple of times, Michael went to go before me and he got the "Oi" from me which cracked Janet up. I can see them using that term a few times now themselves.
11pm and it's time we went home, an 8am start in the morning for the airport. Michael and Laura both want me to forgo the Vegas visit to stay longer with them, but I will be back, in spring or summer, one year, to spend more time with them. Again, I felt like I was at home and Laura even said that next time I come home, I should base myself with them so I can come home after each visit I have scheduled.
Oh dear, we've slept in, it's 7.15, no time for the wonderful breakfast Michael had planned for us, just a muffin and a cuppa and pack up the car once again. I got to see the things I missed on my trip in, the mountains here seem to go for ever and it's hard to imagine what it was all like before the volcanoes erupted. It didn't really matter that we got to the airport a little late, once again, my flight was delayed. Many people in the queue were getting really upset because they couldn't make their connecting flights and had to postpone their travel till night time or another day. Much to Michael and Laura's disappointment my flight was delayed 2 hours which meant I would still make my Vegas flight. I know they were hoping to take me back home with them, and to be honest, I would have loved to have been able to spend more time with them.
I thank you both for taking in this stranger and making me feel like part of the family from the very beginning. Thank you for all you did for me and showed me. I appreciate it very much. Thanks also to Terry and Janet for the wonderful dinner and the fun we had.
I look forward to seeing you all again one day.