Mixed Nuts: Idaho Vacation Day 1 and 2

Quotes

"There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark." - Helen Keller
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck
You may never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.- Unknown
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow' ~Helen Keller
Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."- Dr. Seuss
"Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it."
"God doesn't give children with disabilities to strong people: He gives them to ordinary, everyday people, then He helps the parents to grow stronger through the journey. Raising a child with special needs doesn't TAKE a special family, it MAKES a special family."Author Unknown
I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go – Abraham Lincoln
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~ Benjamin Franklin
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is a miracle - Albert Einstein
The journey of a 1000 miles starts with a single step
Sometimes in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives you a fairy tale
Where there is great love, there are always miracles - Willa Cather
The Difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer
Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness
There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.
Be the change you want to see in the world
Don't tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big Your God is..........
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it
Fall down seven times - get up eight - unknown
Despite our differences, we sink or swim together
Life may not be the party we expected, but while we are here, we might as well dance
"The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." -Confucius

Saturday, July 23, 2016

Idaho Vacation Day 1 and 2

This poor neglected blog. I need to get back to it - missing on documenting many things I don't want to forget.

A few weeks ago, we went on vacation. I know you saw the title of this blog and said "Idaho? Did she say Idaho?"

Finley has a vision bucket list that we are working through. Paris, London, Hawaii, Idaho.....it makes sense, doesn't it? I thought you would agree. We have been putting it off (Because Idaho was actually her #1) because we thought she was crazy and would forget about it.

We were wrong. She didn't forget. And after our trip I can tell you that we are glad that she didn't. We had a wonderful time and Idaho is about the most beautiful place I have ever been in this country. Just stunning.

We left on June 29th - Mat's Aunt Betty in tow with us - and headed to Idaho. We had a really crazy flight. IT was cheap, so we just went with it. We left at 5am, had a 9 hour layover, and landed in Boise in the evening. The layover went by quickly and wasn't as bad as I thought.

We were dead tired by the time we got in - we had eaten dinner in the airport during our layover, so we just grabbed some groceries and headed to our house in Boise. When we travel, we try to stay in Airbnb accomodations because 5 of us is too big for one hotel room. And I like to pack light and just wash clothes while we are away. So it works out great.

Boise house was really pretty. It was spacious and well cared for. It was 100 degrees when we landed, so the air conditioning was welcome. We unpacked and settled in.

Day 2 - we had a full day of touring Boise planned for this day. Unfortunately, some of our plans were derailed because there was a wild fire near where we were, and it closed a few things. But no problem - we adjusted. We went to the Boise State Capitol which was really nice. And totally empty. We found this a theme of basically our whole trip - Idaho's idea of busy is much different that our description of busy here on the east coast.

In the state capitol we visited the different House and Senate chambers, and saw the govenors office, and enjoyed learning a little more about the history of Boise. Even the kids enjoyed it.

We thought this room was interesting. We found out this is where they used to keep all the permanent records, so that is why the heavy door.

Govenors office

They have stars inside the dome of the capital. The large stars stand for the 13 colonies and the 43 little stars are because Idaho was the 43rd state added to America.

Making some laws

The Govenor's last name is Otter - this was in his office

After the state capital we made a quick stop at Boise State University. They are famous for their blue turf football field, and Mat wanted to see it up close. I have to say, it was pretty cool. The stadium was huge. We had a really nice guy who showed us around and talked to us about the history of the school and the field.

The stadium is gigantic

Blue turf field

I took this one because those seats up there? They are $50,000 a year.

After Boise state, we went to a little place called Lucky Peak State Park. It is a beach along the river where you can swim. IT was so very hot that this ended up being the perfect way to spend the afternoon. The kids loved the chance to swim and play around and relax. The day before we were up so early and it was such a long day, this was perfect.

Mountains around the swimming hole

After swimming, we dressed and went to dinner in the Basque District part of Boise. I had read about it online - there is a Spanish settlement area in Boise, and this area is still true to that heritage. We had Paela dinner which was delicious. (Arlington tried and loved clams and oysters). It was the perfect ended to our first day in Idaho.

We passed the areas that had burned during the wild fire.

Waiting for our Paela

Finley is thinking this is not a great idea. But she did end up liking it

These are what they cook it in

The oldest house in Idaho

We rounded off the night with some potato ice cream. We were pleased to find out that it was just ice cream in the shape of a potato - it was fun.

The scenery was just outstanding. The mountains were gorgeous. The water was crystal clear (yet freezing). Boise was extremely clean. The people were incredibly nice. We were pleasantly surprised right from the beginning.