Sunday, September 14, 2008

From Idaho to Washington




I am finally back online again. The wifi reception is not always what the RV parks advertise. We had a great 6 days in Idaho with our friends, Fran and Dan. Fred and Dan had a great time talking about fishing. Since Fran has taken a job, Dan was nice enough to be our tour guide each day. We toured their town Coeur D' Alene and rode a paddlewheeler around the lake. It was beautiful but cold and windy as it got down to 38 the night before. Most of the lake houses are already closed down. Some are only accessible by boat. They are unique lake houses like the one built on a rock. They also have a large resort on the lake downtown--its golf course if located on down the lake so you take a boat to get there. Then you have one hole that is on a small island out in the lake. After you take your first shot, you ride a boat out to the island to finish. I can only imagine what it must cost for that golf package. The real estate here is also very expensive. There is a great amount of wilderness in Idaho. Some of the lake land belongs to the Indian reservation. We did enjoy their casino a couple of times. I won $110 in a penny machine on a 9 cent bet. I was excited as I usually lose my $25 and I am through
Another day we drove up to Sandpoint located on another lake, Lake Pend Oreille, the largest lake in Idaho. That is the home of Coldwater Creek. I wanted to go to the original store. It is now a new store on Main Street. It does not have nearly the stock that our stores in Dallas have. There were lots of tourists shopping there--even ran into a woman from Frisco. I guess all the tourists must keep the stock depleted. As I was coming out of the store, Fred and Dan were looking for me as they said that they had found the perfect place for lunch-- just like two little boys that had found a candy store. I should have known that something was up. The place , The Loading Dock, was down a side street. Just as we go in, Fred tells me that they have REAL Chicago Hotdogs--he has even asked about the peppers and the poppy seed buns. Dan had never had one. For those of you who have never had one, it needs to be a really good quality all meat weiner with poppy-seed bun, sport peppers, relish, mustard, lettuce, and tomatoes with a dill pickle spear. As I am not a real hot dog lover, I ordered a pizza. It was just okay, but the boys just loved their hotdogs. I have a feeling that Fran will be making a trip to Sandpoint with Dan so he can introduce her to Chicago dogs.
Afterwards, we drove out to the Kootenay Wildlife Refuge to see the migrating geese and ducks. They rest here after coming from Canada before they continue on south.
On Fran's day off, we went to Spokane, WA, to shop. This is just across the border and their largest mall. She and I bought jeans, new white blouses for the fall, and some summer tops that we found on sale. That night, as it was our last with them, we went out for a special dinner at Cedars on the Lake. We had a waterfront table and each enjoyed a prime rib dinner.
We will see them again in a few weeks when we meet up for the Prosser Balloon Fest and Wine Festival in Washington.

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