Road Trip!

We went on a little road trip this week, down to Coeur d'Alene. I love Coeur d'Alene, it's so....I don't know....quaint isn't the word, but it's something along those lines. Touristy, but not in a touristy way. And friendly?  Geez, the folks are nice. "Folks" is the right word, they're just a folksy bunch. But not hillbillies, or rednecks. Although we did see lots of big 4x4 trucks that had balls hanging from the hitch. As in "testicles", but not real ones. I asked a friendly folksy guy at a gas station what they were, and not only did he tell me (truck nuts is the term, and it's just a macho kinda guy thing) he said his buddy had a set for sale, and he actually called the guy to being them to work the next day so that we could pop back in and purchase them. We passed, but appreciated the offer. I don't need to drive around with truck nuts swinging beneath me. I could, however, see a yearning in Stevens eyes.

We stayed at the casino, which is about 30 miles south of town. It's a beautiful resort...golf course, spa, large casino, lots of restaurants, and live entertainment. And guess who we missed? The Bacon Brothers! For those of you from BC who read this, I don't mean the bad, gangster Bacon Brothers, I think they're mostly in prison or dead, I mean Kevin Bacon and his brother, who have a band and they tour places like this.  I think I may have shed a tear, in both disappointment and despair. I heart Kevin Bacon. And I really, really hate when people write "heart" instead of using ❤. Or just writing "love". So you know I mean it. 

And I had an ice cream experience. I'm not a huge fan of ice cream, but the menu said it was "prepared from fresh ingredients at your table" , which sounded fun. Our server girl brought out a table with a huge stainless steel bowl and many little bowls with mysterious powders and liquids, plus a steel pitcher, whisks and wooden spoons and big ol work gloves. She mixed fresh creme anglais  with our choice of flavours (there was Guinness & cinnamon, Jack Daniels & cayenne, huckleberry & dark chocolate , and something else which I have forgotten. We decided on the huckleberry and chocolate.

So she whisks and scrapes and whisks and scrapes and adds the liquid nitrogen, which steams and froths and billows and sputters and burns when a small drop splashes out onto your arm.  It was pretty scientific-y and chemistry-like, and it turns into the most delectable ice cream right before your eyes...oh.....so.....good.....yum!

We also did a bit of a hike, the whole area around the lake is filled with trail and paths. we stopped here:

See the hill in the middle of the picture/ It's called Tubbs Hill and  we ended up at the top of it.  Here:

I'm not sure why the flags were there. I know that they have a huge fireworks display on the lake for the July 4th weekend, so maybe from that?
And this is another view from the hill:

and then we back to the casino, where our rooms were wonderful...with a Keurig machine and a selection of coffee, decaf and regular, hot chocolate, green tea, breakfast tea as well as orange spice herbal tea....refilled daily! Yay! some of the extras ended up in my suitcase.

And if that isn't enough to make you want to race right over to Coeur D'alene...how about this elevator roof? You can fall down, either drunkenly or tiredly, and gaze at the roof and pretend you are outside. How thoughtful!

I was sad to leave, and in no hurry to get home, which was just as well as we were stuck behind this truck for miles and miles, which just goes to show that this should not have been the name on the back