Sister trip to Idaho, part one

Where do I even begin??  My sister trip to Idaho was fantastic!!  I’ve been home for several days but just can’t seem to catch up!

On Thursday morning, June 23, Dick and I left at 2:30 AM for the Harrisburg airport, a two-hour drive. Dick dropped me off and drove back home. We were so thankful he didn’t need to go to work at 8 AM!

Before long Mary Ellen and Doris were dropped off, and our long-anticipated adventure had begun!

We flew to Dallas Fort Worth.  Betty soon joined us there from Boston, and the four of us flew to Boise. 

Upon our arrival there we were immediately greeted by Barb, and by Rose who had just arrived from Charleston, and by Andrea (Barb’s daughter), who had just arrived from Phoenix. What a reunion!!  

We would have a two-hour drive to Barb’s house, so after we got everything and all our bodies crammed into Barb’s vehicle we went to a nearby Applebees for dinner. It was absolutely lovely in every way!

Later, as we traveled on Interstate 84 to Barb’s house near Buhl we had an unexpected delay due to a horrific accident.  Apparently a Big Mac truck had slammed into an RV and drove right through it, horrible debris strewn on both sides of the highway.  That was hard to un-see.

What a joy to finally arrive at Barb’s lovely home!

Her son Michael and his family stopped in to see us for a while.  Andrea would be sleeping at their house, much to their kids' delight.  

For a long time we sat in the super comfy living room that had huge windows facing the meadow right across the road.  We were mesmerized!

On Friday morning we gathered one-by-one in the living room again, as we would do each morning.  It was so serene and comfortable we didn’t want to do anything else!  

The view from her dining room table was lovely too, so eventually we gathered there to eat some of the baked oatmeal Mary Ellen had made. 

We had hit an unbelievably cold spell!  Their summer weather is typically in the 90's and dry.  But for most of the time we were there it was cloudy, even rainy a few times, VERY windy, and in the 50's and 60's!!  

Our first adventure was a trip to experience the INCREDIBLE Perrine Bridge, the Snake River, and Shoshone Falls.  I had no idea there was something like this near Barb.  I thought everything was flat fields of crops, hahaha!!  

On our way back to Barb's we stopped at Coldstone Creamery for some ice cream.  Andrea had taken Michael's daughter Ashlyn for a manicure for her birthday, and they met us there.  

From there we stopped at Barb's daughter Jill's lovely home.  Her youngest son had a final ball game, then would be leaving for camp early in the morning, so it was our only chance to see him before he left. 

We had a good time chatting for a while.  Jill is the one in green, and her son Cooper is on her right.  

Aunt Andrea is so loved by all her nieces and nephews.  It was wonderful to have her there from Arizona where she has her own practice as a physicians assistant.  Here she is with Michael's daughter Ashlyn and Jill's daughter Brooklyn.  

I can't remember what we had for dinner at Barb's that evening.  I was trying to look on our plates, but I can't see anything on them.  I guess it was good, whatever we had!

More views from the dining room.  The heifers in one direction.  

Barb's gorgeous roses.  

And this!!  Barb's husband John was living in their camper while we were there.   He and his dog are constant companions, and we would see them going back and forth as we sat in the living room.  I was determined to get a picture of them and finally succeeded.  Crazy how the dog can balance herself like that!

 

That evening we watched a 50-minute video I had taken of a conversation with my dad a few months before he died.  A few weeks ago I was delighted to discover it in the depths of my computer files - when I wasn't even looking for it. Needless to say, we shed some tears as we watched it.  

I guess that's long enough for this post.  Looks like I'm spending my July 4th blogging.  Much more soon!