Idaho In April, Part One

Ok, now I have started three travelogues, but haven't finished one of them. Good thing no one reads this junk, or they would be really ticked.

This travelogue actually accompanies the Kate and Jacob Wedding notes. In April, Dorey and I went to Idaho for a few days. We were attending Christian's graduation from Brigham Young University-Idaho, in Rexburg, Idaho. On the same weekend, we went to an open house put on by Jacob's parents in Meridian, Idaho. We crossed the state twice that week with my parents, Bob and Sharyn. So here's the travelogue.


I left work about 30 minutes early on Wednesday. We were finally going on our long awaited trip to Idaho to attend Christian’s college graduation and Kate and Jacob’s Open House in Meridian. By the time I left work, I was simply bored of the wait.

I arrived home at about 4:45 p.m., and sat around for a few minutes, eating pizza for dinner. Holly came to pick us up to drop us at the airport. The airport was not busy–more signs of the rescission, I guess. Dorey’s main concern was that she did not want to check Kate’s wedding dress, and she thought that it might be too bulky to carry on. Not a problem. We made it through security without incident, and walked up to our gate. We were in the new terminal, and we passed the Fenton’s Ice Cream place there. After we sat down, I went back and bought us each a sundae. So much for that diet. It was delicious, although it spilled all over my white pants. I felt like a two year old walking around the terminal with ice cream stains on my pants.

The plane was not crowded, and we could spread out. I think that I slept on the plane listening to my I-Pod. The plane landed in Boise on time, and Bob and Sharyn were there to pick us up.

The plan had been for Bob and Sharyn to rent the car, and then to add me as a driver. The wisdom of the plan became obvious as we drove from the airport to the motel. Bob was driving, and Sharyn was in the passenger seat. They had their GPS system on. That would be great, except Bob can’t hear the GPS voice. So the GPS voice would tell Bob to take some direction, and Sharyn would have to shout it at Bob. And Sharyn is not always that patient with Bob.

So we reached the off-ramp where our motel is. The GPS was telling us to turn left. Bob was in the righthand lane. Sharyn yelled at Bob to turn left. He kept going in the right hand turn lane. Turn left, Bob, Sharyn said. About 20 feet from the corner, Bob finally understood that he was supposed to turn left. Without looking, he jetted across three lanes of traffic. Not such a great move, Bob. I think that I should be driving.

Then we had the discussion about what time they would pick us up in the morning. Bob said 9:00 a.m. Sharyn said 10:00 a.m. (They were staying in a different motel). This is a worrisome sign. She used to get up and go. Now she is opting to fuss around in the morning doing nothing. We had to drop Kate’s dress off at the Curtis’s before driving to Rexburg. This would be the first time we would meet them. So I really wanted to get there and get out of town. As we were getting out of the car, Bob said that he would try to pick us up at 9:30 a.m.

So Bob can’t hear and Sharyn is running out of steam. Great!!! They are getting old.

On Thursday morning, Dorey and I went on a walk in Meridian while waiting for Bob and Sharyn. It was obvious that Sharyn had won the duel, and that they would not pick us up until 10:00 a.m. So we went walking. I am currently trying to walk 1,000,000 steps in 100 days. This plan has resulted in sore and blistered feet. The plan for our walk was to find a Walmart or other such store where I could buy some moleskin for my feet. As with 7-11 stores, there is never a Walmart when you want one, and they are ubiquitous when you don’t want one. We walked about a mile down Overlook Drive passed the Harley Davidson store, and then turned around and walked back, never finding a Walmart.

Then we came back and check out and sat in the lobby waiting for Bob and Sharyn to stop fighting with each other and the GPS system. As we sat there, a buuch of Army guys in fatigues came through the lobby, and into a meeting room. I could not figure out what they were doing there. Later discussing it with Bob, we decided that they were planning the takeover of the United States. There are, after all, enough military bases surrounding Boise that they don’t need to be meeting in Meridian. They had a big projector. They closed the door when the meeting began. What else could they be talking about?

Bob and Sharyn arrived at 10:10 a.m. "So Sharyn won," I said to Bob. He disagreed with this assessment, saying that the plan was to leave their hotel at 10:00 a.m. Whatever.


Ok, the stats: On Tuesday, I walked 12,585 steps. On Wednesday, I walked 12,518 steps. As of this moment, 8:21 p.m. on Thursday, July 23, 2009, I have walked 331,143 steps in 28 days.