Day 7 (June 29): Goodbye, Idaho
By all measures, today was easy. We ate breakfast in the hotel. Henry got to buy the book he tantrummed about in Coupeville at an adorable local bookstore, where I was also able to add to our sticker collection. We paid less than $50 for lunch and ate it in a beautiful park near an amazing playground adjacent to the lake in downtown Coeur d'Alene. That's right, we classed it up at a public park in our underwear. Look out world!
Our driving was less than four hours and the kids watched movies the entire time. We crossed the Clark Fork dozens of times because that's what I-90 does on its way into Missoula. We got to our hotel, ate an acceptable dinner at a local Mexican restaurant (under $100), and got back in time to spend an hour in the water park. This was just long enough for Ali to build up the courage to go down a waterslide by herself. It's 10:30 and the kids are probably asleep. I wouldn't know, though, because we've put them in an adjacent (not adjoining) hotel room. Small aside: with the hospitality's full suite of technological resources in 2019, why is it still not possible to reserve adjoining rooms?
And, yes, I've decided "tantrummed" is a word. I think it will come in quite useful in the months ahead. As in, "Officer, I abandoned my child on the side of the road because she tantrummed AGAIN." (This seems like a good time to remind you about one of the best blog entries of all time, Don't Carpe Diem.)
So we're in Montana now. I think it's amusing to both of us that the kids simply have no idea how big this state is. After we spend the day in Missoula tomorrow, we're going to spend the entire day on Monday driving to Glendive. That's 100 miles from Idaho to 35 miles from North Dakota. It's nearly 600 miles. Like driving from Ashland to Portland and back in a day, in case any Oregonians were wondering.
The highlight of the day for me was Elise saying "I like talking to you." That's not bad for one week of (this kind of) travel. Kudos to us. Another highlight was Elise air drumming as we pulled into the hotel. She was so elated we rounded a traffic circle three times to see if the kids, ensconced in a movie, would notice. They didn't so she gave up.
Our driving was less than four hours and the kids watched movies the entire time. We crossed the Clark Fork dozens of times because that's what I-90 does on its way into Missoula. We got to our hotel, ate an acceptable dinner at a local Mexican restaurant (under $100), and got back in time to spend an hour in the water park. This was just long enough for Ali to build up the courage to go down a waterslide by herself. It's 10:30 and the kids are probably asleep. I wouldn't know, though, because we've put them in an adjacent (not adjoining) hotel room. Small aside: with the hospitality's full suite of technological resources in 2019, why is it still not possible to reserve adjoining rooms?
And, yes, I've decided "tantrummed" is a word. I think it will come in quite useful in the months ahead. As in, "Officer, I abandoned my child on the side of the road because she tantrummed AGAIN." (This seems like a good time to remind you about one of the best blog entries of all time, Don't Carpe Diem.)
So we're in Montana now. I think it's amusing to both of us that the kids simply have no idea how big this state is. After we spend the day in Missoula tomorrow, we're going to spend the entire day on Monday driving to Glendive. That's 100 miles from Idaho to 35 miles from North Dakota. It's nearly 600 miles. Like driving from Ashland to Portland and back in a day, in case any Oregonians were wondering.
The highlight of the day for me was Elise saying "I like talking to you." That's not bad for one week of (this kind of) travel. Kudos to us. Another highlight was Elise air drumming as we pulled into the hotel. She was so elated we rounded a traffic circle three times to see if the kids, ensconced in a movie, would notice. They didn't so she gave up.
Sounds much better!!
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