Monday/Tuesday
Rarely do proposal managers get asked to travel so when the Regional Sales Director invited me for 24-hour trip to Chicago to meet with a customer, it was hard to say no despite the fact it meant I would be getting back at 10 PM the night before the boys and I were set to leave for Spokane. All boring work stuff aside, it was a great opportunity and I am glad I went. Probably the best part was that I got to spend a few hours with Barb, whom I haven't seen in at least 5 years. Now if only all my work travel could be to places with friends.
Photo of Barb and I acting like fools in my hotel room and two shots at the Big 10 headquarters where the meeting was held.
Wednesday
I woke early trying to work and pack prior to the boys and I taking off for Spokane. It has been a while since the boys flew so it was funny to see how anxious flying made them. Despite being an hour early, they insisted we sit at the gate so as to not miss boarding. Of course I think the glamour and excitement wore off quickly when we arrived in Phoenix. The layover was just under two hours until Southwest had some plane issues and I think we ended up staying almost 4 hours in the Phoenix airport. We entertained ourselves the best we could - moving walk-ways are never boring, checking out the stores (and their supplies of properly spelled Meghan gifts) and the people watching was fabulous. Our delay worked out perfectly because our original arrival time would have put us coming in just as a quick but strong storm ripped through Spokane causing power outages. We spent out first night in the dark debating how long an ice cream cake will last in a freezer with no electricity. Thankfully the power was restored just about midnight so we didn't have to feast on Zach's cake a day early.
Thursday (7/24)
The morning started off with JT and I heading to the Valley to pick up Lauren who happened to be staying with her "other" grandma for a week. I also tortured JT with a tour of a few Valley haunts including the house I grew up in. We spent a full day at Mobius, ate at the Onion, visited Aunties, BooRadleys, Atticus, and then headed home to celebrate Zach's birthday.
Friday
We were back downtown to be Spokane tourist at Riverfront Park. We rode the gondola (first time ever!) and spent an inordinate amount of time on the carousel. I had no idea 12 and 9 year old boys would find it so much fun but the competition of grabbing the ring kept them wanting more. Zach got the bronze ring, which may have been the highlight of his day.
Saturday
I decided the boys needed to see REAL mountains. I remember Grandpa Joe once coming to Spokane and telling us he didn't need to go to Montana to see mountains; he has mountains where he lives. We headed east and when we reached Coeur d'Alene the boys kept asking if "those are the mountains." I laughed and told them to just wait. My original destination was Wallace, Idaho just over the 4th of July Pass but once we did that it was just a short 20 minute drive to the Montana border (specifically the $50,000 Silver Dollar). I told the boys we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see 3 States in just under 2 hours (it takes us 6 to get out of Texas) and the Silver Dollar is such a kitcshy tourist junk stop, we had to stop. So we took on Lookout Pass and headed to Montana. The boys were impressed especially when they realized we were at 4700 feet compared to Pville's 700 ft. I wish we had been up and about earlier as once we hit Montana I would have loved to just continued to Missoula for the day. There is so much I love about Austin but being in the mountains made me miss the PNW. I want to figure out how I can get the family to Montana next summer.
Sunday/Monday
We spent the rest of our time in Spokane relaxing, taking in a Spokane Indians game, doing a bit more shopping, lots of eating, Huckleberry ice cream, torturing the boys with some more trips down memory lane, a visit to GU, and handing out with Mack (aka Fluffy). I also got to sneak away one evening to meet up with some great friends from my G-Prep days as well as hang out at the Manito Country Club with Kassio so we could catch up while the boys swam.
It was a great trip. We all enjoyed spending time with Pete and Judes and of course we were all sad to leave. Hopefully we will back up with the chickens soon.
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