Return From Spokane

Good Morning!  I am back from my Girls Weekend in Spokane, WA visiting Dawny.  I know I had a lot of fun because I am still exhausted. We logged a lot of steps over the weekend and since Dawny is an early riser, we were up when with sunrise each day.

 

I booked the Hotel RL (a Red Lion affiliate hotel) in the downtown/River Park area, which was a great location.  We really enjoyed the hotel and especially their coffee.  Each room gets a commentary 8 oz espresso per person each day.  That was a nice perk.  There was a Women’s Nazarene conference going on at the hotel so we met some really great people and were even invited to attend their functions a couple of time.

 

Despite living in Spokane for most of her life, Dawny hasn’t experience everything so this trip was all about new experiences for both of us.  We picked restaurants we had not been to and I enjoyed my first time at a fancy movie theater with seats that reclined.  It was just way too much fun.

Friday morning, my plane landed in Spokane at 6:45 am. 

 

We went to breakfast at Frank’s Diner, which is a restaurant in an old train car.  It is very small but really cute and the service was fantastic. 

 

Afterwards, we had time to kill so we scouted out a few places we wanted to check out over the weekend and was able to check into our hotel early.  We visited Dawny’s new cute house she recently bought and then I got to meet her Mom.  Lunch was at Northern Quest Casino where we also did a little gambling but sadly, didn’t come away winning our millions.  Maybe next time.

 

After resting for a bit at the hotel, we went to The Melting Pot for happy hour fondue.  Dawny had not been yet and the happy hour prices make cheese and chocolate fondue a great price.  We were so stuffed when we left and enjoyed every bite.  Fondue is fun!

 

We had tickets to the Spokane Indian baseball game and the opposing team just happened to be the Boise Hawks.  It was also opening night and the evening was to end with fireworks.  The weather turned a bit cold and the game drug on way too long so we only made it to the top of the 4^th inning before calling it quits and having Mongolian for dinner.  We later found out the fireworks didn’t even start until after 10:30pm and since my day started at 4am, I knew I wasn’t staying up that late.  We enjoyed the few hours we spent at the game and made friends with those in the seats around us.

 

 

Saturday started early so we could get to Cottage Café and beat the morning rush.  I wish I had gotten a photo of this cute restaurant, which is very tiny.  There was several cars in the parking lot with us and a line even before they opened the doors.  By 7:10 am, there was a waiting list so we were really glad we woke up early.   They have a signature coffee made with brown sugar and cinnamon that sounded really great so we tried one.  It was super sweet and very yummy.  The homemade strawberry jam is the best.

We were again left with time to kill so we ran a couple of errands before a 9:50 am showing of Book Club.  OMG this movie is wonderful and we laughed so much.  I also got to enjoy my first time at a theater with reclining seats.  They are building one in Caldwell so I’ll have to make sure to check it out once it opens.

Dawny isn’t much of an alcohol drinker so it was the perfect opportunity to corrupt her by introducing her to cider.  We had the best tasting flight at One Tree Cider House and even took some to go.  This cider is so delicious that I wish it was closer.

 

We secured a parking spot downtown and had lunch at Rocky Rococo’s before a double feature movie this time seeing Life Of The Party.  We almost missed the movie thinking it was later but we were right on time.  We had some good laughs but I preferred Book Club more.  Since we were already downtown, we continued on foot to Black Label Brewing.  I had wanted to try several of the local breweries but we just didn’t have enough time.  Black Label had many delicious dark beers and I enjoyed my flight.

 

Our hotel was having an outdoor concert so an appearance was mandatory.  The band was called Spare Parts and they were really good.  As soon as the fast music started, I got up to dance and was able to get others to join me.  There was also a group that was doing the Electric Slide line dine that I joined in on.  The music ended at 9pm and the party pretty much died down so we took an Uber to the local piano bar called The Ridler.  We made all sorts of new friends and continued the dancing party until we took Uber back to the hotel and passed out (it was only 11pm…ha!)

 

Dawny’s wake-up call came like clockwork and we were up and at ‘em again early (5:00 am!!!) for our big day at Silverwood ThemePark.  Despite living in Idaho all my life, I’ve been to many theme parks except Silverwood so I was super stoked.  Plus, we woke up to another beautiful day of sunshine.  We had breakfast at Molly’s Family Restaurant and then headed towards Athol, Idaho.

 

I rode this ride called Spincycle which takes you upside down and even kept us suspended for a few moments.  It was the neatest experience and the craziest one all wrapped up into one.  And, I had to really trust in my harness to keep me safe.  I also rode Aftershock, a really intense roller coaster.  It turns out that Dawny doesn’t like extreme rides but I was able to get her on the Corkscrew roller coaster and Tilt-a-Whirl.  Sadly, that was all Dawny could handle as she didn’t feel well after (sorry Dawny).

 

 

 

That was the end of our trip as Dawny went home to rest/re-coop and start to feel better.  I stayed in my room for the evening and ordered in pizza as I had another early flight to catch home to Boise.  It is always so much fun to go but also nice to be home.  And, I miss Kenyon when I travel without him.  I’m still feeling exhausted and now I’m back to work.  I’m going to take it easy this week and get to bed early.

Thanks Dawny for spending the weekend with me.