Oh Boise!

Here we are in Boise, Idaho. Since our last post, we spent two nights in Blackfoot, Idaho, home of the Idaho Potato Museum. Unfortunately, the full day we spent there was a Sunday. Therefore, the potato museum, along with just about everything else in the small town, was closed. No worries though. We had a nice, lazy day together, which included drying out the tent, strangely authentic Mexican food for lunch, and a rousing game of mini golf with a mountain view in the background. On Monday, we finally made it to the Idaho Potato Museum, which shares a small building with the Blackfoot Chamber of Commerce. I'm not sure what any of you are picturing a museum celebrating the history of the spud to be like, but I lost myself in excitement among the old potato farming equipment, the burlap sack tuxedo worn by the first Idaho Potato Commissioner, and the display case celebrating the life and times of Mr. Potato Head. We spent more time and money in that small gift shop than in any gift shop so far. One of the best parts of the museum was the free box of Idaho Potato hash browns we received with the price of admission (the slogan says, "Free 'Taters For Out-Of-Staters!"). Once we took pictures outside in front of the worlds largest styrofoam potato we set off for Boise. The drive from Blackfoot to Boise was, well, just like driving a few hours through Idaho might sound. There was one highlight, though, when we stopped in Twin Falls to check out an awesome bridge over a big gorge with the Snake River at its base. We happened to get there just in time to see two people base jumping (jumping off then parachuting down) from the bridge. We arrived in Boise in the mid-afternoon. So we checked into our motel and headed for downtown Boise. It's a pretty cool (small) city, and the people almost remind me of Ithaca. There was a stunning number of dreadlocks and bike riders, especially for a place where it's sometimes hard to tell whether the locals' necks or their voting habits are more red. After walking around for a bit, we found a nice Italian restaurant to eat at to celebrate our five year anniversary. Again, strangely authentic. Laura was mad though when the waiter brought out the bottle of wine we ordered. He brought two glasses, but only poured a little for me at first. He held the bottle for me to read, and I'm assuming waited for me to try the wine. I took a look at the bottle, slurped down a swig of the wine, and said, "Hmm, it's quite good," as if I had any idea what I was doing. He then poured Laura's glass, then topped mine off. Laura had trouble dealing with the fact that I was the one that got to decide whether or not the wine was good. Maybe it's because of the whole sexist thing, or maybe it's because I know very little about wine. In any case, the meal was fantastic. Now we're getting ready to head to Bend, Oregon. It's supposed to be a cool little town, but it's also just another place to get to. We'll be in California the next day!

Oh Boise!

Elijah