We had planned to get up early, pack up and head to Twin Falls to explore their Farmer’s Market on our way to Boise. But after such a late night, we got a late start on Saturday and didn’t get out of there until 10am. Twin Falls was too far away, and we would have missed the market. So instead, we headed into Idaho Falls again and walked through the market. It was exactly the same, but this time we were able to try Big Papa Fries which seemed particularly appropriate since we are in the land of potatoes! We also got more of the Mini Donuts, but I missed a picture of those because we gobbled those down. Then our last snack was Mountain Man Dutch Oven potatoes and sausage. They were okay but not as good as the fries! Then we headed back to the van and headed out of town! We felt happy with how much of the Idaho Falls area we explored, and especially getting to see the Tetons and Yellowstone. Glad we had a week here! Also glad to leave the terrible beds at our Airbnb!
We stopped in Rupert, ID at a little park for lunch – they had a community pool and Javi was dying to go swimming. We told him we were praying for the Holiday Inn’s pool to be open! (It was! Hurray!)
We finally made it to Boise, and got all checked in to our hotel. The pool was open, AND they are serving breakfast! This made our kids’ day. 🙂 Then we drove downtown to the Basque square and we found Luke’s mom’s family name on one of the plaques! That was super exciting! We decided on one of the little Basque restaurants there for dinner, and man did that dinner not disappoint! Best food we’ve had so far on the trip. We ordered crab and prosciutto croquetas, calamari (with tiny octopus), and dish called “Don’t Be Shellfish” with mussels, clams, chorizo, and shrimp all in a red pepper cream sauce, served with crusty toasted bread. It was divine! They had tempranillo (spanish wine) and we ordered a Basque burnt cheesecake for dessert with blackberries and I was so happy. 🙂
We ate out on the patio (lovely, and so reminiscent of Spain) and there was a sweet couple there from Portland with their dog. The kids adopted “Millie,” and they enjoyed feeding her little bites of food, taking her for little walks, and just generally soaking up time with her. The couple gave us tips on what to do when we get to Portland, and it was all very enjoyable.
After dinner we walked around downtown a bit. I wanted the kids to see Freak Alley, the street art alley that my brother and I explored last time I was in Boise. They had fun picking out their favorites, and then Lover explained a super funny one to them. It was a nuclear holocaust, a Twinkie and a cockroach, with the title “Friends Forever.” LOL. I love these spots that are set aside specifically for street art. I think it’s so creative, and there are so many different styles and the colors are just awesome. So lovely!
Then we headed back to the hotel and went swimming, which made everyone’s day. Even mine, and I’m not a huge fan of swimming. But it was such a long, hot, muggy day, it felt nice to get cooled off and splash in the water for a bit. The littles got cold fast, so I took them upstairs and the others followed later. Then we all watched Hitch for a while, and the kids gave us strange looks wondering why we were crying laughing. The humor was a little bit above their heads, but we just love that movie! 🙂