Life Is A Highway And We Rode It For 4 Days

Awww..July 4th. How I love thee. Besides my birthday (more on that to come) and Christmas, the 4th of July is my favorite holiday. I love America. I love fireworks. And I love all things red, white, and blue. I’m especially fond of the new flip-flops I bought this year at Wal-Mart for a mere $3. They were the inspiration behind my new July outfit. I must have been looking too cute to bother with any pictures, but thankfully in Utah the patriotic celebrations last all month long and I will take some pics on the 24th. I love those pioneers too.

The long weekend also meant that Mr. S and I embarked on our 2nd annual July 4th weekend motorcycle trip. This year’s trip took us on almost 900 miles of some of the most beautiful highways in Idaho and Montana. The only hiccup we experienced happened about 16.8 miles in. How can I know down to the tenth of a mile? Because that is when I lost my odometer cable. I also noticed that the speedometer was no longer working. Apparently the two are connected. Who knew.

We made it safely to a Yamaha dealership and once we were assured that it was still safe to ride we continued on. And I left confident that if I did get pulled over, for the first time in my driving career I would finally be able to answer honestly when the officer asked me if I had any idea how fast I was going. I never got my chance.

Here is how the trip broke down -

Day 1: Twin Falls to Riggins, ID. At check-in our hotel offered us complimentary beer. They also welcome pets. Horses included. Day 2: Riggins, ID to Darby, MT. We found the White Bird Battlefield, rode the Nez Perce and Lewis and Clark trails, and were not offered beer at our hotel. But that didn’t matter because Darby is “the best kept secret in Montana.” It’s true. They have street banners that say so. Day 3: Darby, MT to Hailey, ID. In honor of Independence Day we took some time to visit the Veterans Memorial across the street from our hotel in Darby. Then on to Hailey. The only requirement for where we would stay was whether or not there were going to be fireworks. We stayed at a Bed & Breakfast, of which I am now the mayor, and we were able to watch fireworks from the parking lot. Not the greatest display I’ve seen and I did have to sing the patriotic themed songs in my head, but it was sufficient. Day 4: Hailey to Twin Falls to Salt Lake. Only 60 miles on the motorcycles then back to the truck. We picked up Kingston at my sister’s and made it home.I think Kingston had a great time playing with my nieces and nephews, but he was definitely happy to see us. And I him. Apparently my love for my dog is transparent. As I was snuggling with Kingston and telling him how much I missed him my 5 yr old niece asked me, “Are you going to love your babies more than Kingston?” No. Of course not. Maybe? By the way – this is not an announcement of any kind.

Not sure where we will go next year, but I’m kinda hoping I still have an excuse to speed.

Happy 4th Of July – I’m Out!

Mr. S and I have hit the open road on our motorcycles for a few days. We trailered the bikes to Twin Falls and dropped Kingston off on the way at my sister’s house. From there, who knows where we will go. Well, actually I know but I’m not telling. At least not until we get back. Hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July holiday – I’m out!

Anniversary Catch-Up

So since you faithfully read my blog you should already know that Mr. S and I celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary just over 2 weeks ago. But what you don’t know is how we celebrated. So I’m about to fill you in…We left the family reunion (see below) on Saturday and instead of driving home like everyone else we decided to spend an extra night in Colorado to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Loving to visit new places I discovered a quaint little town called Glenwood Springs. They brag about having the largest hot springs pool in the country, and maybe even the world, so I thought that sounded like a fun place to go. After doing some research I found a great hotel, that accepts pets, and booked us a king bed suite complete with whirlpool and fireplace. Didn’t think we would need the fireplace for warmth but it might add to the mood. Wink, wink! When we went to check in the inappropriately dressed, not-so-customer-friendly lady at the desk informed us that the room type we were booked for did NOT accept pets. The conversation went something like this:

“You are booked for a king bed suite but we don’t allow pets in those rooms.” (This was said with a bit of disgust while she eyed Kingston.)

“Oh, when I booked the room online there was no mention that only certain rooms allowed pets.”

“We only accept pets in our ground floor rooms and we are all out of those.”

“Since I have a reservation and that was not clear could you put us somewhere else?”

“We have other rooms available but they don’t accept pets. I can put you in one of those but the dog is not allowed.”

“What do you expect me to do with my dog?” (“Imbecile,” this part was silent but I thought it)

At this point her manager who had a little bit more sense than she did informed her that there was an available room we could use, with Kingston. We made sure he peed on the carpet. Just once.

Once we had the room situation figured out Mr. S and I headed out to dinner. We found a delicious little Mexican restaurant that came highly recommended from Twitter peeps and enjoyed a great meal. After dinner we went back to the hotel to let Kingston out and then changed into our bathing suits and went to spend some time at the hot springs. On our way into town we had noticed a sign pointing the way to Doc Holladay’s grave. Part of the fun when visiting new places is discovering small, random points of interest so on our way out of town the next morning we decided to stop. It ended up being a 1/2 mile hike to the cemetery and once we found his grave we were a bit disappointed to find out the grave is just a marker and no one is sure exactly where is body is. Too funny. But that hasn’t stopped people from adorning his tombstone with fake mustaches, poker chips and mini bottles.

When we got home we exchanged gifts with each other. I have always thought it would be fun to follow the traditional anniversary gifts, which meant this year’s gift had to do with paper. Mr. S bought me “The Grimmerie,” which for those who don’t know is a fantastic book all about the musical, Wicked. I’ve been coveting wanting it for some time. In return I bought Mr. S a great travel book on the Tour de France. Our first year has been full of many fun times and I look forward to many, many more.

Small and Super Things #5

It has been a while since my last Small and Super Things post, and as I am making preparations to head out of town for a family reunion I am starting to get excited for the next few days. Sadly, Mr. S can’t say the same. Spending time with extended family is not his idea of a good time. I’m pretty sure he would rather have a root canal. But he knows it’s important to me and that I love spending time with my family, so he puts on a good face. Well…actually, a sour one. But he goes. Even if it’s begrudgingly.

1- My noisy family. All of us, including 18 kids, will be trekking to our cabin for the next few days. Even my brother and his family who live in Taiwan are here!

2- Smores. Enough said.

3-Road trip!!!! I could add more exclamation points, but that might get annoying.

4-No work. Better yet, I am starting a new job when we get back.

5- Ending the trip celebrating our 1 year wedding anniversary. This portion of the trip will be far, far away from the noisy family and 18 kids.

I’m hoping Mr. S can come up with his own list by the time we get home, but I’m pretty sure numbers 1-5 will center around the same theme: Being back home away from Robyn’s noisy family. And if he still doesn’t have something to smile about, there is always that root canal.