My girls' weekends in Boise started in 1998 when Michelle sent me a link to the Boise River Festival and invited me to come for the weekend. Even when the River Festival went bankrupt a few years ago we still managed to find a reason for me to fly to Boise for a long weekend to see how much trouble we could get into. (Not much, as it turns out) When I saw that there was going to be a one-day version of the River Festival this year we decided to give it a shot. It wasn't quite the same, but more on that in a minute.
I flew out on Thursday night, but there was some confusion about when I was leaving and when I was landing. I had sent Michelle my itinerary but she made a note of my departure time (5:20) instead of my arrival time (7:45). She had an appointment at 5:00 that she couldn't change, so she was going to send her daughter to pick me up. None of this clicked in my head until I got a text from Mika saying she was at the airport to pick me up. Problem was, I was still in Seattle. I called her to get the schedule straightened out and told her to go home and make her mom come at the designated time. Turns out she came back, but I was finally in the Lyman house, ready for the weekend.
Michelle had to work on Friday but Mika had errands to run so I tagged along. The most significant trip was to the grocery store. Their fridge is always stuffed to the brim with a variety of items so imagine my surprise when it seemed almost empty. I understand they lead busy lives, but a girl's gotta eat! It took two passes through the local Albertson's to finally get everything on the list - glad I didn't have to pay that bill! That evening we had a quiet dinner with Mika's boyfriend and watched the Tour, then off to bed.
Saturday was the day of the Music Festival, so we all got organized so that we could enjoy the day. Fortunately the weather was not quite as hot as predicted, which made it a little more enjoyable. We met the kids for lunch and then walked through the arts and crafts fair. There were several side stages so we would walk around, find some shade and listen to some music, walk around some more, go through the mist from the fountain (aaaahhhhh), walk around and then look for some yummy stuff from the food vendors.
At one point we were hanging out along a back access road and we watched a guy ride by on his motorcycle when we saw something falling from his pocket. I walked over to pick it up and discovered that it was an airline-size bottle of Captain Morgan Rum. Since neither of us drink we figured we'd just toss it in the trash - one slightly-less drunk person to worry about. Although it did call for a picture in a classic pose:
When the music was scheduled to start on the main stage we wandered back to where we had spread out our blanket and chairs to listen to the local bands. Unfortunately situated right in front of us was a family with three small children who were not the most well-behaved kids we'd ever seen. Actually, the oldest was really the trouble-maker, the other two were just trying to defend themselves and it got a little careless. They spilled drinks on our blanket and pushed each other into our space while the parents mostly ignored them. Lovely.
The main stage performers included Alex Band, Macy Gray, Backstreet Boys and Bret Michaels. With each new performer the crowds grew and closed in on our little oasis. The heat, cigarette smoke and rudeness finally got to Mika and her boyfriend and they headed for cleaner air to enjoy the music. Michelle and I stuck it out through the Backstreet Boys and then decided that the Bret Michaels was not worth dealing with the increasingly rowdy crowd, so we wove our way out of the sea of people and back to the car.
Sunday Michelle and I were invited to go with a small group of motorcycle riders to take a trip up to Idaho City for breakfast. Since I don't have a motorcycle license I rode on the back of her instructor's bike, which was a lot of fun. I've never worn leather chaps before. :) The whole trip was a little over 100 miles, so by the end I was getting a little sore in my knees, hips and back, and ready to call it a day.
The rest of Sunday was spent packing, hanging out and watching "Hot Guy TV" (aka Criminal Minds) until it was time to head to the airport. Fortunately it was a quick flight back to Seattle and on home to Jim and Toby. Nice to be back in my own house again.