Impromptu Camping

Zak had last Wednesday and Thursday off from work. Around mid-morning on Wednesday, he suggested we go camping that night. I agree, since, what else do I have going on?, and we spent some time looking for a place to go and making a list of what we needed to buy and bring. We checked out the local Tri-State store and then went over to Walmart to compare prices. As usual, Walmart won out because we aren't exactly wealthy currently. But we found great deals on a tent, camp chairs and a cooler that we both agreed on, so it was a successful trip. We quickly picked up some drinks and food from Winco, packed everything up and headed out on an adventure.

We drove about 30 - 40 minutes NE of Moscow, into St. Joe's National Park. The first campsite we tried was almost all full, lots of kids, campers and RVs; not what we had in mind. But we found a map and decided to try a site a bit further into the park. We totally lucked out and had the entire place to ourselves, plus it was just what we wanted! A quiet, heavily wooded campground with a fire pit, benches, a bathroom and a table. Once we got to our lot, we realized that although we had brought the air mattress, the pump for it had gotten left behind. I was a little annoyed, but we had enough blankets that it wouldn't be a completely horrible experience.

We got the tent set up and Zak got a fire going. I enjoyed being there with him, since he likes to camp and is good at it. I am good at making lists and bringing things, and taking care of the food, haha. We had gotten there around 5 in the evening, so we just relaxed and talked for awhile. We did explore a little bit, but I forgot my camera. And we didn't take pictures later or in the morning like I was planning (you'll soon read why), but we are planning on going back to the same place the next time we go out.

It was a really nice, relaxing night. We had hot dogs, grapes, chips and chili and beans. As we were unloading food, I realized that I forgot the new utensils we had gotten. I had washed them earlier and they were left in the dish drainer. Zak decided to experiment and started whittling some thin pieces of wood. He whittled them down into a semi-spoon shape and we wrapped the ends with foil and they worked, more or less! I was proud of him, because I had no idea what to do.

By the time we were getting tired, clouds had started to roll in, which was a bit disheartening, since the weather had been beautiful all day. I asked Zak to put the rain tarp/cover over the tent, because I'd rather it be on there before bed, then get wet and angry and make him do it in the middle of the night. It was a good thing he put that thing on, because it did rain a little during the night. Not a ton of rain, but everything sounds amplified from inside a tent. Zak slept pretty well, he said. I, on the other hand, struggled a bit. My allergies have been keeping me up and waking me up a lot lately, so I've been downing every kind of medicine I can find in the hopes of zonking out and staying that way until morning. I did not have one of those rare, uninterrupted nights. I woke up a few times, tossed and turned, shivered and tried desperately hard to fall back asleep. Let's just say we will not forget the air mattress pump ever again.

We woke up to the smell of rain and decided to just get a move on, since the rain was on and off. Too bad we didn't realize that it was 5 in the morning. But it was ok, we quickly packed up and drove home, and then passed out a few hours later.

But we had a really fun time, and for those of you who know me, camping isn't really my thing. But I had fun. I liked being out there with Zak. I figure if he's going to be a park ranger, I better start warming up to the idea of camping, etc. We plan on going camping in a few weeks, and as often as we can this summer, since we had so much fun. Next time we might even going hiking! Here are pictures. I meant to take some more in the morning and/or of us in our cute tent, but when morning came, I was doing my best not to be a total grump. So next time, there will be more pictures.

Zak buckled up our $5 oil (?) lantern. Adorable.

Almost there!

Where we stayed, obviously.

Our campsite.

Don't fool yourself, I helped with this too! Just wanted one of him, since he was so proud and happy.

Weird fungi/mushrooms on a old tree stump.

The first impromptu spoon Zak made.

Oh great Fire Master...

Whittling away.

With his creations. We're both still impressed they worked so well.

Being goofy.

Putting the rain shield cover on.

Trying out the spoons at last!

Our Weekend Away

Last weekend, Zak had his custom design shows in Coeur d'Alene and Spokane. I was allowed to go with him, but couldn't hang out in the store/around it; basically I was to be a ghost. But I was ok with that, because I got to be out of the house and with Zak in the mornings and evenings. It was not exactly the most relaxing trip, but we did have a decent time.

We drove up Thursday night to Spokane. We walked into the hotel, and were pretty impressed and excited. Too bad the guys at the counter told us they couldn't find our reservation, or that they didn't even have a corporate account with Harry Ritchie's. Right as my brain started to fry, they asked if maybe the reservations were at the hotel in Spokane Valley. We didn't know, so they called and said yes, we had reservations at that hotel.

the nice little lobby

our room

figuring out all the channels

Fifteen minutes later, we arrived and were still impressed, it was a pretty nice hotel; plus they gave us evening reception drink vouchers, breakfast vouchers and there was a pool/hot tub/sauna/steam room. We knew what we were doing that night.

sweet desk and coffee table

the view from our room, we were on the 4th floor

We got dinner and then headed down to the pool. We had it all to ourselves, and enjoyed swimming and the hot tub. Zak really loved the steam room. It was pretty neat, but so weird to breathe in, because the air was hot. I couldn't last as long as he could in there, so I swam around for awhile.

before heading out that morning

The next morning, Zak woke up with swimmer's ear. We had ran to the local Safeway the night before, so we knew where we could quickly get something for him on our way to Coeur d'Alene, which was about a half hour drive from the hotel. We were doing fine, until we had gotten back in the car, and Zak started reading the instructions for the ear drops. They were homeopathic, and if you know Zak, he is 100% against that stuff and insisted we exchange it quickly. That would've been fine if, in the hurry and scatter-brained-ness of my head, I hadn't locked my keys in the car. And Zak's were back at the hotel, about 5 - 8 minutes away, over the interstate. We ran back into Safeway, I exchanged the drops (the lady was awesome), while Zak contemplated between breaking the window/calling a mechanic or someone/to finally calling a taxi. And then the taxi took about 10-15 minutes to get there, and by then we were running late. $25 and 10 minutes later, we were on the road, with Zak holding cotton balls against his ear, and I driving as quickly and safely as possible in unfamiliar territory.

Zak wanted to be there at 9:30, which is a half hour before the store/mall opens. We got there at 9:40, so still not bad. But man, did I feel awful. I have never, ever done anything like that, and of course! it's on a day where we don't have time for that. But thankfully we had each brought our keys, so it could've been worse.

I spent some time in Target, thoroughly enjoying myself (we don't have one that I can hang out in nearby; Zak doesn't get it), and I bought Tina Fey's book Bossypants, so I would have something to do while waiting for him, when I got bored later. I also walked around the mall for awhile, and then went to the downtown part of Coeur d'Alene. CDA is really pretty, it's on this huge lake, and it was a gorgeous day out, so I was happy to walk around the downtown section. But everywhere was construction, so I had to keep my wits about me as I drove around. Right as I was ready to head back to the mall and see if I could steal Zak away for lunch, he called and said he'd get a break in a little bit.

the Coeur d'Alene resort

walking around the resort

a boat was about to pull into the dock

I guess there is the longest pedestrian water-bridge off of this area? I don't know, I just took some pictures and didn't venture too much further.

I quickly drove back, stopping at Jamba Juice (another place we don't have around us, for some dumb reason), and met him for a little bit. His day wasn't too bad, he at least had people show up, and made a sale...with one of the girls who worked there. But a sale is a sale. I spent the last few hours laughing and reading Tina Fey's book (I finished it), and then picked up Zak and drove back to the hotel.

I couldn't help but take a picture at a red light; those spikes were super tall!

I found this cute pin at the antique store

where I read Bossypants while waiting for Zak

Saturday was a little bit better, since no keys were locked in the car. And we knew Spokane a lot better, so it wasn't as nerve-wrecking getting there. Once I dropped Zak off, I headed to the park and read for awhile in the sunlight. I ended up getting some color on my body, so that nice, too. Then I hung around in the mall, and shopped for a little bit. Then I read (I started & finished Return of the King that day) and now and then, Zak would step out for a break, or get lunch with me. He had a sale early on and a few that he was very confident would come back. After all, $3000 is a big decision, I can't blame some lady for waiting to talk to her guy before going for it. By 7, Zak was pretty burned out. It didn't help that he had apparently OD'd on caffeine pills, either. We headed back to the hotel (his regional manager called earlier and told him if we wanted to stay another night, we could) and got a pizza. It was nice to relax and to be done with the stress of the past two days.

loading that huge box into the car for the drive home

We headed back the next morning, and Zak set up his early anniversary gift. He has wanted a chair forever, and he couldn't really find anything he really liked that would be within our budget. But the last time we were in Spokane, we were at Cost Plus World Market, and he found what he wanted, and what our wallet wanted, too. So while Zak was working, I headed over there and picked up the chair and some fun pillows (and assorted treats for us) for him. He set it up and relaxed for awhile when we got home; he keeps telling me how much he loves it! It's a pretty nice chair, and comfy, too.

pretty sweet, huh?

Overall, not the best weekend, but not the worst either! This weekend he is off to Oregon to do his last round of shows. The stores he'll be at are some of the nicest in the company, so wish him luck! Unfortunately, he has to fly out of Spokane tomorrow at 8 AM, and doesn't return until noon on Sunday. So I have to find something to occupy my time!