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!
