I arrived back from my mini vacation last night. It was nice to get out and see a different part of the country and I must say that I would love to move out to there (there being Boise, Idaho). Now if I could only find a nice paying job out there. Perhaps the wife and I will just sell the house and move out there cold turkey! Here’s a mini recap of what I did while I was out there.

Friday

Despite arriving late Thursday night I was up at the crack of dawn. And since almost everyone in my brothers house sleeps in until noon I thought I’d go for a run. Well it actually turned into a run and a lot of walking. The air was cool and brisk which was actually pretty nice (not the hot humid weather that you have in Iowa in the summer). There were some fires around the area as well so I could smell the smoke in the air. After my ill fated attempt at running I went back to the house and showered up. My brother had to work so I was on my own until we went to lunch. I took my brothers bike out and went and got an iced green tea at Starbucks. After that I rode along the bike path that is called the Green Belt. It’s pretty nice. It runs right along Bosie State University and follows the Boise River. Somewhere along the line I ran over what is called goathead. Basically it’s a thorn that punctures tires! So I ended up walking the bike home. I should also mention that the bike seat had to be the most uncomfortable seat I have ever ridden on. This coming from someone who has spent HOURS on a road bike seat. For lunch my brother and I went to a Mongoliarn BBQ. Which is awesome. After I took my brother back to work I went home and tried to sleep for a bit but it was of no use so I drove around town for a bit and then picked my brother up. That evening I got a giant tour of Boise and the surrounding towns.

Saturday

In the morning we drove around again, seeing some of the places I didn’t seen. The one area that you have to see, if you go to Boise, is the Governors house (click link for a picture of what I’m talking about). It used to be owned by Simplot (potatoes) but he gave it to the state. Basically if you get up to the highest point in the city, you will see this green hill (all of the surrounding areas are brown). That is the governors house. In addition people sled down this hill…in the summer! It’s called Ice Blocking. Basically you get a large block of ice and a towel and slide down the hill on it. Sounds like fun! One of the great things I realized about Boise was that they are very much into alternative forms of transportation. Bikes are EVERYWHERE in the city which is something I really like. Also the drivers seem to be pretty polite with the bikers which is something the people in the Midwest should take note of. Bikers are not to be ran over. Boise has bike lanes on just about every road.

Saturday afternoon was spent golfing. I’d like to say that I shot a good round of golf, but honestly it sucked. I did have one birdie and a couple of pars, but in the end I didn’t even bother to add up my score. My brother on the other hand was 4 under when we were done. Not to shabby.

We also managed to get to the Zoo for a little bit. We sat and watched the Tigers for quite awhile Awesome creatures…and BIG as well.

Sunday

We met up with my cousin on Sunday. It was great to see him. I hadn’t seen him in about 10 years (give or take a few years). After that we decided that we were going to float the river. We had a blast floating the river…despite the fact that 3 of us had 2 inner tubes. I was lucky enough to have a tube to myself (long story on why we were short 1 inner tube). We jumped off a couple of platforms and swung off of a rope swing as well. But it never did get that hot, so by the time we were getting done we were close to shivering. Which I think had to do with why I felt like crap on Monday.

Sunday I night I donated 5 dollars to one of my brothers roommates by playing poker. I could see how playing poker could be addicting.

Monday

Time to head home. I’ll make this short and brief. I felt great in the morning, but when I got to the airport I felt like crap. I picked through a sandwich from Quiznos. I felt like I would barf if I ate to much. My head felt like it was in some evil doctors vise and he was squeezing it and whenever I swallowed it hurt. To top it all off I lost my wallet in Minneapolis/St. Paul. I’ve cancelled all my credit cards and other stuff as well. I thought someone might turn it in, but in today’s society that is just to much to expect…I guess. Sad but it’s true. When I got home I had a temperature of 101! Highest temperature that I remember having in a LONG time.

So now your caught up. I took today off of work due to still not feeling 100%. I’ll be back at work tomorrow however. A nice short week and then the weekend. And this weekend is our 6th wedding anniversary.