Thankful Thursday: Roadtrip Edition

Whew. So...we got home late last night. We'd roadtripped to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho for a week. Originally, the plan had been to attend a family reunion, but that got cancelled in light of the pandemic. We decided to keep our reservation, though, and basically quarantined ourselves there and enjoyed the change of scenery before the school year starts back up. It was a fantastic decision. :)

Last Wednesday, then, we drove the 1000ish miles from here to Coeur d'Alene and checked in late at night to our timeshare unit. (Technically, check in had occurred over the phone earlier and the attendant just walked our keys out to our car when we arrived. All amenities were closed due to Covid.) Thursday we got settled and Nathan drove into town to get groceries for the week (our unit had a kitchen). We played some board games and just chilled.

Friday we drove around to the other side of the lake (Lake Coeur d'Alene has more than 100 miles of shoreline) and met my baby sister and my mom at a park where my sister's family has their boat docked (it's a private HOA thing...they're in the process of building a cabin there). We visited (outside, socially distanced) for awhile and boys had a picnic lunch before my mom and sister headed out...and I neglected to take a picture. :(

After they'd left, we took advantage of my sister's kind offer to let us borrow their kayaks and boat...

It was a pretty wonderful afternoon on the lake. :)

Then we put everything to rights there and strapped a couple of the kayaks to our van and headed back to our unit for dinner and showers and games. 

Saturday we picked up the two paddleboards we'd reserved and found a lovely spot to put in on a quiet bay. Between the paddleboards and kayaks, we had a fun time on the water...learning our way and exploring the area. I also stacked some rocks, lol. 

Our evening was pretty much the same...back to our unit for dinner and showers and games. 

Sunday, we continued our routine of sleeping in and having a quiet morning...eating lunch at our unit...and then heading out. We went back to the same spot and continued our paddleboard and kayak fun. Nathan's parents joined us there with their kayaks after they'd set up their campsite nearby, and we all visited for awhile on the water (a fairly easy way to maintain social distancing, lol). After that, we each went back to our respective spots for showers and dinner (and returning the rented paddleboards) before meeting up again outside our unit to watch the sunset and celebrate birthdays. 

Once it got dark, we went our separate ways for the night. Monday, we did lunch at our unit again before meeting up with John & Nancy in Coeur d'Alene at Tubbs Hill. We launched Nathan in one of their kayaks and he followed the shoreline as we hiked the loop...stopping at three different points to do a little cliff jumping. Nathan took some videos from the kayak and I took some from the shore but they still weren't terrific (hard to get the right angle). Regardless, we had a really good time! Asher, Micah and I jumped at the first spot...only Asher was brave enough to jump at the next spot (easily twice as high)...and then everyone except Noah jumped at the last spot. (Noah opted to have at least one day where he stayed dry.) The last spot was the least high, Nathan thinks (though pretty close to as high as the first spot). He and Asher switched in the kayak so that Nathan could also jump...and then Asher kayaked back around the shore at the end. 

(Clockwise from the top left: Asher at the first spot, Nathan at the last spot, Asher at the high spot, Nancy at the last spot, me at the first spot, Nathan at the last spot, and Micah at the last spot. John also jumped but I can't share those pictures, lol.) 

Along the way, Micah also did some impromptu rock climbing and Micah and Asher did some swimming. 

And then we got ice cream before separating for dinner and showers and reconvening at John & Nancy's campsite. We sat around the campfire and visited and eventually said our goodbyes, as John & Nancy left the next morning for more travels. (Thank goodness for warm weather and the ability to visit outdoors and socially distanced right now. We figured we'd best take advantage while we're able.)

And then on Tuesday we did lunch at our unit again before heading back around the lake to return Cas' kayaks. When we got there, Nathan and the boys headed out on the boat while Cas, I and her boys did some kayaking and visiting. I got mud flung at me by my six year old nephew, lol, but it was fabulous to visit and enjoy the water. After that, Cas took her guys and headed out and my guys came back to get me for a last boat ride and some pictures before we stowed everything away. We stopped for roadtrip groceries and gas and got back to our unit for dinner, showers and packing everything up. 

(Btw, Noah's contacts are actually transition lenses, so they get darker in the sunshine...hence, he's the only one not wearing sunglasses.)

And Wednesday, we got up extra early and drove the 1000ish miles home (took about 16 hours again). Whew. 

So. That was our roadtrip. This post got really long. ;) I meant to also say that I'm thankful for...

• Cruise control
• Packing for a roadtrip vs packing for a flight (so much easier, particularly when it comes to toiletries and not having to make everything fit into quart size bags, lol)
• Rest areas (encountered pretty nice rest areas, actually...masks were required along the way and everything was clean and stocked)
• The fact that my mom, sister and Nathan's parents were able to meet us for even a little bit (this pandemic has made visiting more complicated but we managed pretty well)
• Sunglasses (I don't usually wear sunglasses but they came in very handy on the water)
• Free wifi (our unit had free wifi, which helped us keep tabs on school decisions that changed while we were gone and also enabled us to chill with some streaming shows)
• Vinnie (Our minivan is named Vinnie...and he's been on a great number of roadtrips and has been reliable and comfortable. He's been to both the Pacific and the Atlantic...to San Diego, Seattle, DC, the Outer Banks and a great many places in between...in the 11.7 years we've had him.)
• Home (there's no place like it)

And now I'm done. Really. Thanks for sticking with me to the end of this post, lol.