“What was your favorite part about our time in Boise?” Taite
asked at dinner Tuesday night. I
like this line of questioning. He
asked Lincoln first.
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| Epi's owner Chris and our fam |
“Um…this dinner?” Lincoln responded, sort of in the form of
a question. We were visiting
Epi’s, a Basque food restaurant. Basque
Country a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees Mountains to the
coast of the Bay of Biscay,
and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France. Basque people have a unique dialect not
founded on Latin and a unique palate. Travis patronized Epi’s with three friends (John, Rich, and
Nate) last time he passed through Boise.
He considers it one of his top three all-time favorite restaurants. We arrived in Boise Monday to find that
Epi’s was not open on Mondays. We
changed travel plans to stay for an extra day. Travis really wanted to share Epi’s with us. It was delicious. Chris- the owner – is fabulous. And we all recommend it!
The question continued around the table. “The police man place,” said Parker. Tuesday afternoon we took the kids to
the Old Idaho State Penitentiary. The prison was opened during the time of (and
because of) the gold rush. There
were too many 49ers moving west – and not enough of them were honest. The prison closed down in 1973 after
functioning for over 100 years. We
saw where and how inmates were kept.
A 15-minute introductory video gave us a vivid picture of life for the
jail birds. The prison held over
13,000 inmates during its 100 active years. Over 500 inmates escaped, but only 90 of those got
away. (Doesn’t that make you feel
better?!) Ten of those 13,000 were
hanged for their crime. The most
common crime for women was forgery, for men it was theft. That was our first
(and hopefully last) visit to a prison.
It was a pretty cool stop.
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| The first of many preserved buildings in the penitentiary complex |
“Either the Birds of Prey Center or Tango’s,” I said. Tango’s was our lunch restaurant –
another Trip Advisor winner. (We
owe Trip Advisor some reviews.) It
was an Argentinian restaurant called Tango’s Subs and Empañadas. The safe thing would have been to order
subs. But, “When in Rome…” We tried some empañadas. None of us had ever eaten one. They went over like sweet tea on a
hot southern summer day. Everyone
loved them! In fact, we ordered
four to share, then went back for three more to share, then got two dessert empañadas to
share. Delicious!!! Calla said, “If I lived here, I’d eat
here everyday!” Winner.
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| She couldn't even stop to say, "Cheese!" |
As you can tell, I think we’ve eaten out more during this
past month of traveling than we did the entire previous 11 months. Maybe that’s exaggerating, but we have
had some stupendous meals prepared for us these last four weeks. In New Mexico we
stopped for the highly recommended enchiladas at the Grand Motor Inn. Our drive-though in Buckeye, Arizona,
brought us back to Ciao Grazie – an excellent pizza place. In Newport Beach Taite found his new
all-time favorite restaurant, The Melting Pot, and we ate on the Balboa Pier at
Ruby’s Diner. In L.A. we enjoyed
The Farm multiple times, Yard House – probably my favorite restaurant of the
trip, Lawry’s Carvery (super yummy sandwiches!!!!) and Wahoo’s Fish Tacos in
Beverly Hills. Travis says his favorite restaurant so
far (besides Epi’s) is the Outlaw Café located in Van Nuys, California. Malibu Seafood wins the Location
Award. Bankok West Thai in Santa
Monica was a delicious Thai treat where Tim VanSumeren (who has lots of
Thailand experience) gave us meal suggestions. After our time in the national parks we enjoyed the Sequoia
Brewery in Fresno. In Wallowa
County, Oregon, we ate at Mason’s favorite restaurant, La Leguna. On the way back to Boise we stopped in
Baker City, Idaho, where we found another Trip Advisory recommendation called
Crave-a-Bowl. It might have been
my second favorite restaurant. It
was like a mix of Noodles & Co., and Big Bowl. Finally, in Boise we were treated to Tango’s and Epi’s.
Usually New Year’s resolutions include losing weight. With each restaurant meal I’m finding
another addition to the tattoo that will eventually rest plainly across my
waistline saying, “Fatty Tatty.”
(Here’s where I puff out my cheeks and belly and make a spitting noise.) I'll consider weight loss when the trip is over. (Thankfully I have an 'in' with some excellent weight management products and methods. ;-))
I digress. “The Birds
of Prey Place,” was Calla’s answer to Taite’s question. Early last summer we, along with our
friends the Barbato’s, took a trip to the National Eagle Center in
Wabasha, Minnesota. Tuesday we
took our kids to the World Center for Birds of Prey. Like the Eagle Center, it is a raptor conservation
center. We saw lots of California
Condors during our trip to the Grand Canyon last winter. At that time, the tour guide told us
about the endangerment of the California Condors and the efforts to increase
the population. This is the
world’s leader in California Condor conservation. They also had lots of other raptors. We watched a short show on the center
and the presenter brought out a bird on her arm. “Does anyone know what kind of bird this is?” she
asked. There were about a dozen
people in the room.
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| American Kestrel |
Taite was the only one to raise a hand. “An American Kestrel,” he
answered confidently.
“That’s right!”
Later she asked if someone could name the unique traits of a raptor.
Taite raised his hand again. “They have talons, a curved beak, and excellent eye
sight.”
“That’s right!”
I was envisioning Taite leading the bird show someday.
We saw owls, a bald eagle, some unusual and unfamiliar birds, and a peregrine falcon – the
fastest animal in the world.
Thanks to Wild Kratts, the kids know all about the peregrine falcon, and
they gave us a peregrine falcon education.
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| Lincoln seem to really enjoy the center as well. |
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| Parker found a mommy and baby bald eagle |
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| Home of the Blue |
Now it was Taite’s turn to answer his own question. “This dinner,” said Taite. “And the blue field.” While we were in Boise, we of course
had to stop to see the first non-green football field in the world. Boise State’s football field is blue. You may have seen it on TV. It’s just as blue in person. Boise State's record at home is 93 (wins) and 4 (losses) since 1999. Now that they
can wear their blue jerseys at home next year they’ll be even harder to beat. They’ll be like
chameleons on their home turf.
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| I have no idea how Taite got this picture |
The best part of Tuesday – and possibly of the entire trip –
was when a woman in Tango’s stopped at our table just to tell us what great kids we have. She said
they were beautiful and extremely well behaved. That was the second occurrence of its kind since we left
Vegas last Tuesday. I agree with
them both. Having well-behaved
children sure makes adventures like this easier and more fun.
That’s not to say there hasn’t been any whining or
fighting. In fact, Monday night
Lincoln was torturing his sister by taking the ‘toy’ she was using. “BOOM shaka laka!!!! You don’t do that!!!” was Parker’s way of
getting her brother to stop. When
fighting sounds like that, how can you not laugh?! Oh, and I say ‘toy’ because Parker (like most children) can
make a toy out of anything. Lately
Parker has been finding my Bible (or anything that looks like a Bible), and
preaching to her koala…or herself in the mirror. “…And we love God. And God loves us. He is big. And God is very good…”
It goes on and on. I
imagined her koala to be a little like my dad snoring during mass on Sundays.
It was an unexpected, great part of our trip. Now we head back to Vegas so I can
attend my MonaVie event this weekend.
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