A Glowing Town
Having a best friend come and visit really brings out the best in your town.
My best friend of 22 years stopped by for a couple of days to say hi, get a tour, and reconnect.
He had been visiting Glacier National Park and decided to see what Coeur d’Alene was all about.
The first afternoon he got here, we walked around downtown Coeur d’Alene.
We saw the world’s longest boardwalk at the Coeur d’Alene Resort. This boardwalk extends nearly 3/4 of a mile long, with a 60-foot bridge to gain access to the marina, which houses super fancy boats.
We stopped by Honey Eatery, a local American restaurant, for a refreshing drink and some entertaining people-watching. Idaho comes in all shapes and sizes, providing for a delightful afternoon of “Let’s Guess What He/She Does for a Living.”
Last stop before I left for work was Kaiju Sushi.
We got warm Sake, Japanese street food that had octopus in it, sushi with eel, and a spicy tuna sushi. It was delicious and very affordable. The unique location was in a lower, downstairs building with elevated tables and chairs. Service was excellent.
Yesterday, we started by going out to breakfast at the infamous Garnet Cafe. We both got eggs Benedict; me with ham, him with duck meat (I felt bad for the ducks). It was absolutely amazing, as per usual.
We decided that we needed to walk off our huge meals with a little hike around Tubbs Hill.
This is a 2.5-3 mile hike right in downtown. It has an almost constant view of the lake, a fun suspension bridge, and an optional numbered tour for kiddos. Even with full bellies and relaxing looking at the water, it took us about an hour to finish.
I had heard at work that Coeur d’Alene did a fun Oktoberfest! We were very excited to check this out.
We started at CDA Coffee (I did not get to sleep very much, thank you caffeine) to grab a drink and start (what we thought was) the festivities.
We quickly found out that we had found an invention fair!
This fair was supporting STEM education in schools, robotic inventions, drones, 3D printing, etc.
We spent a few hours playing with the “toys.” We got to experiment with the machines used for laparoscopic surgeries, fly drones, and watch a human-sized game of Operation (which was absolutely hilarious).
After this, we decided to get a light meal at Hudson’s Hamburgers.
A little history, Hudson’s has been around since 1907. They only sell burgers, pie, and soda. The burgers come single or double, and with or without cheese (a recent addition). They can have pickles and/or onions. No fries, nothing extra. A single cheeseburger costs $3.50, and they only accept cash. It’s a blast from the past, a well-oiled machine, and a must-try if you come to CDA.
We meandered the shops downtown for a while, realizing that Oktoberfest would cost a lot of money, and we did not have costumes (they weren’t needed, but we felt left out).
So we went to Unchained instead.
This is a bar and grill with an entire bike theme!
The bar stools have pedals on them, and all of the decorations are bike parts.
We got some beer, and decided to partake in the Giant Jenga set.
The entire bar seemed to get involved eventually! Cheering us on and getting nervous with each piece. It was a blast!
We finished our drinks and decided that we weren’t done with the games, so off we went to Crafted to have more drinks and play more games.
Crafted has 62 rotating taps of local and non-local beers and ciders. Lots of choices, so you’re bound to find something that you love.
They also have a giant foosball table.
When I say giant, I mean it’s about 3 foosball tables put together.
It’s huge.
And they also have shuffleboard! Endless amounts of fun.
A few hours later, a couple of beers in, one game of shuffleboard, and three games of foosball later, we had had a fantastic night!
Not one of the places we went to disappointed.
That’s the beauty of friends visiting: you appreciate the quaint beauty and fun in your own town.
I learned that you can actually game/bar hop in Coeur d’Alene and keep yourself entertained for days!
My friend left this morning to go paragliding in Salt Lake City, Utah (I know, he’s the coolest ever).
We got breakfast at the Wellness Bar to send him on his way, and to remind ourselves what fruit tastes like.
Grateful for good friends, good places, laughter, and adventure.
Cheers,
Rach
