Epic Road Trip 2017 - Day #21

Today we geared up for the next leg of our trip where we are heading to Glacier National Park!  We re-packed the truck because we had made a mess of things over the last 20 days (and accumulated a lot of yarn and books).  Once the truck was tidy, we struck out toward Kalispell, our next destination.  Along the way we went through Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, a quaint city on the Spokane River.  We went to a yarn store called Knit Knit, and got brunch at Strada Caffe.  Strada was cool because it was built with sliding garage doors as the entryway and the store was wide open and airy. 

Once we were done in Coeur d'Alene, we crossed over into Montana (and Mountain Time).  It was only a couple of hours after that to our Airbnb in Kalispell.  The scenery leading up along the western side of Flathead Lake was beautiful.  Once we got to Kalispell we checked in at the apartment and spent some time in downtown Kalispell.  We checked out Colter Coffee Roasters, which had a great atmosphere, and Katy even got her nails done at Nailtoepia.  For dinner we ate out on the patio at 406 Bar and Grill and both the weather and the food were fantastic.

What We Learned: Today we learned about Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.  The city was named for the Coeur d'Alene people who were native to the area.  The name means "heart of an awl" and comes from the French traders of the 1700s-1800s who thought the native people were tough business people when trading with them.  The city seems like a nice place, especially in the summer.

For the day we traveled 228.8 miles and saw license plates for 25 states and 2 Canadian provinces.

Epic Road Trip 2017 - Day #20

Today we had breakfast in Hermiston and headed east again.  We were headed to Spokane for the evening, but in the morning we stopped at the Columbia Park Disc Golf Course so I could play disc golf for a while.  I only wound up playing a few holes because of how incredibly hot it was, then we took off for Spokane. 

Once we got into town (and the State of Washington) we grabbed a quick bite at Sonic and went to Paradise Fibers, where Katy picked up some Ancient Arts yarn.  We also stopped at Second Look Books because you can never have enough used books.

We decided to make it a relatively short day and stopped at the Comfort Inn and Suites Spokane Valley, which was one of the nicer hotels on the entire trip.  We rested and went out for a sit down dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory, which is an Italian restaurant with locations across the country, but almost always has the same theme with a trolley car in the restaurant.  The food was spectacular and we actually got to sit in the trolley car itself.  On the way to the restaurant we also saw a Delaware license plate!

What We Learned: Today we learned about the Old Spaghetti Factory (mostly mentioned above) and its history of having Italian restaurants that serve great local ingredients in a quaint setting.

For the day we traveled 220.8 miles and saw license plates for 21 states and 2 Canadian provinces (saw Delaware!).

Epic Road Trip 2017 - Day #19

Today we woke up at our Airbnb and walked up to the nearby Insomnia Coffee Company and had a nice breakfast. 

We headed toward Hermiston, OR, but stopped in Portland on the way.  We were able to visit a couple of yarn stores (Knitting Bee and Knit Purl), but my favorite destination was Powell's Books, the world's largest independent bookstore.  We saw lots of books and may have bought a few as well :). 

After Powell's, we took Katy to Starlight Knitting Society, where she was able to meet one of her favorite knit designers, Mara Catherine "Orange Knits."  She was very excited and got to talk with her for a bit.  When Katy was done at the yarn shop, we had a delicious lunch at one of the food trucks in downtown Portland, Grilled Cheese Grill. 

When we were done with our Portland adventure, we headed east toward Hood River, where we gassed up and got some Starbucks.  Here we got off the main road and took the Fruit Loop Road where there were lots of fruit stands, shops, and excellent scenic vistas.  We stopped a few times along the way, notably at Foothills Yarn and Fiber, where we petted some Alpacas, and Lavender Valley, where there was a giant field of lavender with a background of Mount Hood.  The weather was a bit warm, but otherwise perfect and made for some great views.

Our last stop of the day was the Comfort Inn and Suites Hermiston, OR and we had built up enough hotel points to get a free night!

What We Learned: Today we learned all about lavender.  The flowering plant is mostly grown for its oils, which have a recognizable smell that is pleasant to most.  The flower is marketed for a variety of uses and is even used frequently in cooking.

For the day we traveled 249.5 miles and saw license plates from 21 states and British Columbia.