Coeur d' Alene, ID (Day 6)
Friday, September 27
Today was a special day — Grandma Janie was flying to Idaho to visit us!
Earlier this summer, Janie said she wanted to visit us while we were traveling in our RV. We talked about dates and decided the days Andi returned to Minneapolis for work would be a perfect time for her to come keep Tory, Aden and I company while he was away. After figuring out which international airport would be the easiest and most cost effective for both Andi and Janie to fly in & out of, Andi and I decided the Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho / Spokane, Washington area would be the most convenient place to settle down for a few days. The kids and I dropped Andi off at the Spokane airport yesterday and today we’d return to pick up Janie.
I showered while the kids ate breakfast, and then Tory, Aden and I piled into our rented minivan and made the one hour drive to Spokane. Janie’s flight didn’t arrive until later that afternoon, so I planned to take Tory and Aden to the Mobius Children’s Museum in downtown Spokane. The museum was great! It kept both kids busy for hours with science experiments about wind and electricity, modeled currency from around the world, and Tory’s favorite — an architectural drawing room complete with blueprints, drawing pages and building blocks. Of course there was plenty of imaginative play, too, in the dress-up corner and on the working excavator.
After spending 4 hours at the children’s museum, I pried the kids away with the promise of seeing Grandma. On the way to the Spokane airport, I swung through the McDonald’s drive-thru to grab lunch for the kids.
Janie’s flight arrived around 2:00pm, and the kids and I were so excited to have her with us. It was fun to see a familiar face in an unfamiliar area.
This was my first time in Spokane, too, so I researched a list of activities to keep us busy over the weekend. First up — I’d heard of a pretty area about 15 minutes north of Spokane called GreenBluff. GreenBluff growers was a cooperative of independent farms selling fresh produce and vegetables. I decided it best to go there Friday afternoon as a cold front was moving into the area for the weekend. Plus, we were already close-by.
The GreenBluff area was beautiful. Nestled in the foothills of Mt. Spokane, a neighborhood of farms dotted the road selling pumpkins, squash, apples and more. Each farm offered something a little different from their neighbor in regards to entertainment. Some had bouncy houses for the kids, others offered hay rides, u-pick produce, live music and gift shops.
I randomly picked a farm on the map called High Country Orchard and we stopped there first.
These people were my people!
High Country Orchard was busy for a Friday afternoon. The farm had a southern country feel with a large section of home decor and a cafe selling baked goods, salads, wraps, and ice cream. Neither Janie or I had eaten lunch so we each ordered salads. The kids had ice cream cones (even though it was freezing outside!) and I purchased a bag of pumpkin donuts for dessert. We sat outside and shivered while it occasionally drizzled rain. Not exactly a picture-perfect day at the apple orchard, but we made the best of it.
Tory and Aden wanted to go to an orchard that had a bouncy house, so we drove up the road to the next farm. It really started to rain by the time we got there, so we wandered around the grounds for a bit and convinced the kids to pass on the bouncy house. It just wasn’t a very good day for it.
One more farm, we decided. We crossed the street to Hansen’s Orchard and were immediately drawn in by a beautiful wooden arch covered in grape vines. The overgrown plants sheltered us from the drizzling rain and were gorgeous to look at.
I found the variety of products and produce sold on GreenBluff farms to be impressive. From berries to apples, fresh flowers and lavender, pumpkins and hayrides, and even Christmas trees and sleigh rides in the wintertime — this farm community created a seasonal destination for the greater Spokane area.
When the rain stopped, Janie and I walked through the apple orchard and flower gardens while Tory and Aden rode pedal tractors behind us. Before we left, we stopped into the barn to buy apples and honey sticks.
After our farm tour, the four of us hopped back in the minivan and made the one-hour drive back to Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho. Janie was excited to stay with us in the RV this weekend — her first time! The rain had stopped and the sun was setting over the hill at Camp Coeur d’ Alene campground. It was beautiful, if not a little soggy outside.
I made Tory and Aden a burrito and hot dog for dinner (their go-to choice) and warmed up soup with salad for Janie and I. Janie brought a few toys from home for the kids, and Tory and Aden were thrilled to have something new to play with in the RV. These were the noisy toys that Andi and I said NOPE. NO WAY. NOT IN THE RV. when we left on our trip. Grandma said they stowed away in her suitcase for the weekend, but had to return to Minneapolis with her before Dad came back.
Janie and the kids played a few card games, and then Tory and Aden put on a puppet show behind the privacy curtain on Tory’s RV bed. They didn’t have puppets, of course, so they made the story of the Three Little Bears using paper, markers and tape.
The forecast was calling for colder temperatures and snow over the weekend — SNOW! In September! — so we weren’t quite sure what our weekend plans entail. In any event, we were glad to have Grandma Janie visiting for the weekend.
