Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Bella Rose


Bakery and Coffee House
213 E Sherman Ave
Coeur d’Alene, ID

Aslin- “My ice cream was good- strawberry with real chunks of berry in it. Not like the Safeway kind. It was really frozen hard and still creamy.”
Ukiah- “I highly recommend the vanilla ice cream. You could taste actual vanilla bean. It almost tasted homemade.”

Fresh pastries baked on site, homemade soup, ice cream and coffee. The wood beams, brick wall, and lovely mural of an old red Schwinn with a wicker basket carrying tulips were welcoming after a particularly unpleasant night.

We’ve struggled to find our preferred campgrounds- maybe our map reading skills are not yet fine-tuned. Maybe shifts in federal spending priorities have led to park closures. Most likely, we’ve been distracted by the scenery, trusting that another site will come along.

Last night the parks didn’t have camping, the rest stop didn’t allow over-nites and I wasn’t quite prepared to set up in a truck stop, Wal-Mart or casino parking lot. (I’ve gathered a lot of tips on places to stay for free.) Blackwell RV Park, here we come.

A lovely resort on the edge of a lake… neighboring a pulp mill (apparently operating gave and swing shift.) 8:30 pm, 96 degrees. The mosquitoes owned the place and were not deterred by citronella, lemongrass or any other hippie balm. Whining and itching, we packed into the van, popped the top, put on the rear bug screen, made noodles with peanut sauce and managed to survive.

The truck stop would have been free, quieter and probably wouldn’t have objected to a small clothesline.

The sign promised ESPRESSO- but I was nervous when the woman behind the counter asked the difference between a “tall” and a “short” americano. In preparing to travel the country, I’ve given thought to an array of cultural differences we’ll encounter, but this scenario never came up. A second woman stepped in and we shared our appreciation for a small, say 6oz, “short”. Fantastic and much needed coffee. Thank you. It carried me through a day of wandering the town including an afternoon at the public library, a long swim in lake Couer d’Alene and our first trip to the Laundromat.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great! Y'all made it to Idaho, are there really lots of potatoes, or am I just hungry right now and when I read "Idaho" the very next thought being potato=food? I don't know. Potatoes, RV parks and truck stops. So there's potatoes, 'cuz that's where they are, then there are trucks to truck the potatoes, and the RV parks so people can visit the potatoes. Mmmm...potatoes. I wish a truckload of potatoes would visit my stomach right now.

Anonymous said...

Hi Guys--haven't had a chance to look at you blog in a few days. Looks wonderful! Isn't the Everett area traffic a mess? I drove thru it this afternooon, enroute to B's for a long weekend and L's bday. How is your engine (motor?--wht's the diff?) handling the heat? Aslin--sorry to hear about your flip flop loss. Hope it's the most serious loss of your whole sojourn (sojourn means journey, trip)--but doubit it will be. C is selling his house! Today is Judy's bday. I go to work officially on Mon, 8/30. Where will you be? Hope you're having a grand time. Take care. I miss you--but am so thrilled for you all! Love, M/G-M

hira said...

I want to go. Some part of me long left in the past is jumping out and wanting to join you. Keep blogging your whereabouts and you may see me (with Lucy and Todd in tow... provided we can find a westy too)

Kung fu misses y'all. Practice your forms! :)

Sasha said...

Oh yay, I was thinking you should have a blog of your travels!
I never pick espresso on trips, the drip is less disappointing.
We'll be looking forward to more travel tales!