Final Reflections on Idaho
Saturday, June 23, 2012 at 11:15PM Mrs. G. 
The second half of day two in Idaho was just as boffo and lively as the first half. Mrs. G, Melanie and the kids finished a puzzle and then went and had pizza for lunch. As they were sitting waiting for their food, a group of older, somewhat disheveled men came into the restaurant and sat at the table across from them. Ellie, 7, leaned over to Mrs. G, gently elbowed her and said, "Looks like there's some boy action over there." A girl after Mrs. G's own heart. Mrs. G. is pretty sure Ellie will be her assistant Mancake editor in 18 years or so.
In Boise, the library is an EXCITING place to be. It's not just the library, it's the LIBRARY!
!
After lunch, Mrs. G. and the gang headed to the zoo. Faced with Jimmy and Ellie's no-nonsense, let's get to it demands, the butterfly house was their first stop.
Jimmy spent an achingly long time standing patiently and as still as a statue, waiting for a butterfly to land on him. One finally did.
He took the whole enterprise very, very seriously.
Then it was Ellie's turn. Score!
Melanie warned Mrs. G. that past visits had resulted in her being covered by butterflies. Within seconds of walking in the door, this is what happened. Melanie is the butterfly whisperer. The truth is, she's not too crazy about them landing on her, especially near her face and head, but she was a good sport though Mrs. G. could tell she was just shy of calling them winged bastards and shooing them away in bat-in-your-hair fashion, without waiting for the mandatory aid and assistance of volunteers who walk the perimeter of the enclosure and apparently specialize in proper butterfly removal.
Melanie used the butterfly reference sheet as a face and head guard.
Mrs. G. couldn't see this big beauty on her head, but she could feel it. It felt like a fluttering fascinator.
Last stop: Prison.
It was a great day at the zoo.
Mrs. G. in front of the...
Idaho Capitol building. She loves the stars on the ceiling.
Mr. G, Mrs. G. took this picture for you. It's on a wall which is part of public art project known as Freak Alley.
It's really cool.
A few derfs in Freak Alley.
Boise has a thriving Basque community and Melanie insisted on taking Mrs. G. out for a Basque specialty called croquetas. Mrs. G. ate one and wanted to make out with the rest of them. Croquetas taste like lightly fried balls of mashed potatoes and gravy. You heard right -- lightly fried balls of mashed potatoes and gravy. Mrs. G's love for them was so fervant, afire, she now refers to them as coquettas. They're little, light and fluffy seducers.
Kitty Gigantica meets kiddie bitty.
So long, Idahome...until we meet again.
II Am A Derfwad/Summer 2012, Idaho, Utah
Reader Comments (37)
Must. Try. Croquettes. It's all I can do not to lick my laptop screen.
Not that I would ever do that.
I desperately wanted to go to Boise State 25 years ago; this feels like a reasonable start at consolation. :)
Oh, YAY! This is all sorts of awesome. "Looks like there's some boy action over there." Ellie, you have just reserved your place at the Colony!
Mrs. G, you are singing my song.... please pass the croquetas. If you share, I will try to let you have the last one.
LIBRARY! *insert big smile*
Love the LIBRARY! And Freak Alley. You go, Mrs. D!!
Hailing from Moscow, ID as I do, I have to note that there's a long-standing feud between North and South over ownership of the State Capital.
That being said, the rest of the photos/posts/flutterbys/chiddlers/OMGGRAVYBALLS are as amazing as I could hope. :)
I am thinking, Mrs. Ggggggggggggggg, that you now know how hard it is to blog on the road. I have been doing it for almost eight years, and when you're away from your home station, nothing ever works right. Or something is always not working right, whether it is WiFi, a phone connection, the ethernet cable connection in your motel room. . .things are almost never in full alignment when you're traveling. It always makes me crazy, but after a day or two I settle in and deal with whatever I can get. In Montana and Eastern Washington, I've often had to drive to a library parking lot, or to a Kampgrounds of Amerika site just to get on the internet, with a flaky unstable connection. But even the crudest hookups I've made pale in comparison to last week in China, where wifi/internet connections generally suck, but even worse, The Government blocks just about every portal into the 'net: Blogger, facebook, twitter, tumblr, you name it...all blocked. But even in the best circumstances, it's hard to blog while traveling...I've had the same troubles in NYC, SF, LA, Boston, Florida, and on and on, as I have in India, China, Mexico, Turkey, and Europe. All this rambling aside, I appreciate that you're even posting at all, knowing that each time you do you have probably surmounted at least two or three, or more, problems just to get your stuff online. Keep 'em coming. I am very much vicariously enjoying your road trip/road show. /j
gawdammit to hell....your first stop is THIS AWESOME? that is so totally unfair, the bar has BEEN SET VERY HIGH for the rest of the visits....will we measure up???? shoot, we have no enormous butterfiles in ITHACA OR UNICORNS EITHER!
Hmmm...how hot does it get in Boise? 'Cus I'm thinking I may need to move there!
I agree, Gary, the bar has been set pretty darn high! You've still got a bit of time to round up a unicorn, though. ;)
I am loving this trip- man action- good grief those kids are cute.
Butterflies are love....
I agree with Gary on the bar- but knowing you will need some down time we are looking forward to your trip south.
As a director of our library's foundation board, I am going to propose adding LIBRARY! to the outside of the building after seeing this.
And croquettes are one of those things I've never mastered making, but have always loved. We have them here in New England, but they are usually fish or meat based.
Do love that you are continuing to blog! Have a safe and happy journey!
Great stuff! Wishing you continued happy travels!
Kitty looks even more Gigantica next to those adorable kids! Ellie's a hoot... Freak Alley is fabulous. Now I know we have to visit Boise, if for nothing else than to visit the LIBRARY!
Don't be ridiculous, Gary - you don't need any stinkin' unicorns. You have Buttermilk Falls, Taughannock Falls, and Cascadilla Gorge. Prepare to walk your butt off in Ithaca, Mrs. G!
And who's Jack? Could it be that Gary is not the only male derf anymore?
And is it my imagination, or do those children holding the cat picture look a little frightened?
At TWC, is there any chance that we could have a LIBRARY!! that is full of butterflies and serves croquetas? And of course, Kitty Gigantica's picture would hold a place of honor in the lobby.
Love it!
It looks like you had a BLAST! Love the picture of Derfs in Freak Alley. I'm also thinking we need an executive order in this country that every Library now be the Library!
LIBRARY! YES!!
Looks like Boise was a great start to "what I did on my summer vacation"
Gary, Dancing Bears would make up for your obvious lack of unicorns.
Nice job Idaho. You've just put yourselves on my travel wishlist. Looks like great fun!
Thanks for a great post. Mel obviously has two adorable kids. It was fun to get a glimpse of her and her lively brood as well. Yep, the bar's been set pretty high. Must go look for unicorns...will a wild bear suffice? My daughter finds those on her hikes all the time. Quite frankly more often than her mother likes.
The LIBRARY! sign is really a hoot. Jimmy standing perfectly still and patiently waiting is darling. Keep on truckin'. Taking my vacation vicariously through you.
Sweet pictures.
SC, Jack is a friend in Seattle. He, his wife Keelin and Mr. G. went to school together.
Mr. G. reads the blog too. And sometimes my friend, Norm, so we have a handful of male derfs.
OK, now I have to get to Boise and see what I've been missing all these years.
That butterfly fascinator is AWESOME.
What a wonderful leg in your adventure!
About the bar: I'm not concerned. All ours are so low here they're at sea level.
I do so want the ability to 'like' comments. You people are flippin' awesome.
This is at least a dozen kinds of AWESOME! Especially in light of what Jack said. Thoroughly unabashedly vicariously savoring your magical road trip!
Teacakes, you are from Moscow?! We have family not too far out of town from there, and of course there are the college Cougar kids.
Howdy!
That little boy, waiting for the butterfly to land on him? OMG how sweet. Makes me want to know what he's like when he's 23 year old. He will have a trail of girls following him around, and he'll be patient and will listen and they will all be in love. Sigh. Aren't boys wonderful sometimes?
So fun! Love all this! Glad you're having such a great time, Heather!
I don't have any cute kids---well I do, but they are adults now---I hope a crazy cat named Baxter will suffice!
I never knew Idaho was so cool. I want to go to the LIBRARY! now.
I, too, love LIBRARY!. Now I totally want to go to Boise.
Keep on truckin', Mrs. G.!
Love the LIBRARY! Love the photos and travel updates! Never knew Idaho had such great stuff!
I think LIBRARY! was the best part, though that solemn boy waiting for a butterfly landing is pretty dang precious.