Idaho

St. Paul

Our departure from Louisville was frightfully early. That’s a good thing and a bad thing. The later in the day you travel, the less chance you have of being inflicted by delays. Plus, it allows you to arrive at your destination earlier. The downside, of course, is getting up and out the door by 4am.

We had a 4-hour plus layover in Minneapolis which we had planned to take advantage of by visiting our friend Cathy in St. Paul. She lives about ten minutes from the airport and we thought it would be nice to stop in and see her. It worked out amazingly well as she picked us up, took us to her house and made coffee and a wonderful breakfast. It was short, but it was well worth the hassle of going out through security and making your way back in. Security lines can be punishingly long, particularly during a partial government shutdown, but it wasn’t the case on this day.

Boise

We arrived in Boise in the afternoon. My sister was there to retrieve us and the Idaho leg of our journey began.

First priority was to go to storage and retrieve our winter gear. As the girls have been growing, keeping them in cold weather clothing of the right size has always been a challenge. With one daughter coming closer to her maximum height, it’s going to make things slightly easier.

pizza to go, but maybe a quick glass of wine while we wait

We had a couple of days to run errands and hang out with family. On Sunday we picked up my mom and took her to church and lunch. She seemed to be doing visibly better than when I saw her in November. The girls for the first time no longer have grandfathers, which is sad. But we’re happy that they were able to know them both, even while growing up on another continent. 

lunch with mom

The Mountains

On Monday, we headed to the mountains. We got an early start so that we would be able to stop by our storage at our New Meadows property (mostly for ski gear) and then meet my brother for lunch in McCall. There was snow but not as much as you would normally expect this time of year. I’ll take what I can get.

We would stay at my sister’s condo which would allow us a convenient starting point for skiing the next day. It’s rare during the holidays to spend an evening with just the four of us. It’s not something you want to do too much since you’ve traveled all this way to see family, but it was actually sort of nice just to take a pause before the socially active vacation home stretch.

 

Skiing

One of the highlights of my year is heading out into the cold, strapping on my skis and flying down a mountain at breakneck speed. I’m well aware that none of that is appealing to most people. As a husband and father, I need to accept that my family may, or may not, ever feel the same way. There are so many things that can make skiing/snowboarding off-putting. The cold. The expense. The steep learning curve. The physical exertion. I’m well aware that it’s not for everyone.

Also, not only did the three ladies in my family grow up on other continents, they didn’t grow up doing this sort of thing. Coming to the US and skiing once per year (if that), it can mean that one lingers on the lower end of that steep learning curve where it is simply not fun.

I will say that the girls both seem to have embraced the sport in spite of these challenges and it is my hope that someday we’ll have the opportunity to devote a longer period of time to where they can move farther up that learning curve. As it turned out, we would yet again have just a single day on the mountain.

the top of Brundage Mountain

Fortunately, the weather was beautiful. The first chairlift ride to the top, taking in the view of seemingly endless snow-capped mountains, felt worth all the effort to get there. However, once the viewing and selfies were done, it was time to put our legs to the test.

The first run is always a challenge, particularly for once-a-year skiers. But throughout the day, as the snow softened and as the skills came back, the gang appeared to embrace the experience. By early afternoon the gang was spent, and we decided that I would take a break from ski instruction and carve up the mountain at my own pace before heading to my other sisters for the afternoon/evening.

My sister and brother-in-law have a wonderful log home on the side of a hill. The latter is a master when it comes to preparing steaks and hanging out there is one of my highlights. My brother was able to join us which added to the fun.

another mountain selfie

The next morning, I had intended on heading up to the mountain for at least a half-day of skiing before returning to Boise in the afternoon. But morning rain (snowing on the mountain) and the reluctance of others encouraged me to opt out and hang out with the gang. I ended up having a cozy morning sipping coffee with the family and resting my knees. I think it was a wise decision given that there was very little visibility on the mountain and time with family is precious. As I guessed, the following day would be the epic ski day with the fresh snow and sun. I, unfortunately, would be long gone by then. 

the best steaks

 

Back to Boise

Upon arriving in Boise that evening, we had a wonderful family gathering at my sister’s. My mom was able to come as well as my aunt and uncle. It’s been a while since I’ve had some one-on-one time with my uncle and it was so nice to catch up with him. I have always felt a special bond with him and not only because I was named after him. As a kid, I spent more time fishing with him than I did my father. Living overseas makes it hard to maintain close relationships with people, but with some you can pick up right where you left off – even if you haven’t seen each other for some time.

It was a nice evening for my daughters as well. They haven’t had the easiest time with my family given that they are sort of between generations. Their cousins are a half-generation older than they are and the cousins’ children are a half-generation younger. As such, they haven’t had a lot of peers to hang out with. This time, however, now that they are a bit more grown up, they seemed to connect more naturally with the cousins. It’s a different kind of connection than you have with aunts, uncles and grandparents.

a pair of Rich's

On Friday, it was time to head to the airport. The past few years we have targeted a Saturday evening arrival in Nairobi rather than pushing it to Sunday. It gives you a day to start getting over jet lag and mentally regroup before heading back to work/school on Monday.

We missed some epic rains in Nairobi on Friday evening. Many were saying it was unlike anything they’d ever seen. There were dozens of recorded deaths from the flooding and there was apparently chaos around the city and surrounding areas. By the time we arrived, you could see evidence of the flooding, but the worst was over. Back to the grind.