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I had two weeks off from school in the middle of May in between my first and second semester.  Two of our closest friends in New York, Nat and Shaun, were running the Boise marathon over the break.  Nat’s mom flew in from Sydney to watch their race and just to spend time with them.  We were overdue for a visit to Idaho, so this was the perfect excuse to head west.

Washington

I flew to Seattle a few days early and drove from Washington to Idaho with my sister Karen and her two kids. The highlights of my Washington pit stop were meeting my new niece (Carly) and seeing Karen and Eric’s new property.  Carly is adorable and the perfect addition to their family.  Their five acres of property is the American dream.  The land has pine trees, a stream, an open meadow, and lots of Washington green.  Life is good for the Washington Richards.

Andrew @ the property

 

I enjoyed the scenic ride from Port Orchard to Emmett.  As a kid, I never appreciated driving several hours in the car, but adult Andrea loves a good road trip.  Andrew and Carly were great travelers, considering they had to stay in their car seats for 9 hours, and I got lots of quality time with them in the backseat. J

Idaho

My trip to Idaho was a bit bittersweet.  It’s always sweet to go home, but this was the last time I would ever get to stay at my childhood home.  My parents are selling their house and moving to China this summer.  It’s still hard for me to believe that the Bjorkman era in Emmett is ending, but I’m so excited for my parents and their upcoming adventure.

My parents hosted everyone at their house for a pre-race dinner on Friday.  My sister Becky ended up hosting the Australians at her place Friday night after their hotel fell through.  Thank goodness for her hospitality!

Everyone killed their race on Saturday.  Shaun and Nat ran the marathon and Becky ran the 10K.  Becky took second place in the 10K and got a giant bag of potatoes.  Nat placed second (for women), won a bag of potatoes, and qualified for the Boston Marathon, which was her goal.  Shaun placed sixth overall, but barely missed the cutoff for Boston after his hamstrings gave out in the final two kilometers.  He was disappointed, but I was still incredibly impressed with his 3:06 time.

After the race wrapped up, Ben and I said goodbye to my family and embarked on an Idaho-Utah road trip with Shaun, Nat, and her mom Sylvia.  We drove to Stanley that evening.

 

Red Fish Lake. I love Idaho

The next morning we drove to Orem via Sun Valley and Park City.  It was a beautiful drive.

Utah

On our way to Ben’s house, we stopped in Park City.  It was cold and a bit rainy, but we stopped at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and Olympic training center.  Nat’s dad won a gold medal for Australia as a cyclist back in the day, so everyone in our car was a huge fan of the Olympics.

That night we had a casual dinner at Ben’s house with his parents.  Jeff came over as well.  When he left, Ben’s mom loaded him up with a bag full of left-overs.  Shaun and Nat thought assumed he was Ben’s brother since Ben’s parents were so good to him.  We explained that is just how hospitality works in the west.

The next morning we said farewell to Shaun, Nat, and Sylvia as they continued on with their Idaho-Utah road trip.  They managed to make it to Bryce Canyon, Zion’s National Park, Moab, the Grand Canyon, Four Corners, and some Native America site in Colorado (I forget the name) before flying out of SLC at the end of the week.  Now that’s a road trip.

Ben and I went to our favorite dentist that morning – cavity free! – and then went to lunch at Sundance with his parents.  We visited his Grandpa Blaylock on the way home.  I’m maybe figuring this out 27 years too late, but I really am learning to appreciate the older generation and all of their wisdom.

Sundance

 

Ben’s dad is a new bishop for one of the singles wards in King Henry, so we were hoping to go to FHE with him that night.  Ben ended up getting a terrible stomach ache (turns out he got an ulcer from the antibiotics he took at the dentist), so we ended up on Jeff’s couch at King Henry instead.  Thanks, Jeff!