kitchtrips

Born down in a dead man’s town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that’s been beat too much
‘Til you spend half your life just coverin’ up

Born in the U.S.A
I was born in the U.S.A
I was born in the U.S.A
Born in the U.S.A

– Bruce Springsteen

Wednesday 15 May 2024

One week down! It feels like, because we’ve managed to cram so much in, that it’s been longer than a week since landing in Los Angeles. Today was our last day in Boise, unfortunately. Went for a walk/run this morning around the quiet campus of Boise State University, then came back and started packing up pretty much everything I wouldn’t need into my suitcase.

(I’m probably quite late to the part on this, but I’m using packing cubes for the first time on this trip, and aside from making it easy to pack, they are also fantastic for separating your luggage and finding things quickly and easily. I highly recommend them. There are plenty of choices, including some that can be compressed using a vacuum cleaner, but I went for the standard Amazon Basics brand – I have some large, small and medium.)

Caught up with Sharpy for lunch. He took us to the Basque block in downtown Boise, to a tiny restaurant with a very busy patio, and a chef slow-cooking a giant bowl of paella. We got some other sides, including meatballs and croquettes, but the paella was really the star of the show: some of the best I’ve ever eaten. And whilst we ate, we managed to solve most of the problems of the world. Hanging with Sharpy is always entertaining.

After lunch, Sharpy drove us over to the Bronco Shop on campus (and back!) where we made a reasonable contribution to the Boise State University scholarship fund via some Nike-branded merchandise. The shop has to be seen to be believed. Anything you can imagine – and a few things I had definitely not thought of – is available in Bronco blue and/or orange. Fair to say that a few people I know back home are getting Bronco-themed presents!

Finished packing and did a load of washing in the afternoon as we won’t have a washing machine at our next stop this weekend in Austin, then headed over to The Ram, another brewery/restaurant in downtown Boise to meet Dave and his dad for dinner. We sat outside, on the edge of the Greenbelt, close to the Boise River, eating wings and drinking beer, whilst talking AFL football, Australian movies and all sorts of other random stuff.

A very nice way to pass an hour or so before we headed off to watch Dave’s softball team, the Idaho Mets, in their 7:45pm game at Fort Boise. It wasn’t looking good for the Mets, who are allegedly Idaho’s favourite softball team – but no one outside of the team could independently confirm this (!!) – but a late rally, fuelled by a crucial hit from Dave that started a rally saw them come home with a wet sail for a dramatic final inning 13-12 win. It was Tim Tams for winners!

That’s twice we’ve seen the Mets play and they’re 2-0 so clearly we’re good luck. Hung out a bit after the game then headed back to the Airbnb to get some sleep. 3:00am is going to come too quickly. What a brilliant week here. Boise is a fantastic city, and there’s so much so close to here that I still have on my Bucket List. Could spend an entire month here, and it probably still wouldn’t be enough. Also, this place is home to some of my favourite people on the planet! Already can’t wait to come back, and I haven’t quite left yet.

Tomorrow, to Texas…