Get Out and Go...

Idaho. 

Our adventure has brought us to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho for a few days. It's a resort town with a large lake boasting the same name in the northern panhandle of the state. Barbara Walters calls it, "a little slice of heaven." Well, at least that is what Wikipedia told me. It's a great little city with a quaint downtown full of fun little shops, every kind of restaurant, a really awesome waterfront park, a nice beach area, and trails in and around Tubbs Hill.

This is our second time to Coeur d'Alene. Our first time was last year on our way home from Portland. We stopped and had dinner at a brewery north of the downtown area. We did not explore because we had no idea how awesome the city is until we got back on the interstate and saw the lake and golf course and the beauty of the city as a whole. 

We were in Coeur d'Alene for Eric's work, which meant that during the days the boys and I were on our own to explore and take it all in. So, we spent a lot of time at the park and walking around the downtown area. 

The waterfront park is called McEuen Park. I was kind of geeking out because it is a park in which the form really follows the function. The space felt great and for just a few moments I really missed my landscape architecture background. 

The boys loved the playground/ splash pad area. I am sure it's because they saw the importance of all the functions of the spaces and picked up that the layout worked in a way that made them go from activity to activity.  Oh, wait! That was me! We were there for over an hour one day and neither of them looked for something outside of the area to do. 

If you ask me that is a big positive. I don't consider myself a helicopter parent because my boys are too little but I do hover. I blame Emerson for this. I have lost him a few times because he runs off and hides. I was able to let him play on his own and make new friends. I could find Emerson easily from across the playground. I didn't have to worry while chasing Rhys around to make sure that daredevil didn't jump from the top of the play structures. 

The boys are funny with splash pads. Rhys takes a long time to get in the water and Emerson never wants to get in until it's time to go. On our last visit to the park they both finally played in the splash pad. Rhys let his hands get wet and Emerson embraced seizing the moment and letting the large buckets dump right on him. 

Emerson kept asking, "Mom, what am I going to do? My cloths are all wet!" I told him it was ok and we would change when it was time to go. As we headed to the car Emerson said, "I love Coeur d'Alene! Can we stay forever?!?!?"

The whole way back to meet up with Eric, Emerson talked about his love for the little hotel, the park, the splash pad, our hikes, dinner out and statues. It amazes me how these three days made him so happy.