DT shows me Boise
Boise, Idaho: This isn't the "Take the Weather With You" Tour
for nothing. Dang, I wish someone would take this weather with them and go
somewhere far, far away. One hundred degrees again. We realized at six/seven
o'clock this morning that we had crossed into the mountain time zone yesterday.
I did not know this, but my blackberry did and she woke me at 6a so I could run
while it was still cool (and by cool, I mean less than 80°). It is still dark at
6 o'clock in Boise and this RV Goddess does not get up before daylight. It's
simply unnecessary in my daily life. I hit the snooze button until light was
seen. We ran on the track at Meridian High School
- GO WARRIORS. Great facility and friendly cheerleaders practicing on the astro-turf
infield. I did a speed workout while DT jogged. Dave jogs faster than I sprint,
which is fairly pathetic and I have no idea why I would divulge this humiliating
information on the interweb for all to see.
Anyhoo... last year DT drove to Boise (in a car) with a bunch of Duck fans for the
Boise State game. The weather was lovely in September and they had a great time
until Boise State seriously plucked the Ducks and then the "punch
thrown around the (college football) world" kinda put a clunker on the entire
weekend and the drive back to Portland was miserable. But DT loved Boise
and wanted to show me around, so here we are for a few days.
We took our Honda
to downtown Boise this morning and had a tour of their
State House,
as we really enjoy looking at State Capitol Buildings. Though long-time readers
of this blog will be surprised, we have only been to 20 of the fifty State
Houses (plus the US Capitol in Washington, DC).
The Idaho State House was built in 1905 and was recently restored to her
previous glory. The new & improved Capitol opened in January of this
year.
Boise is Idaho's second capital city. When President Abraham Lincoln
signed the law creating the Idaho Territory, Lewiston - a busy trading
supply point with access to the Pacific Ocean - was chosen as the
capital. As the populations shifted south due to the discovery of gold,
Boise was chosen as the permanent site for the Idaho State House.
John Tourtellotte designed the Capitol, using light
shafts, skylight and reflective marble surfaces to
capture natural sunlight. The columns only appear to
be marble, but have a finished surface composed of
scagliola - gypsum, glue, marble dust and granite
dyed to look like marble. Most everything else is
the real deal - marble is used extensively
throughout the building.
The rotunda features thirteen large stars,
representing the 13 original colonies, and 43
smaller stars, representing Idaho's admission as the
43rd state.
Wasn't it nice of Idaho to greet the Taylor Family
with a (replica) statue of Nike of Samothrace?
Also called Winged Victory, the 400 BC
statue of Nike (the Goddess of Victory) was
discovered in 1863 on the Greek island of Samothrace
by a Frenchman. It now
resides in the Louve Museum in Paris.
The City of Paris gave this replica to the State of
Idaho as a thank you to the US for its aid in
liberating France from Nazi Germany in World War II.
(I guess liberating an entire country is only worthy of a
replica.)
Wasn't it nice of Idaho to greet the Taylor Family
with a statue of George Washington - founder of The Lovely
Lisa's
alma mater?
It's like they knew we were coming.
Charles L. Ostner carved this statue of Washington in 1869 of
Yellow Pine and gilded it with gold.
I made a little video of our tour through the Idaho
State House - enjoy! And if you are in your office -
turn-down/mute your speakers!
Next on his itinerary, DT led me to
The Flying Pie
Pizzaria, about three miles west of the Capitol Building. They make
a great pizza at Flying Pie, but are famous for a pizza they only serve in
August. For the past 17 years, every August, when the chilies are at
their peak, they prepare a pizza topped with sliced Habanero chilies. The menu claims
the few Habanero chili slices used on this pizza is equal to putting 14
POUNDS of jalapeno peppers on a 12-inch pizza. These babies are hot! The
restaurant actually offers milk to accompany the Habanero pizza.
In 2009, the Travel Channel's
Man v Food made a visit to
Flying Pie and
Adam Richman ate the spicy pizza. The peppers
are so fiery, special care must be used in the
restaurant - gloves, of course, but also separate
pans, knives for slicing, spatula's for serving,
etc. Cross-contamination could actually injure an
unsuspecting customer.
Did we have the Habanero pizza?
What? Are you nuts? No way. We are wimps. We had the Zerto Magnifico without the sausage:
spinach,
tomatoes, mozzarella, pecorino and parmesan. It was
a very decent pizza. We did watch as a
group ordered a spicy Habanero pizza. (Our eyes
burned as the waiter walked
past our table while delivering the pizza.) They munched away, claiming it
wasn't that hot.
(Let it be known, this group of fire-eaters were raised in a country
where the food is very spicy.)
Next on "Tours by DT" was a walk-around tour
of adorable
downtown Boise, in the shadow of the Capitol Building.
Many of the streets have been
closed to traffic and the city is very small and
pedestrian-friendly.
Beautiful fountains and art make the
area very pleasant for strolling.
Nancy
(Lisa's Godmother) said we needed to find her an Idaho Spud.
Nancy remembers traveling (from Portland) to Boise
as a child and enjoying this Idaho treat. So we
did. Not only did we find Miss Nancy the candy bar, we
found the
Idaho Candy Company factory where the
potato-shaped confection is still made. (I do, very
vaguely recall this candy bar.) The locals rave
about the treat and say the Idaho Spud is especially
delicious frozen... which is a good thing, because
we bought a few for Nancy and put them in our
freezer.
Old-fashioned candy store, right in downtown Boise
Idaho Spud molds
DT and I both remembered Chicken Bones. Do you?
Not getting enough sugar, we visited
the chocolat bar - a gourmet chocolate shop
where everything is hand-made on premises using only
the best quality ingredients.
The place simply smells like heaven.
And here is a guided tour of our
purchases!
Stimulating the local economy even more,
we stepped next door to the
City Peanut Shop (DT's favorite addiction) and
bought just-roasted-still-hot Virginia Redskins! One
last stop to a very good grocery store, the
Boise Consumer Coop, where if you are from out
of town, they waive the membership requirement. We
found beautiful organic produce and an over-the-top
cheese selection. Highly recommended by me, but what
do I know?
NOTE:
How can we buy chocolates and vegetables in
100-degree heat (not to mention leftover pizza)? Our
pizza was on ice while we shopped and the Idaho
Spuds and treats from The Chocolat Bar were kept
cold because I never, ever, never, ever leave the
bus for a day touristing without a cooler filled
with an ice pack or two. Even if the weather isn't
blazing. Even if you only are planning to visit a
museum. You never know when you are going to find
a cheese shop, a wine shop or a fresh fruit stand. Restaurants serve such large portions,
so bring home the leftovers safely. Re-freezable
ice packs are essential - keep a few in your RV
freezer at all times.
Your RV Goddess tip-o-the-moment. I'm here to help.
After all this excitement, we came back to the bus
and took naps.
You would think we were done for the day.
You would be wrong.
DT - my Boise tour guide - had heard about
Gino's Restaurant, 208-887-7710, 3015 W McMillan
Rd, Meridian, ID 83646. Gino's used to be in downtown
Boise, but impending construction forced them out to
the 'burbs. And I mean ELEVEN miles from downtown
Boise. The food is so good and the menu is so
diverse, the crowds continue. I ordered Veal
Milanese (one of my all-time favorites and something
not on every Italian restaurant menu) and it was
very good and only $18. Gino's also has a very good
wine list, and with over 100 items on the menu, I
just don't see how you could go wrong.
DT ordered the lamb chop special. It was amazing and
HUGE. We brought 3 of the four lamb chops home. Pizza and lamb chops for
dinner tomorrow?
Until my next update, I remain, your "is this my longest
column ever?"
correspondent.
RV Park: Boise-Meridian
KOA. Situated about 8 miles west of Boise,
convenient to the freeway, but no freeway noise.
Full-service park, very nice, modern and super
clean. Indoor pool & spa, laundry, bathhouse, free
wifi and Cable TV. We paid $32 with our KOA discount
card.