Sandpoint, ID

The Festival at Sandpoint is an annual event of summer music fun. Each year the line up is released in mid to late May and the mad dash for tickets begins. For eight days in August there is a different act to suit every taste. There is usually a country night, rock night, a family night, which is a great way to get the kids to the festival and each year ends with the Spokane symphony

If you can race it, I will watch it. Needless to say when I was traveling to Spokane on a Saturday as we passed through Oldtown and Newport I looked down the Pend Oreille river and saw mini hydroplanes, I was beside myself. I knew they had a yearly hydroplane race and I had been to it when I was younger but as an adult I never remembered to look up the date

Tuesday there is always a buzz at my office about trivia night at McDuffs. I decided to round up my friends and try out trivia night. I had heard you needed to get there early to get a good table, near the large TV screen is best. Trivia starts at 7pm, so I arrived at about 6pm thinking that was plenty of time.

Each Thursday beer drinkers from all around town join together and hoist their mugs up as they enjoy dollar pint night at Eichardt’s. The dollar beer changes weekly so it’s always a surprise when you arrive

It seems like everywhere I go I hear grumblings about gas prices. And it’s all true, what people are saying. We are paying more for gas this summer than we did last summer. Good thing we weren’t planning any big trips this year, otherwise we’d have to tap into our retirement fund! Instead of a vacation this year, my family is taking a staycation! What’s a staycation, you may be asking yourself? It’s a period of time where we will stay at home and relax, explore our community, and take day trips – all within a short drive from home. We may decide to take a week off for our staycation, or we may just do it over several weekends. Here’s what we’re thinking about doing:

So we headed west on Cedar Street, stopping in at Pend Oreille Winery to view the artwork there. Here is where our adventure got a whole lot better (and no, not because we did wine-tasting!). We walked in to the winery, looked to the right, and all along a wall clearly displayed was artwork. And it was beautiful! And the artist was someone we know! We were so excited to finally see something wonderfully displayed, really allowing the focus to be on the art and not merchandise for sale. There was plenty of room for us to stand back and admire the art, and the salespeople left us alone (aside from a pleasant greeting) to contemplate the art.

Our schedules had kept us busy for months. We really needed to get out, to go away, to see a movie, to share a sunset, to gaze at each other over a brace of candles. Trouble was, we just couldn’t set all of the obligations aside, and by each day’s end we were whipped.
Father’s Day became our excuse. We decided to shut down the computers and ignore our phones (unless the kids called). We chose a good spot to have breakfast, but we left it at that: no need to make any other hard plans…we didn’t want to jinx it.

It was Father’s day and I decided to take my dad and his girlfriend out to lunch. They live in Hope so it limits you on the places you can go, just because there are not a lot of restaurants. But what is located in Hope are several delightful restaurants, one being the Wily Widgeon Café, located in the historic Hope hotel

Officially called the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox. Originally opened in 1931, this Art Deco showpiece is truly an irreplaceable treasure. If you get an opportunity, step through the doors and into the opulent history of entertainment into a calmer, more formal era of showmanship. This is a place worth going out of your way for, dressing up for and spending an evening with your favorite person in. When we first attended a concert at the Fox several years ago, we saw the incredible David Byrne. Though the theater was not restored yet, he recognized the significance of such a classic building and said he was proud to be performing in it. You could feel its potential and the gravity of the theater’s past. You could see it, too, through broken glass panels and on dingy walls. Byrne, The Talking Heads front man and all-around artist was pro-restoration and praised Spokane for their foresight in preserving the Fox.

We arrived at Café Trinity and we were greeted by the owner at the front door. He seated us on the back deck overlooking Sandcreek. It was a nice warm day, so outside seating was an excellent choice, however inside seating can be nice as well if you are looking for a more romantic location, or you can sit at a bar and watch the chef prepare your meal. I like Trinity because not only do they offer good food that is Cajun inspired, but also you can order from the Oishii Sushi bar that is connected next door.