As long as I've been asked "what do you want to do when you grow up?" I've said "I'm not sure, but I want to live in Colorado." I started telling people that even before my first visit to the state; I just knew there was something special for me in the mountains. PS, I still have the same answer.
Colorado is still where I'll probably end up... but why haven't I ever considered anywhere else?
On a recent trip to Idaho, my mind opened up to the possibilities of more. As soon as I woke up from a short nap on the plane and opened my window, I saw the most beautiful mountain range I've ever seen. I watched it go by, smiling, for 20 minutes.
There's something about the mountains that makes me feel at home. Like I can take a deep breath and actually breathe. So in tune with my heart and mind and soul.
Then I began thinking yes, of course, I would love to see and experience a world and culture and a people other than my own by traveling to other countries. That is a life experience everyone should have. But why worry so much about getting there when we have something so beautiful right here, right below our feet? Or in my case below the wings of a tiny, cramped airplane.
This is why I have a love for flying. You get a whole new perspective, a whole new view-literally-that you simply cannot get anywhere else.
Thursday, my first day there, I was groggy from my 3:00 a.m. alarm and two flights but since it was the only free time I was going to get I took a cab downtown to explore. Based on a short internet search of the downtown Boise area, I decided to visit 8th street and surrounding areas. It was the right choice. My roommate for the weekend and I went to lunch at the local hot spot Fork and did a little shopping. It was a beautiful day.
During the trip, which was for a national conclave for my honor society, we took a tour of the city. We only made two stops, one at the Boise Depot (where we got a wonderful view of the city, left) and the Idaho State Capitol featured on the right. Inside of the capitol was all-white-marble-and-bronze everything and it was beautiful. There were no metal detectors, searching through purses or even any security around that I could see, just a regular Saturday afternoon at the Capitol. It was a breath of fresh air, and that's not counting the actual fresh air you get up there.
Just down the street from the Capitol, the annual Boise Oktoberfest was going on. I'll be attending the Tulsa Oktoberfest in just a few weeks but it would have been cool to experience that.
In East Boise there's an area called Warm Springs that consists of residential properties that are all geothermally heated, meaning all of the hot water and heat in those homes comes from a completely renewable resource. How cool is that? There are four areas in the Boise area that operate this way.
Boise even has a composting program!
Going into the trip I wasn't overly excited about the location, just to get away for a few days. However, upon arriving, I knew it would be a special place and I can't wait to get back someday.
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