4th of July Weekend

As I said in my previous blog, my friend Sara and I went to Lake Pend Orielle (right by Sandpoint, ID) for the weekend of the 4th. Boy oh boy was that an awesome and relaxing weekend!!!


I got off work at noon and went home to pack up the car, it was 97 degrees... DAMN!!! Packing was slow but we got it all in and headed out. We arrived around 4pm, unpacked the car and hung out with Sara's Mom and Aunt Suzie; they had come up for the day to "open" the cabin. We were the first over night guests since last year so some work needed to be done. It was fabulous!!! The beach/water were just footsteps from the cabin but it was still super hot. We ate dinner on the back porch and once Suzie and Mardell left, Sara and I had our suits on and headed to the lake with Miss Lou. She was all about the water until it hit her shoulders then she changed her mind. It was super cold so I just walked out, splashed some water on my arms then turned around and speed walked right back in. We hung out at the beach for quite some time then headed back to the cabin to watch "So you think you can dance." Then we went to sleep. Sofie and I were DYING from the heat but luckily we were sleeping on a California King so there was tons of room for both of us to spread out... during the night Sara's cousin Lisa, her husband Dan, and 10 year old daughter Lauren arrived and set up camp outside on the deck.



We started our trek up the mountain and I was slightly shocked at how steep the climb was, not my usual idea of a "hike" but oh well. Sofie led the three of us like a champ up the hill. After about an hour we found a couple good stumps and copped a squat for a snack and water.

After we were replenished we headed back down the trail. We did not hit any thunder or storm, we took our time and after about 2.5 hours of a hike, Sofie decided to drop a load at the bottom of the trail IN THE SCHWEITZER VILLAGE (of all places)!! Then we were all, including Sofie, invited into a shop to look around (totally over priced but cute outdoor wear). Then we headed back to the cabin to hit the beach which we spent all day lounging at!!!

That night Lisa made the most amazing chicken marinaded in this ALMOST prizewinning marinade and salad with her homemade dressing (I am trying to get the recipe as we speak). We sat out on the front deck eating dinner with Sofie crashed out on our feet (she went the WHOLE day with no nap) watching and listening to some early fireworks. After dinner was all eaten and cleaned up we headed down to the beach to watch the Sandpoint fireworks and immediately proceeding our own fireworks (I had to run Sofie in because she was FREAKING out). After the shows we all were exhausted and fell almost immediately asleep.


Our final morning at the cabin I woke up early, walked Sofie, made coffee for the house, and while I was eating breakfast everyone else started to rise. Lisa mentioned taking a hike on a trail just down the road and all 5 of us headed out for another hike. This one was slightly shorter but very pretty and much more my style (not such a steep constant incline).

After this hike we all headed back and spent yet another day sitting out at the beach (I finally went all the way into the water, DAAAMN it was still cold), this time we were joined by Aunt Suzie again, Uncle Ron, and another of Sara's cousins, his wife, and their two sons who have spent the past 10+ years living in Australia. The 5 of us all felt slightly displaced so we definitely stayed out of the way and at the beach. Later that day we all ate dinner togetehr and then Sara and I packed up and headed out.


It was an AMAZING weekend, Sunday after the 4th Sofie and I spent our day cleaning, relaxing, and sleeping at my apartment. I never thought that a weekend of hiking and relaxing at the lake would make us so exhausted!!!