Last-Minute Couple's Trip

 After we arrived at church on the last Sunday in February, our friend Craig (who was two rows in front of us because every other pew is still blocked off for COVID restrictions) turned around and asked Josh and I if we'd be interested in going golfing with him and his wife Wendy that very week in Buhl. I instantly said, "Sure!".

My response surprised Josh because that upcoming week was Dr. Seuss week, a week that I've solely been in charge of at Terreton Elementary the past 3 years. However, I had done SO much prep work ahead of time this year, and had already delivered all the supplies to the teacher and had already done my kick-off assembly for it, that I knew everything would be okay if I was gone for 2 days during it. But then I got thinking about the logistics of how being gone would impact Kanyon, and I didn't know how he would get to/from school in my absence, and I knew he had a district Scholastic meet that week, so all during church, I went back and forth, wondering if it would actually be possible for me to leave for a few days. I started texting a bunch of people asking to give Kanyon rides to school and home after track practice, and I messaged his Scholastic coach, and by the end of church, I had the plans all finalized, and told Craig that it was a "definitive YES" that we would be able to go with them later that week.

This is SO unlike Josh and I to make travel plans last-minute, and especially to be gone from work for more than one day at a time mid-week. It was very exhilerating and exciting! I love having trips to look forward to, and it had been so long since Josh and I had traveled together (due to COVID), so it was definitely needed! I just couldn't believe that it had all happened so fast: we had no mid-week travel plans when we woke up that morning, but two hours later, we did!

On Wednesday morning, March 3, Josh drove his bus route, then drove down in the Mini to pick me up in Mud Lake. I worked until 10am, and met him at my rental house, and we drove straight to the Clear Lake Country Club in Buhl from there. Craig and Wendy drove their own car from Salmon and met up with us at the golf course, too. On the first day, Craig and Josh rode around the 18 holes together in one cart, and Wendy and I followed them in another cart. They golfed, and we watched and chatted. It was beautiful weather, and we all had an enjoyable afternoon!

After they finished golfing 18 holes, we drove to Twin Falls to check-in to our hotel for the night, and then we went out to dinner together at La Fiesta, just down the block from our hotel. It was so fun eating out with another couple! I can't remember the last time we went out to eat on a date with another couple (stupid COVID!). Dinner was delicious, and very filling for all of us!

I love me some horchata!

On Thursday morning, we got up early, packed up, checked out of the hotel, and drove back to Buhl to golf again. This time, Josh and I rode around in a cart together, and Craig and Wendy rode in the other cart. Josh enjoyed golfing so much with Craig. Craig is easy to get along with and doesn't stress about his golf game, so it put Josh at ease to play. They hit lots of mulligans and had such a good time!

On this Par 3 hole, Josh made it THIS close 
to the pin with his tee-off shot! Pretty exciting!

It's such a beautiful course, down in the canyon by the river!

After the boys finished golfing on the 2nd day, we headed different directions: Craig and Wendy stayed in the magic valley for another day, and Josh and I drove back to Mud Lake. We stopped for lunch at this awesome place called "The Shop" in Gooding. I just LOVED their decor! It was such gorgeous weather again, that we opted to eat on one of their outside tables. The food was fabulous, and the service was awesome, too!

We stopped to stretch our feet right before Craters of the Moon park at Wild Rose (AKA Carey) Hot Springs. It's a natural springs, accessible from the highway by a narrow trail. We didn't take a dip in it, because we hadn't brought our swimsuits, but it felt luke-warm, and would be nice to soak in during the summer on hot days, especially hiking around CotM!

We got back to Mud Lake that evening and treated Kanyon to a pizza dinner from Ike's. The original plan was for Josh to drive back home to Salmon that night, and then come BACK down to Mud Lake the next day to get me, because we already had weekend plans for the two of us to spend Friday night at Downata Hot Springs. However, I convinced Josh to stay in Mud Lake over night, because Jonah had contracted COVID that week, and I wanted Josh to stay away from home as long as possible, since I worried the most about its effect on Josh if he contracted it. It had gone around Jonah's friend group the previous two weeks, and it was a blessing that Jonah began feeling the symptoms right before our trip to Buhl, because that meant Josh wasn't in direct contact with him for several days. Jonah was a good sport, and stay isolated in his bedroom away from school for a week. He lost his smell for a few days, and was super tired and struggled breathing, but he bounced back after his bout with it, which was a blessing.  

I had a teacher work day on Friday, and Kanyon's scholastic district competition was that same day. It was a virtual competition this year, so he competed from West J and Josh was able to go watch him compete for the first time this season, which was nice. Kanyon had a few rounds of competition, and after it was done, Josh drove him to Ryker's house to hang out for the evening, and then Josh came and got me at work, and we drove to Downata together that afternoon. Neither of us had ever been there before, although we've both driven past it dozens of times. It was not very busy early that evening, which was nice for us. We checked in to our cabin, soaked for a bit in the large warm pool, and then had a nice dinner at their restaurant. By the time we were done eating, the pools were hopping with people, so we opted to stay inside our cabin for the night and watch a movie instead of soaking again. We were glad we had soaked earlier when we had the pools almost to ourselves.

On Saturday morning, we soaked in the smaller, hotter pool. There was only one family besides us in it. Their pools are nice and updated, and have a good family-feel to them. They have a lot of lodging options at that resort, and in the summer months, they open up the water slide and another pool area, too. They've really built it up over the years into a nice little family-friendly resort. After our last soak, we packed up and drove back home to Salmon, stopping in Mud Lake to pick up Kanyon on the way. 

It's unusual for Josh to take 4 days off of work in the middle of a work-week, but it worked out nicely with the timing of Jonah's COVID to have Josh gone. We both had such a nice time, just hanging out with our friends and each other! I loved having a mini-vacation that was so last-minute, but was so relaxing and rejuvenating, too!!