Tyler, Bryn, Beverly, and I headed out of Spokane at 3:30 am. Bryn and I started feeling sick around Montana. Ugh...we felt fine just hours before. Suddenly we had colds kicking in. Thankfully our colds were pretty minor and just a nuisance. But it was seriously crappy timing. (Tyler started feeling sick on the drive home.) The roads were pretty good except for a nasty patch at Monida Pass and then they went back to being okay again.
We arrived in Rexburg around 1pm and headed over to the kids apartment complex. Ailey was fully packed up. Kameron was not. This kid. He is such packing procrastinator. We ran another load of stuff over to Ailey's teeny tiny storage unit. You know that you are adulting in our family when you have a storage unit. It's a problem. My mom had 4. I have 2. Reilly has one. And now Ailey has one. Sheesh.
Rexburg was a mad house due to graduation. Ailey wanted us to try the Red Rabbit Grill so we went there for a late lunch. Kam met us there. It was really good!
After lunch Kam went back to his apartment to pack. He had to pack up everything because he wasn't sure if he would be returning to Rexburg in the fall. We drove around and looked at some of the Rexburg sights. We also did a little St. Anthony tour. I wanted to see if I could remember anything from when my aunt and uncle lived there. Nope. Not much. Ailey wanted us to drive out to the sand dunes. They were covered with snow but it was still really pretty!!
She also showed us the house of murderer Lori Vallow Daybell. Horrible. I didn't need to see that.
The hotels in Rexburg were all booked due to BYU-Idaho's graduation. We opted for an Airbnb this time instead. Since Beverly was traveling with us; this was a much better option. We had a house and a big yard out in the countryside (not really but it felt and looked like the country). So much of that area is rural but yet still near stores etc.
Kind of pretty.
The sun was shining and it felt good to sit on the front porch and soak up the sunshine! The best part of staying at an Airbnb was that we could leave Beverly there while we ran around and did all of the things that we needed to do.
After our late lunch at Red Rabbit Grill, we weren't super hungry. Kam was *packing* and hanging out with friends. Ailey's friends had already headed home so she hung out with us the whole time. Tyler, the girls, and I did a Broulim's run and grabbed some ice cream from DQ. Kameron came over briefly to drop off some of his stuff and then headed back to his apartment to spend the night there.
Early the next morning Kam headed to Provo to go through the temple with his friend and roomie who was going for the first time. Kam got to go to The Provo City Center Temple for the first time. He said that it is his favorite temple so far. The girls, Tyler, and I also left early but we headed to Jackson Hole, WY. I haven't been there in about 25 years. When I was a kid we would go to Jackson every Labor Day weekend. We would stay in a condo at the ski resort. We would hike, ride horses, river raft, and once we went for a helicopter ride. We loved shopping in downtown Jackson Hole. I have lots of fun memories of my mom there. I also remember going to Jackson Hole with my Grandma and Grandpa McKinnon several times. Tyler and I took a road trip there too when we were in college. Our college kids love it so we were excited to go check it out.
The drive was gorgeous! It was sunny and the sky was blue. There was a lot of snow on the ground but not on the roads. The Tetons were out in all their glory and can you believe that we didn't take A SINGLE PICTURE?! Sadness.
We had brunch at Persephone which we all LOVED! It was fabulous. People were taking pics of their food left and right. We did too. So good!
Tyler and I both got our favorite Croque Madame sandwiches and the French greens were the best that I have ever had. Ailey got a brussel sprout and grilled cheese sandwich (amazing combo) with pomme frites. It was so good! Bryn got a ham, egg, and cheese croissant. The girls also ordered pastries and chocolate croissants. I loved that they served water in recycled wine bottles. It is such a darling place! We can't wait for a return visit!
After brunch it was time to walk off all of that food. We had to get our pictures taken at the antler arch. Did you even go to Jackson if you don't do that?! LOL.
We walked all over and had such a fun time! We did a ton of shopping!! We all bought sweatshirts, stickers, clothes for Karson, a Christmas ornament, candy, and even a couple of books! There is a fantastic bookstore there that we loved. Bryn picked out some birthday gifts for herself since her birthday was coming up in a few days. Kam wanted us to pick him up a shirt from there too.
We found this book. LOL. I texted it to Kirk and Meki. I almost bought it but Kirk and I said that we could compile our own multi-volume series of sh*tty texts that we have received!! That is a fact. This book was pretty tame compared to our *delightful* collection. I am glad that we can laugh about all of that BS now. Estrangement ain't so bad. ;)
Late that afternoon we stopped at Snake River Roasting Co. for some much needed sustenance. I had the best hot chocolate that I have ever had in my life. A browned butter hot chocolate. No words. Everything we ate from there was so good.
Then we were back out and doing some more shopping and looking around. I really wanted to find a cool piece of jewelry but I never did find anything that I was jazzed about. My mom always found the coolest jewelry in Jackson. Not me. We stopped at the Wort Hotel which reminds me of my mom. We've eaten many meals there and that was where she would always take us to go to the bathroom. LOL. My mom was famous for saying that if you want a nice bathroom go to a hotel, library, or hospital. We adhere to her rules as much as possible. We also went into the Cowboy Bar. I remember my parents telling us as kids to go "bum around" while they would go have a drink at the Cowboy Bar. You've gotta love the 80s!
We were in Jackson all day and still didn't get to the ice cream place that Kam recommended or the restaurant that he wanted us to try or the fancy restaurant that Ailey went to with her roommates. So there are still sights to see for another trip. We did go to Teton Village and I tried to find our old condo. Nope. That place has exploded and it is awesome. We'd love to stay there the next time we come and bring our bikes. I pointed out The Mangy Moose Steakhouse which was another McClellan family favorite. My mom would've loved to spend the day in Jackson Hole with us and it felt like she did! We drove back to Rexburg via Driggs and the Targhee area. I haven't been to Targhee since I was probably 12 and we last went skiing there. It was an interesting day and brought back so many memories.
We got back to Rexburg right before the campus store closed. We ran in fast because Ailey said that they had some really cute dresses that she thought Bryn would love. They both picked out Easter dresses and Tyler found himself an Easter tie. I ran into my friend Amy from Spokane and her daughter Taylor. We always see Spokane peeps when we are in Rexburg. LOL. We also stopped at the DI that my aunt has raved about for years. I wanted to see if there was anything good for Sister Creed. Nope.
By then it was getting late. We talked to Kam and he wasn't going to be back in town until really late. We were starving. Kam recommended a little Italian place in Idaho Falls. He and his roommates had met the owner at the farmers market. His roommate Jared served his mission in Italy so they struck up a friendship and their whole crew went in one day for some authentic Italian food. That sounded great so we went there for a late dinner.
Kameron was right! It was really good! We all got four different entrees and they were all delicious. Unfortunately the Tiramisu that Kam said that we "Had to have!!" was sold out. Bummer. It was a really pretty night and the restaurant is near the falls and the temple so we walked over and took some pictures. After we got back to our Airbnb; Ailey realized that she had left her lululemon bag at the restaurant with her wallet and everything inside. The restaurant was closed but she called the next day and her bag was never found. Annoying. Kameron made it back from Provo but went straight to his apartment and hung out with friends all night. He rolled into the Airbnb around 6 am. Tyler wasn't thrilled since Kam had to drive the next day.
We all slept in the next morning and then headed to brunch at Kneaders. We love Kneaders. They were doing some special brunch items because it was Easter weekend but I just ordered my usual. I love their raspberry bread pudding and their pancakes with caramel syrup. I got both!
They were doing a bunch of giveaways. We all won something...eclairs and cookies. But Bryn won a $40 Easter gift basket! Lucky girl! She kindly shared her loot with all of us.
On the way out of Idaho Falls we stopped at the DI. The last time I went I found a few things for my booth. This time. Zip. Southern Idaho yielded no vintage goods. Then we were on the road headed to Missoula, MT. We never hang out there and we keep hearing from so many people about how awesome Missoula is now. We only stop there to get gas and to eat. So since the next day was Easter we decided to only go part way and enjoy the weekend.
While stopping for gas in Dillon, MT we found the perfect pearl snap cowboy onsie for Karson! LOL. Can you believe that we couldn't find a single one in Jackson Hole?! The Cenex gas station in Dillon for the win! We also made a little detour and stopped in Butte to see a giant bookstore. It was really cool with lots of vintage books but they were all so expensive. I didn't buy anything. It was pretty amazing though!
We got to Missoula that afternoon. Tyler booked us a suite at a hotel. It was really nice and Tyler and I had our own room which was delightful! There was a little creek nearby with a paved path alongside it. We took Beverly for a walk and then walked to dinner. We ate at the Montana Club. It is one of our favorite places to eat in Missoula.
We had a delicious and leisurely meal! It was so nice to be able to relax and enjoy the night!
The next morning was Easter. We all slept in. I played Rob Gardner's The Lamb of God music while we got ready. I love it! Tyler and I took Beverly for a nice walk while the kids packed up. We went back to the Montana Club for their special Easter Brunch. We had the nicest non-hectic Easter morning. We enjoyed a delicious holiday brunch and then explored some of Missoula. We checked out the college and the darling eclectic downtown. It looks really fun! It is quite the hipster town now. Tyler and I want to come back for a little getaway this summer with our bikes and kayaks.
We stopped at the park to let Beverly out and walked along the river path and went to the carousel. It started to get a little rainy so we grabbed some snacks for the road and headed back to Spokane. (The drive from Missoula to Spokane is less than 3 hours.) We had such a fun trip! We thought it was just going to be a quick trip to pack the kids and their stuff home but it turned out to be a really nice little getaway for all of us. We got home in plenty of time to unpack and enjoy our evening. The college kids took off immediately and headed over to Reilly and Hunter's apartment to see this cute little Easter Bunny!!
Happy Easter!!
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