Day 3: I lied - Blogabond

After posting yesterday about how I had done Boise in half a day and how I would probably not be staying another night here as I had planned, I changed my mind. I'm a liar.

I drove to my hosts Abby and Jill's house just outside of downtown and got a chance to hang out with them and another couchsurfer staying with them, Charlie. Talk about awesome people. Friends for life. Charlie had just come back from his first Burning Man (ha ha- It will follow me across the country. Look out America!) and we had much to talk about. Both Abby and Jill were getting off work at 3pm and Charlie and I had the day to pal around. I decided based on all this that it was worth really exploring the other side of this couchsurfing experiment. The social side.

My first Couchsurfing house

Boise has what's known as the greenbelt which is a network of paths, bridges and tunnels around the greater Boise area that connects downtown with the burbs. Charlie had his bike with him and I borrowed a bike from our hosts and took off on a really stunning bike ride towards downtown.

Greenbelt

Downtown Boise as I said yesterday is a state capitol mashed up with a University town. As such, it has great coffee shops . Dawson Taylor would be our home base for the day, sitting on our computers, drinking caffeinated beverages, writing postcards, eating lunch: you know: things you do when you have no job but want to contemplate your place in the world and how progressive you are. Check.

Dawson Taylor Coffee Shop

Charlie's mission for the day was to figure out how to get to Washington State without a car. He had the crazy idea that he could ride his bike clear across Idaho and halfway into Washington. Charlie's the kind of guy who sees only obstacles to overcome, not problems. I find a lot of admiration in that way of living. We ended up riding a few miles out of downtown to the Idaho Department of Transportation building so that he could pick up some bike route maps.

Floor inlay at the Dep't of Transportation

It's the kind of thing that would never have occurred to me: Using a state agency for information about it's intended purpose. I need to get to know my municipalities and its services more. They were so helpful and we wound talking to the security guard and receptionist there for an hour about a variety of topics including what it is like driving through Texas with out of state plates. I can't wait! Charlie took me to some random Pizza joint that he had made friends in the other day and they made us a pretty good pie and charged us very little for it. Did I say how much I liked Charlie? We took the pie back to the house and were greeted by two new Couch surfers form Virginia who were on their way to Portland. Charlie seized on the moment and they repacked their car to fit him in for their ride tomorrow. No need to ride his bike clear across the mountains. I have a feeling that had we not gone to the Dep't of Transportation today that there wouldn't have been a ride waiting for him when we got back.

Surfers

After the getting to know yous the six of us went downtown to a mid week after work summer time music festival,

Alive After Five

had a few beers and then got dinner at a decent pub which featured the best middle aged white women's blues act I've never dreamed possible. She sung her heart out and her backing band never missed a beat. The whole table of us were tapping out the rhythm and bobbing out heads in unison.

Abby and Charlie

After that we drove home and sat here swapping travel stories, sharing travel tips and advice on what things to see where. I love Couch surfing. I'm also about 8 years older than anyone else and have gotten to act the wiser older friend to these upstarts which if you know me is a real treat.

Tomorrow- Idaho>Yellowstone. I'll probably be out of communication for a few days (3?) as i camp and disconnect from civilization. I'll be back though. Miss me. Really. I want tears.

written by

JRadhirsch on September 3, 2008 from Boise, United States

from the travel blog: The Great American Road Trip

Send a Compliment

What a great idea...using municipalities for info and actually talk to people instead of using the knowledge box. Cara and I got a wealth of info when we walked into the travelers bureau when we were in a small town in Spain. I forgot about using our states resources too. Thanks for that as since our tax $ are paying for it, we might as well use these facilities. Couch surfing seems the way to go for a truly insiders way of seeing a place. Maybe I will have to list our homes also. Have a great stay in Yellowstone. Luv Ya

written by JRad's mom on September 4, 2008

Fantastic. Travel as it was intended to be - a diplomatic exploration of places and the people who make them so cool. Way to go, you old, wise man, you!

Glad you stuck around Boise. That greenbelt, from the one photo of it, looked really neato! Excellent photo documentation of the whole trip so far, btw.

And have a blast being one with Nature in the Stone of Yellow! Only tears of joy being shed here for ya... but you didn't specify the *type* of tears. Deal.

written by

Justine Smith on September 4, 2008

Tears of joy and envy are being shed while I sit here at work at my computer and the sun shines outside, far from me.

written by cara on September 4, 2008

Three enthusiatic cheers for couchsurfing!!!

written by the Zote on September 5, 2008

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