Escaping the Heat, Day 20

July 28, 2022

Anticlimactic

After the excitement of Blackfoot and the Idaho Potato Museum and Café on Wednesday, Thursday was slow and uneventful, a typical IDF day.

Rising late again, I finished the morning writing. We settled in for our early afternoon viewing of “Better Call Saul” when we discovered that we had finished all five seasons. Hopefully we will remember enough to appreciate Season six when it is released on Netflix.

Midafternoon, we headed to town. Before shopping, we wanted to locate that evening’s concert venue. Following Google Maps, we found ourselves on a service road at the back of the property, a repeat of Salt Lake City when Google led us to the back entrance of The Little America Hotel. Is there a service entrance setting on Google Maps?

Downtown IDF sports several unique shops. On our way to a bookstore, we dropped into Lyn’s Ladies and Babies, crowded with high-quality infant clothing that I resisted only because our granddaughter and future sibling have more than enough clothes. The store also displayed soaps and lotions, baggallini bags, and women’s clothing. When learning that we were from Arizona, the saleswoman shared that she left her childhood home of Sioux City, Iowa, to attend college in Denver, and was ecstatically surprised to discover that the sun can shine in the winter. She hates the gray of Iowa although the winters are now much milder. Although she loved Denver, she won’t return because it has grown too much. She loves Chicago because there are so many fun things to do there. Her sister splits her time between IDF and Tucson. Friendly Clerk flies down to Tucson every May to drive back to IDF with her sister for the summer. She is surprised at the number of people who spend all four seasons in Arizona. It is wonderful to see new shops and development coming to IDF, attracting more young people.

We tore ourselves away from this attention-grabbing narrative to search for my intended destination, Winnie and Mo’s Bookshop, an independent store with a small coffee/tea bar. A few young women were enjoying tea as another two or three perused the shelves. The small shop encouraged reading, offering several alcoves in which to hide, and the displays would attract adults and children. Although I love bookstores, especially the independent ones, I rarely buy books, opting for digital loans from the library or purchasing digital versions of reference books. I reminded myself that these stores need support, and despite trying to find something to purchase, I did not see any items of interest that day.

Our next find was a bath boutique, Bumble and Bleat. By now the soap displays in the shops were looking and smelling alike. Down the block was the Poppy and Pout Boutique, which touts itself as a lip balm company, filled with a variety of items of interest to much younger women who wear knitted skirts and vests sized for toddlers. I think I saw those girls in Blackfoot.  

Getting thirsty and having extra time before the evening’s event, we stopped at Marcellar’s Wines and Brews, Mike receiving a complimentary glass of Moscato since there were no other sweet wines open. Have I mentioned how nice everyone is?

On our way to the car we had to pass The Caramel Tree where we tasted coconut caramel apples (delicious!!) and purchased a small bag of caramel corn. And then, just one more. Wanting to contribute something to the local economy, we strolled through Wee Bee Toys, a delightful child’s paradise. A pop-up nylon red barn caught my eye. Big enough to fill our granddaughter’s bedroom, I texted a picture to her parents to see if they were interested. No reply. I carried my selection of games for the grand boys and a bath book for the granddaughter to the counter. The friendly woman checking us out divulged that she was the owner’s mother boasting that her daughter, a social worker for children at risk, supplies the store with no electronic games. I could have spent an hour in the store admiring the unique items.

Now it was time to drive to the front door of The Waterfront at S**** River Landing, the evening’s venue. S**** River Landing is an area filled with offices and chain restaurants. The Waterfront is an events venue hosting this summer’s concert series benefitting United Way. Advertising indicated live music with food trucks and drinks from 6 to 9 pm. We set up our chairs in the shade and headed to the food trucks, of which there were two. Not quite what I was expecting.

One truck served street tacos and the other small calzones and ice cream. Mike and I each enjoyed a calzone, then, still hungry, Mike purchased two tacos. No complaints about the food. Feeling a buzz from the wine, we passed on beer and gulped water from my travel cup.

Soundcheck complete, the performers disappeared. At 6:30 one of the band members got on the mike to encourage the others to get started. The top entertainment of the evening was an elderly dark-haired man sporting a fedora, dancing with two toddlers. We had seen him at Tuesday’s concert on the riverfront. He came over to introduce himself, advising Mike to show me off. Well, thank you. One-half hour of a baby boomer rock wannabe singing off key, overpowering the instruments and backup singers, and boasting about (exaggerating?) his bad boy days, was enough. I put my hearing aides back in and we left. A town this size probably doesn’t offer many quality music groups. Too early to catch the live music at The Celt Pub, we headed home for another scoop of ice cream and “Midsomer Murders,” of course.