We’ve spent two nights in beautiful Boise (which the locals pronounce with a special bounce – “BOY-see”) for work. And let me just say, we all wish we could have stayed here longer. The locals make us feel like we’re one of them, the mountains in the distance are so shockingly gorgeous that they look like green-screened, fake landscape, people just leave their bikes on sidewalks without locking them, the air is clean and the skies are blue and the food is local and delicious. Boise’s been bliss.
– People are nice in Texas, but it’s a whole ‘nother level of friendliness-among-strangers here in Boy-see. Damn. Everyone’s so smily and happy! (Culture shock after being in Washington for the last six weeks, where it’s hard to get people to look me in the eyes when walking down the street.)
-It’s a town without pretensions. The president of Boise State University, who was once a former lieutenant governor of Illinois, came to say hi to the team at the campus office in the afternoon and wound up at a brewery with us for beers a few hours later. He even invited his delightful wife.
-Idaho french fries are no joke. Whether it’s the straight-up Idaho potato fries, or the sweet potato variety, we’ve tried ’em both and quickly made them disappear. The fries are more steak fries-ish than French or Belgian style pomme frites, so it’s not fair to compare those stylins. But I’m pretty pleased we ate so many fries.
-Since I’m on my favorite topic, food, a quick shout-out to the “three local cheese macaroni and cheese” at Bitter Creek brewery on 8th Street. Damn. Delicious.
-I love sharing the parking lot with wandering geese and walking behind office buildings to see a giraffe. The greenbelt, the babbling brooks, this town looks like a sound stage.
So herewith some photos of Boise, preceded by a couple shots from Oklahoma City, where we stayed for one night before jetsetting to Idaho. Click on the caption icon to turn on the captions, which exist for a few of the photos.