Troy, ID - The Final Week!
Oh Idaho, you were as you always are. Relaxing and comforting and quiet, and filled with much cat petting and delicious food eating ... especially delicious grilled food eating. My dad really outdid himself this time around. I’m used to a couple meals fresh off the hibachi whenever I roll into town, belly growling, but this time was something else. For no less than five consecutive nights Thomas and I were treated to grilled dinners from the trusty ceramic egg, roasted over lump charcoal and heated to perfection.
The first night it was seared ahi tuna served with a cold soba noodle salad and garnished with wasabi, pickled ginger, and nori. The outer quarter inch of thick fish was deliciously cooked - charred just enough - and the inside was raw and tender, like the best sushi. The next night it was an American classic - giant bratwurst with a side of roasted eggplant. Night three moved from the hibachi to the dutch oven and brought us juicy cornish game hens with potatoes and onions. Night four was bratwurst again but this time they were bacon and cheddar bratwurst, handmade at the local food co-op and bursting with greasy goodness. The grand finale of grill was a pizza. You may not think you can make pizza on a grill, but you can. The crust was thin and crispy, and loaded up with a plethora of delectable toppings. We stuffed ourselves every night, then retired to the TV room to work off our meals watching Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead on the new giant flatscreen while petting a big fluffy cat.
It was a tiny slice of parent-subsidized heaven. All the things that could tempt someone in their late twenties to move back home were provided, free of charge and in gratuitous amounts. Tasty meals and snacks? Check. A variety of beers? Check. Netflix and Amazon Prime accounts? Check. A day at the shooting range? Check. An afternoon spent sitting in on University classes, eating frozen yogurt, and playing mini golf? Check, check, check. Oh, and a big fluffy cat? Super check.
Don’t think that we didn’t work hard (on occasion) throughout the week to earn our keep. We did dishes and helped prepare those tasty meals, and we picked pears and apples from the heritage trees out back. Upon meeting my brother’s new pet rat, Locutius of Borg, we retrofitted his cage with anti-escape wire and I made him a fabric hammock for the upcoming cooler months. We also organized the massive stack of QSL cards (see previous video) into a binder, divided by continent and alphabetized by country.
Our final night in potato land was celebrated by a meal out with my dad and brother. Everyone (except my brother, who is a wee babe of 20) got a little tipsy. The following morning we set out bright and early for Seattle, dad and my stepmom Mimi in tow. Well, actually we were in tow of them. They drove and we napped. Into the thick traffic of noon-Saturday-downtown we rolled. My dad stalled the car on the gridlocked interstate. Honking and flipping-off occurred. I continued to sleep fitfully. Thomas sat upright and tense, sweating for my dad through the stressful driving until we exited at Montlake. We took a walk through Ravenna park, poked around in the Fremont Vintage Mall, and ate a giant multi-course dinner at Mamma Melina’s. Everyone was tuckered out, so we said our goodbyes and re-entered our Seattle lives.
Thank you, Idaho family, for a wonderful and fattening week!