Dinner on the Water

As a small celebration of our 25th anniversary Denny and I treated ourselves to a dinner cruise in Coeur D'Alene last night. Operated by the Coeur D'Alene resort, the dinner cruise consists of a two hour ride around Lake Coeur D'Alene with a buffet dinner catered by the resort staff. The evening's menu was a round of beer, baked salmon, organic green salad, rolls, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans with sliced almonds, pasta salad, broccoli salad and blueberry topped cheesecake. Coffee, iced tea and lemonade were provided with the meal and there were two cash bars (top deck and bottom) for those who wished something stronger with their meal. There was an interesting looking drink in a huge 1/2 gallon styrofoam cup which sprouted multiple straws for sharing but it was too far away for a clear picture with all the people around.

Image via Wikipedia

My only complaint about the cruise would be I would have liked to have had some commentary about the lake, the homes, the resort and the area from either the ship's captain or a staff member. Not a running commentary, but a few remarks here and there to explain what we were seeing. One example would have been the floating island green of the Coeur D'Alene Golf Club that we passed.





Although we didn't see any eagles or wildlife on our cruise, the resort does sponsor special cruises for wildlife viewing and eagle watching. Perhaps our next time through. We did enjoy our special evening--Coeur D'Alene is a beautiful lake and lovely, vibrant town.


When we first arrived at the dock, imagine our dismay when we saw this:However, this cruise boat turned out to be the "Rock 94" party boat that sails about once a month. It appeared everyone aboard was ready for a rockin' good time!

Denny and I decided that given the right amount of money, we would definitely buy one of these condos as our summer residence on the lake. When we win the lottery.....
McMansions on Lake Coeur D'Alene.

The happy couple.

Coeur D'Alene after dark. Definitely not the best picture since I didn't have a tripod and the boat was being affected by the waves.
Everyone on board seemed to have a great time. I know we did!

A Day at the Lake

Twenty-five miles long, one hundred thirty-five miles of shoreline, averaging 120 feet deep, clear as a bell, blue as can be.  Named Heart of  Awl in French after the negotiating skill in trading of the Schee-Chu-Umsh Indians who lived in the area (the French traders likened those skills to the sharp point of the awl), Coeur D'Alene Lake is a sparkling counterpoint to the lovely town of Coeur D'Alene.

Called a resort town, Coeue D'Alene's downtown area is compact and walkable. Filled with upscale shopping, art galleries, wine bars and restaurants the clean streets are lined with huge hanging baskets of wave petunias and many doors are open to allow the pine-scented air in along with customers.

There is whimsy to the town, personified by the Mudgy and Millie characters that dot the Mudgy Moose Trail.  Ya gotta love a town that honors the creations of one of its local residents while encouraging tourists and locals to explore the area.

Another local attraction is the 3300 foot long floating boardwalk that fronts the Coeur D'Alene resort on the the lake.  As you wander its length you can pick up some goodies at the little convenience store at one end, sit at a picnic area and watch the boats come and go or simply gaze at the beauty that is the lake and its surrounding hills.  The marina is filled with pricey toys and you can rent Sea Doos, take a sea plane ride, rent a para-sail, take an afternoon or sunset dinner cruise around the lake or simply play at the beach located at the public park next to the resort.

Denny and I made the hour long drive here because years ago his brother Doug told us that he wanted to retire to Coeur D'Alene.  That was before his diagnosis and death from lung cancer.  So we wanted to see the place that so intrigued Doug and now we know why he wanted to live here.  Good choice, Doug.

A Birthday Outing at the Stoneridge Resort Golf Course

That's the first hole of the Stoneridge Golf Course in Blanchard, Idaho located 13 miles from our campground in Newport, Washington.  A sign near the white tees warns of a landing area 220 yards down, but doesn't tell what's down there.  The score card has no map of the holes of the course as most score cards do, so we shoot and cross our fingers.  Turns out, there's a pond on the far side of the green so if you shoot too far you may end up there.  That's how the course went all day--no idea whether the fairways turned gently or sharply into a dogleg past the trees so you crossed your fingers and tried to hit the ball where you thought it would be safe.

At the first tee we were teamed up with Mike and Karen who live in Spokane, Washington.  Right off the bat, native Alaskan Karen told us it was her birthday.  Bright and bubbly, she was a joy to play golf with because as a beginner she was relaxed about her game as I always am so we had fun.  Mike wasn't one of those competitive types of golfers, so he and Denny could try to outhit each other, but it wasn't cut-throat.

The golf course was challenging without being killer, although we all could have used a few less sand traps because one or the other of us was always in one.  Rolling hillsides, uphill fairways, fast greens and scenery to die for; it doesn't get any better than this.

We did note a bit of discrimination however; a motorcoach only rv park within the resort where you owned/leased the lots.  No fifth wheels, class Cs or travel trailers allowed.  Sigh.  They did it right when creating this space right on the golf course.

At the end of the round Mike and Karen had to leave since they had planned the entire day around her birthday, but as we were playing Mike had been writing down all his favorite golf courses in the Spokane area since Denny and I are going to be near there next week.  So we have a heads up on the best places to play--bonus!

Since we were playing on the "Senior Special" day (Monday, Wednesday and Fridays) we played 18 holes of golf with a riding cart and then had a free lunch at the clubhouse grill all for $40 each.  After our round was finished, Denny and I each had the bleu cheese/bacon burgers with the thinnest shoestring french fries I had ever seen along with some good, strong iced tea.  Our day was complete.

This is a place to return to someday.