The following rambling is both an experiential resort review and a friendship tale. I suppose it would be better to write about just one topic, but as it is my blog and I can do what I want, you're all getting a duality derivative narrative.

That little bit of pseudo-rebellion aside (I think perhaps I breathed in a few Brandon Particles, I do live in Idaho after all...) the source to my night in the resort goes back to a chance meeting in X-box Live-land many years ago. My hubs plays games like The Division, Ghost Recon, Diablo, etc, and over the years he has amassed a crew of gamer pals. They all became such good friends that we visited a couple of them in Vegas this past Christmas.

Long story short, they had never all met each other, so my hubs, being the only plays one on the surface antisocial crusty marshmallow that he is, offered up our farm as the gathering place for the crew to meetup. I was onboard because I have listened to things like, *Bruce, where's my helicopter!" echoed from my husband's head set over the years, and also, I like to meet new people, so the date was set for the fete.

A grand time was had by all. We had a three day campout that included gourmet whiskey tasting, farm grown comestibles of all kinds, hikes around a mountain lake, and over a 1000 rounds of target shooting on our range. Our friends had a great time and moved from fond friends to pretty much family in the process.

Flash forward a month and we get a group phone call from them. They were so touched by all the work that the hubs and I did hosting the gathering that they got us a suite, dinner, and a couple's massage at the Coeur d'Alene Resort.

We were gobsmacked and more than a little uncomfortable about the gesture. We do stuff for our friends because we love them, and both of us are the absolute worst about receiving gifts, we'd rather be the givers in every instance. That said, they impressed upon us just how much they loved the weekend and us and that they wanted us to go be pampered because of all the hard work we do all the time.

Okay, sniff, with that heartfelt discourse delivered, I made up my mind to wholeheartedly accept and enjoy the magnificent gift our friends bestowed up on us.

Which brings us to the Resort review part of this word journey.

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The Coeur d'Alene Resort, located in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, is the centerpiece of the great Idaho invasion. LOL, I'm sorry, but I had to start it that way. My state doesn't really acknowledge the Pandemic's existence, so for the past year, and especially this summer, CDA has been ground zero for people from around the country seeking pre-pandemic life.

Lest you think I am stretching things a little, just go have a massage by Jenna at the Resort Spa. Not only will your muscles and lymphatic system be pampered but you will also learn about how far humans will go to regain a semblance of normalcy. (Hint: a long way!).

Anyway, the Resort is like a towered beacon of 1%er glory set on the shores of Lake Coeur d'Alene. There's valet parking (so, so, sooo loved giving the kid in pristine golf pants my dirt covered car, he he!), a spa, fancy pants restaurants and a bar called Whispers (LOL). Heck, there's even lake cruises and a floating golf green. It truly is the most diametrically opposite setting of my life that I can imagine outside maybe being a Kardashian lapdog.

After wading through a few schools of peeps from the state that shall not be named, we made it to the check-in desk. Now normally I would do the whole contactless check-in thing, because I am an introvert, but as my friends had made all the arrangements, things were a little different and already paid for. As a person who is used to handling all logistical arrangements, I know my mouth was agape in a overwhelmed with gratitude Oh many times yesterday.

The really nice lady who checked us in asked if I wanted a room on the 16th or 17th floor. I replied with, "Which floor would you stay on?" to which she answered, "The 17th for sure."

Done.

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The room itself was spotlessly clean, had a gloriously comfortable bed, and a view of such grandiosity that I just stood there for a while and took it in.

As the hubs and I hadn't eaten all day, we abandoned our well-appointed room for food acquisition. Now the Resort has some very fine dining restaurants, and as much as I love good food, let's just say fine dining isn't really my scene. Especially since I raise most of all my meat and veg, it really does hurt me to pay an exorbitant amount for something I have laying about the farm. So, the hubs and I parked ourselves in The Dockside, a nice restaurant on the lobby floor of the resort, adjacent to the marina. There we enjoyed homemade clam chowder and Snake River AngusXWaygu burgers while we people watched enthusiastically. It was a fun way to start out our mini escape.

After dinner, we languished a bit on the lounge couch in our room. I watched a bit of Ridiculousness and played around with the TV because I do every time I stay in a hotel, for it reminds me of why I don't want nor have cable or satellite tv on the farm. The hubs chilled next to me playing a zombie game on his phone, and before you could say kick me in the sternum, Jimmy it was time for our massage.

The Resort Spa is one of my favorite places. For starters, it smells nice. Like cedars and something. Two, there's infused water pretty much everywhere, and three, they give you a warm robe and sandals to wear. I like being warm. Sooo much warm.

After meeting back up with the hubs, who was definitely out of his element, we sat and chatted together on two very comfy upholstered chairs in the hallway while waiting to be collected for our treatment.

There's a really cool Quiet Room to wait in that has cozy couches and overlooks the marina, but there were some people in there and the hubs and I just wanted to hang together. You see, my giant retired military husband had never had a massage before. Like never ever. The guy has sat on the pyramids but never had a full body massage. Blasphemy!

After a short wait, we were collected by Luke and Jenna for our couples aromatherapy massage. They had four oils to pick from, and even though we liked them all, we both gravitated toward this peppery, cedar, grapefruit one. That also ended up being the deep tissue one, and I paid for that choice.

Last week I did some massive leg day workouts and took a steer horn to the chest. I have been in a state of bruised and sore for as long as I can remember, and let's just say that Jenna noticed it right off.

"Your thigh muscles are talking Kat." she stated right from the start as I struggled not to whimper like a four week old puppy wanting its kibble.

They had asked us about any injuries or body issues before the massage, and the hubs and I had a great time joking about the fact that he is paralyzed in one leg. You see, my guy had to learn to walk again after his Army doc back surgery, so aside from this really cool foot long battle scar he also can't feel his right leg. At least I think it's his right one, let me go stab it with a fork and see....(just kidding).

Anyway, the massages were wonderful and did us both a load of good. The hubs found that if you press on his neck you can feel weird stuff in your back incision, and I found out that I have a pretty bad hand injury and I need to ice it according to Jenna (who is awesome!).

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After massage time and some more infused water, we meandered back to our room. We ran into this cute couple who were dressed in formal wear but had stopped by the pool for a dip. They cracked me up with their bedraggled damp hair along with their evening dress. I rode the creepily bouncing speed elevator to the 17th floor with an serene smile.

After a restful night, glorious morning of coffee and reading, and an uneventful drive up the hill home, I must say that I am feeling right amazing. Our friends truly did bless us with their thoughtful gift and my heart feels all sorts of swollen. With gladness and affection not because the dang steer bruised it. No one tell Jenna, m'kay?!...

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And as most of the time, all of the images in this post were taken on the author's at least two generations too old to be staying in such a hip joint as it did iPhone.

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