Hubby and I recently spent several days in Boise where I lived for 13 years (he lived there 12). I loved that place and still do in spite of the heavy traffic. It was comforting to drive streets I knew so well, although some of them have new buildings and stores and taller trees and took a few minutes to recognize the place. Still, it was all familiar.
The best thing about Boise is all the friends I have there that still remember me (we’ve been gone 4 years). I hang on tight to my friends wherever they are and love spending time with them when I can. I enjoyed breakfast, lunch, and dinner with as many as I could fit in. Hubby and I had to coordinate our schedules since we only had one rental car. Cooperation is still a part of our marriage.
For a whole day, I drove Hubby around while he geocached up and down the Boise River. I’d drop him off at one end of the Greenbelt path and pick him up down the way. My Kindle provided entertainment while I waited, although I did a little shopping too. (Another notebook and colorful pens. A writer can’t get too many of them, you know.) By four in the afternoon, my fun meter was pegged and insisted he’d found enough. Sounds mean of me, but we’d have been out until dark if I hadn’t called it. He loves finding stuff outdoors.
Once again, we drove past our house and through our old neighborhood which was the most changed part of our tour. Both of us are glad we don’t live there anymore because it’s very crowded and blocked in. The four-story townhouses (constructed after we left) surrounding our old two-story townhouse makes it feel like being in a stucco canyon. It was a lot easier to see the sky and the river when we lived there.
Another best part of Boise are the streets; they’re so smooth. Few potholes are found, if any, and the railroad crossings are all smooth. It’s a pleasure to tour the town because you don’t have to focus on avoiding road hazards. This may not seem like a lot to you, but driving on Rapid City streets is hazardous to your vehicle. Potholes are everywhere, and the RR crossings are so rough, you must slow to a crawl or risk blowing your tire alignment or breaking an axle. In the northern climes, the freeze-thaw process creates a lot of headaches for the street crews, with unresolved road damage potentially causing car damage, accidents caused by swerving to miss deep potholes, and blown tires and alignments. I don’t envy them their jobs.
Boise still feels like home even though it isn’t, but I feel that way about Rapid City and Amarillo. I guess home is truly where you are.
Through wisdom is a house built; and by understand it is established: and by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. Proverbs 24:3-4