Flying out of Boise on January 10, we had closed up the house and were off on our in country routes.
First up, Vitamin D and warm temps in sunny San Diego. The words “City by the bay” played in my head as we arrived. Not that this was the city Journey was singing about but just the same the jingle was fitting for me. An easy flight with a short layover in Oakland via Southwest and boom. San Diego. We shuttled from the airport, utilizing the free service to our hotel and meandered out for a bite to eat at about the only place we could find in Little Italy after 10 called Craft and Commerce. Tasty fare and attentive service with an open air fire table atmosphere. A truly nice start to this set of days. Wandering back along the deserted streets to our room, we hoped to whittle away the calories from the rich, flavorful Vegetable Fettuccine and Braised Short Rib Bolognese.
Grocery shopping became our first priority on day one as we laid our plans to reach our goal of fitness and good eating habits during these adventures. (At least until we hit the temptations presented by cruising. To Europe.) A room frig solidified our decision to limit our restaurant frequenting. Nearly four months on the road makes for lots of extra pounds if wise choices are not made. (This serves as a lecture to ourselves!) We used Ralph’s Market as our supplier and shopping our first day added a 2.2 Mile trek to get our walking habit started. We practiced our skills of shopping the outer edges to insure a low number of processed foods. Wine at incredible prices with an additional temptation of buy 6 bottles mix and match get 30% off has us set for here, with cushion. 
Sunset from the balcony of our room at the Wyndham Bayside found us consuming early dinners of veggies, cheeses, fruits and shrimp a couple times during our stay. The beauty of the view was not to be missed and added great value to an already awesome value room. 
70 degrees in January makes for excellent creature comfort. Walking the Bay Area, Seaport Village, Gaslamp downtown SD, Little Italy and Balboa Park served to get us on track for 5 Mile treks as a daily routine. The USS Midway with its onboard fleet was an awesome sight. Taking in the steel bodied ship and it’s aircraft set my mind to day dreaming about the good the molybdenum mine in our backyard, the Boise National Forest, could do. This mineral deposit being pursued by American CuMo Mining could do amazing things for the stability and independence of our county not to mention our country, both in its defense and infrastructure. Strange thoughts but important to me. 
NFL Football playoffs playing in the background while sunning on our balcony and people watching was a great way to spend our Saturday and Sunday. Sunday the balcony offered a birds eye view of the Martin Luther King Day Parade. A little poolside time mixed in gave me an opportunity to start my annual renewal of the secrets contained in The Secret. Laws of Attraction, gratitude and a focus on all things positive. If you haven’t taken the time to read this book, put it on your list for 2018. It’s amazing what the revitalizing of the practices offered via the insights of the contributors can do to spin life positive. If you have Amazon Prime the movie is free for viewing. Take the plunge and test the power of your mind to bring the wonders of life to you every day. 
Our Little Italy wonderings led us to a great location worth mention. Mona Lisa is both a traditional low dollar Italian restaurant as well as a specialty shop. Check them out on your next visit, you’re sure to find some great value gems on both sides of the building!
Spending time with a bed ridden friend is always another motivation for visiting this city. That visit as well as our road trip to spend time with my ailing father in law plays into my dwelling on the abundance life has blessed us with. Practicing gratitude for all that is good in our world comes easy when the diversity that can occur is evidenced.
Following an easy non stop flight back to Boise we had a round with the doc to insure all is well for extended travel and got my scrips all filled. If you happen to be a Symbicort user make sure to take advantage of their offer of “free for a year” The online application is easy and it covers your copay. (Mine was $70+, so totally worth the few minutes to fill out the app.)
The biggest reasons for our pass through Boise on the short in betweens of these in country travels is soaking up time with our children and grandchildren. We spent a nice dinner time at Flying Pie with the Boise crew and then headed out on our date night with the grand boys. The last round of in person BSU basketball for the season. Great times, lucky us! (Go Orange, Go Big Blue! 🙂
Family socializing pulls us on this grey sky winter time drive to the Midwest we are undertaking as I write. I-84 to I-80 and we are on a road well traveled. Iowa and Oklahoma are our destinations. Valuing those who are “always there” but we can so easily take for granted is our mission. Sometimes some day never comes. This is the mantra that drives us. Come live the adventure with us! #cometravelwithme
