Alight folks, we have officially made it a week (and to the great state of Idaho) into my cross-country expedition, and could not have asked for a better time.
Day 7 gave me a full day in the state that is best known for potatoes but should be known for so much more. I know I talked yesterday about just how cool the drive was through Idaho, but getting a full day in Boise was an unforgettable moment for me.
My dad visited Boise about 11 years ago when the University at Buffalo won the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, and he said I would absolutely love this city and he was right.
My friend Athana and I started our day with a much-needed coffee after a very very late and fun night in downtown Boise and we then embarked for the beautiful Idaho scenery. It would be an understatement to say my jaw was beyond dropped for the entirety of our ride. The mountains, rivers, plants, and so much more were just mesmerizing.
A picnic outside with Athana and her (and now my) friend McKinley was exactly what I needed. It blew my mind just how incredible the scenery was around the city of Boise. I feel like you could pick any direction to go and find some of the best views out there.
The versatility of this city should be a massive talking point. We went from a picturesque (I think this is my word of the week) landscape to bar hopping in just a short time.
I also found the best invention ever in the men’s bathroom of this one bar.
I’m not (and have never been) a Zyn guy but damn this got me wanting to try it just to use this little Zyn bin.
I thought I would love Idaho to see Athana (which I very much did) but I loved being in Idaho for countless other reasons as well. The new friends, breathtaking views, and just feeling beyond welcomed was just the tip of the iceberg for this stay.
Let’s get existential (thanks Idaho)
Making new friends along my trip was one of my biggest goals, and meeting Athana’s friends and making them my own was one of my highlights. I cannot put into words just how much that means to me, and something that will remain one of my favorite parts of not only of this trip but long-term in life as well.
Getting to put faces behind the names I have heard my friend talk so much about and to visit all the places I’ve heard about was yet another highlight for me (Idaho is looking like a Lamar Jackson Max Preps video with how many highlights are in it).
I wish so badly to go back to Boise and make even more memories there. We certainly made the most of my time in Idaho, and it’s yet another weird bittersweet feeling. I am so grateful and lucky to have these incredible people and experiences in my life, but damn it sucks not knowing the next time I will get to see these great people.
I keep circling back to an early blog I wrote on just the weird dred of having friends in your 20s. The highest of highs and greatest memories are so often paired with sad goodbyes and the unknown of whether those moments will return.
While this trip has done the best thing ever for me in rekindling old friendships, it also keeps the thought in the back of my mind that I while these moments are finite, they are not necessarily the end
This is a bit of a weird paradox in my head of trying to balance and enjoy everything in the now, but also keep the friends and memories of the “past” as present as possible.
Life is weird
Another hidden bonus of this trip for me has been finding the beauty in the “mundane”. Not to break the fourth wall, but I normally write these blogs the day after everything, but as I write this at this little burger and ice cream parlor in nowhere Oregon, I can’t help but feel so much happiness seeing a young family play a game of tiny Jenga next to me.
Not to get existential, but I kind of always felt I needed to live in a big city with so many people around me to find the best in life. But this trip keeps reminding me that it truly is the people around you that make you (or at least me, I don’t know anything I’m a dumb human). The age-old saying quality over quantity rings true here, even if I do have so many genuine people around me.
Even writing this at a table by myself, I can’t but yearn for that just a little bit. I would do this trip solo 100 times out of 100, but I think this feeling now is exactly what I needed. To make my friends more of a priority in my life, and to let them know how much they mean to me.
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