#life

PIEDATE in Kootenai County

Bon-JOR-no, ELISE!!!

I write this from the sunny surroundings of a brilliant day... I am feeling at peace with the world and ready to conquer anything...

...You see, I made PIEDATE happen. (Well, kinda. Except that the PIE was sort of excluded. Sigh.)

So, in search of a county fair with an apple theme, I started hitting the Goog madly. It occurred to me that there were something like a zillion "Cherry Blossom Festivals" around the country; surely there was something like an Apple Blossom Festival... Well. let me tell you. There most certainly are a BILLION Cherry Blossom Festivals, the most famous of which being in Washington DC, which, although tempting, because I could weave in shades of "Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy", it wasn't really connecting with Brianna's request for someone "APPLE PIE". And, did you know, there are also Peach Blossom Festivals (although those are mainly in Georgia and the Deep South) and a well-known Pear Blossom Festival that goes on in Oregon -- I was greatly tempted by that one due to its close proximity to MEGADATE (it was just a little further south). There are Almond Blossom Festivals and Plum Blossom Festivals (OK, those mostly happen in Japan. Don't we celebrate plum blossoms here in the GOOD OL' USA????!?!!? Inquiring minds WANT TO KNOW!!!!) And yes, Apple Blossom Festivals. Although those are generally a bit later in the springtime, but I hunted to the best of my ability and found one out in Kootenai County, Idaho, at JUST the right time. (That's where Coeur d'Alene is... do you know, for the longest time I didn't realize that Coeur d'Alene and "Coredalane" were the same place???)

Anyhoo, there's a mini-county fair (of course the big one is in the fall) and a RODEO happening there, as well as the chance to crown a "Miss Honorary Fire Department Chief and Apple Blossom Queen" (Which seems a kind of long and stilted title, but WHATEVS!!!)

So off I dispatched our two victims -- I mean matches -- as well as a camera crew from WSU... I decided to take my chances once more with amateurs but only because one of my cousins goes to school there and dates the guy in charge, and she PINKY-SWORE to me (over Skype -- TOTALLY BINDING) that she'd make sure they STAYED ON TASK AND PROFESSIONAL. And that she'd keep me dialed in the whole time and viewing their footage whenever she had a chance to upload it. And so it began.

Both of them flew into Spokane and seemed confused at being driven across state lines in order to attend a FAIR AND RODEO in Northern Idaho. There is some footage of Brianna, head on hand, PENSIVELY STARING out the window as pine-wooded mountains roll by the car windows, and gaping at the prospect as they round a curve in the road and a BLINDINGLY BLUE lake at the bottom of a sheer drop of a valley below them is revealed... SRSLY, don't they have mountains in Canada??? It's like the girl had never seen anything like it before.

Toby, being driven separately (two vans for this camera crew -- we wanted them to meet for the first time at the fair), ignored the AMAZING SCENERY around him (my only real regret is that it wasn't full summer and that much greener, but at least we got some SUNNY DAYS for it). I suppose that Toby, in his adventures, has seen a lot of amazing views... that must explain why laughing over his old videos on YouTube, viewed on his phone, was what occupied him for the bulk of this ride. YES I HAVE THE FOOTAGE TO PROVE IT.

At the fair, they arrive just as gates are opening. Brianna is there first, looking around her (IS SHE CHEWING GUM???!?!? REALLY???!?! -- I sent Makayla, my WSU cousin, running out there for EMERGENCY INTERFERENCE. Brief interlude of arguing, finished by Brianna reluctantly spitting the wad of gum into the wrapper that she'd saved in her pocket for it, and pressing it into a cringing Makayla's hand. (I told her "Good GIRL, that's EXACTLY WHAT PRODUCERS HAVE TO DO." (It's her life's ambition to become a producer on a reality show, which is why she was SO KEEN on this opportunity.)))