Cd’A: Day 5

My last day, unfortunately, was a bit anti-climactic.  I was really excited to do nothing and relax by the water.  The weather had been forecast to be really nice–sunny and upper 70s–but as the day progressed, the wind picked up and I wasn’t able to enjoy sitting by the water in my new bikini.  C’est la vie, I suppose.

I woke up (after an attack of insomnia–only 3 hours of sleep!) and headed to the Fleet Feet store to meet up with some other swimmers.  A bunch of the local runners were training for the upcoming Ironman 70.3 Coeur D’Alene, so unfortunately many of them were tied up with other training events that morning. Cd’A also has a local tri, the Coeur d’Alene Triathlon, in August on the same day I hope to do the Grand Island triathlon here.

Kym, our fearless leader, pointed out a tree a ways down the shore, and I aimed for that.  There and back was about 3/4 mile, and I think I did it in less than 20 minutes. The water initially wasn’t as cold as I thought it would be (perhaps I was preparing for the worst?), but my hands and feet were ice cubes by the end.  The wet suit did its job; I didn’t feel the icy water one bit!

You better believe I high-tailed it back to the hotel so I could jump in the hot tub!  (Truthfully, by the time I was out and dressed–despite still wearing my suit–I felt fine.)

After breakfast, I sunscreened- and suited-up to spend some time in the sun along the water.  I’d been waiting to do this THE ENTIRE TRIP (I’m a beach girl at heart), so I didn’t let the lack of warm bodies stop me.  There were two other chicks in bikinis sunning themselves, and that was enough company for me.

After an hour or so in the sun, I packed up and walked to Fourth Street to grab sushi from Syringa, a local recommendation. I ordered take-out and really should have just sat down and enjoyed myself (as much as a sweating, sunscreen-dripping, t-shirt-and-hiking-shorts-clad girl could in this super trendy spot), but I had somewhere to be…

I was getting my ear pierced!  Sure, it was *a little* spontaneous; while I’d been thinking of adding some additional holes to my ears, I hadn’t gone to Idaho with the thought that I’d include that on my agenda.  However, on my ‘errand walk’ the day before, a local shop caught my eye and I popped in.  At Relic Moon I met Frankie and really liked his vibe.  So, I arranged to stop in the next day at a specific time.

I do intend to get some additional cartilage piercings (despite Andrew’s protestations), but will wait until the fall as swimming isn’t recommended for a number of months after those types of piercings.  I have a triathlon to train for! (Yes, I realize I ended that sentence with a preposition.  It just doesn’t sound the same as ‘for which to train.’)

For the rest of the afternoon, I was disappointed with lower temps, overcast skies and a cool breeze, so I ended up back at the hotel to shower and pack my bags.  While I would have enjoyed sunbathing, it was nice to NOT be packing late at night after dinner.

That evening, we grabbed beers at a local Eagles club and chatted with some older locals, which was fun.  One of the ladies strongly recommended Cedars Floating Restaurant, and despite our fears that it would be touristy, headed that way.  We were so thankful it wasn’t!  We loved the atmosphere, and it was our ‘nice dinner’ of the trip.  I got a seafood risotto and Andrew got steak, and we ended our night with desserts on the deck overlooking the lake.

The next morning, Andrew and I enjoyed one last ‘bonus’ breakfast (we originally thought our flight was earlier and we’d have to leave before 7 am), and one last walk around town.  We left Coeur d’Alene wanting to come back to the Northwest!