RN: Travel day! We pack our things up, and, as we are loading the car, one of our hosts, Ben pops out to say “hi” because he is intrigued by our trip (he and Felix were messaging each other on the Airbnb app). We tell him we loved the little studio and, especially the little flourishes that greeted us when we arrived (like a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates).

It turns out that the back end of the garage he renovated for our apt holds his art studio. He does beautiful landscapes in acrylic!

FE: One thing I like about Airbnb is the opportunity to meet interesting people like Ben. His wife’s name is Becca, so they named their cottage “Chez B&B”. I also liked the many little artsy touches in the perfectly renovated cottage. A great place to stay.

RN: As we take off, we see lots of fields of onions and I regret not having bought any Walla² sweets. Quickly we arrive at the land of potatoes- Idaho! In contrast to our earlier stay at the base of the state, we are now up in the famous panhandle and arrive in Sand Point to see my former PhD advisor Darwin at his ranch on the lake (or is it actually the river?) in Sagle (it was supposed to be named “Eagle” but that name was taken already, so the E got changed to a S – go figure). I was his first grad student and It’s been 44 years since I got my PhD!! Whew…

Here we are: Lori, Susie, Michael, moi, and Darwin.

FE. Last view of the river as we return to Sandpoint