So today I returned to the little town of Harrison, along the Coeur d’Alene trail. The area around Coeur d’Alene is so beautiful I couldn’t pass this up. The trail was so beautiful I’m sure this road would be much of the same. Sure enough this turned out to be almost 40 miles of pure lakeshore riding. I’ve been on some wonderful lakeshores drives in Michigan but nothing compares to this. Constantly seeing the lake and the activities it was such a comforting ride. The amount of construction was crazy. The topology out here is anything but flat. Watching how they shimmy a house onto a small little piece of property to have a lakefront view is quite amazing. I’m sure the construction costs out here are significantly extra because of the challenges. The road had no shoulders but the traffic was almost non-existent. Stopping to take pictures in many locations and ultimately I found this cool little grocery store, sandwich shop, gas station which we sat and had some coffee.
Finishing my way back into Coeur d’Alene it was fun to reminisce and see where I completed my first iron Man. The bike trail was a part of my first marathon. Rolling into downtown it was obvious that the town has exploded in population and popularity over the last 13 years. The amount of construction with hotels, condominiums, and new homes was obvious. I could definitely see myself out here more often. Lisa Marie and I had lunch looking out over the lake. After lunch, I returned to the beach where I began my swim for the Ironman. Here I found a large crowd. I met EJ, Weston, and Sean, while watching about 40 people being baptized on the beach in downtown CDA – Heart of the City Church does baptisms once a year on the beach. What a party. These men prayed a blessing over me and for my safety for the remainder of my journey. Thank You! I continued along the trail, wandering through the park, along the river, and eventually I came to some more new home construction and realized I should stop and enjoy the day. So I called Lisa Marie and we decided to stop and enjoy rest of the day.
Insights from Lisa Marie
Morning today was drive from Harrison to Coeur d Alene. Nice windy drive around the lake and up into the top of the canyon. Then down into the town where we met up for lunch. Park/beach/downtown was hopping! As I started the drive back to Spokane I got a call from Norm asking if I wanted to stop for the day and hang out in Coeur d Alene. We both hadn’t slept well and let’s just say my mood hadn’t been warm and fuzzy😂. My husband knew I needed some chill time. So we spent the rest of a fantastic day hanging out in the downtown. Before dinner we stopped at a couple of local bars and did some people watching. Well really Norm did, I dog watched! Some real cuties🥰. We met Jody and Greg who lived in Spokane Valley and gave us some great info for our next few weeks. Had dinner at a fab Italian place, the same one we ate at in 2011 when Norm did his 1st Ironman. Our last stop was a great encounter. Phoebe our awesome server was also a Panhellenic sister, Alpha Chi Omega. As Norm would say sorority chatter began 😉. She actually sat down with us for a few minutes asking questions about my involvement and our bike journey. We exchanged contact info and of course took a pic! Great end to a great afternoon. Thank you Norm😁
