Day 15-17: Weekend with Victoria in Missoula

Day 15-17: Friday June 20th through Sunday June 22nd, 2014.
Missoula, MT.  0 miles.

Victoria's flight arrived safely in Misssoula on Friday around 12:30 pm. I am so excited to be spending the weekend with my amazing wife!

We explored the town a bit and found some interesting things. Salmon were spotted swimming upslope in the park. 

We also watched a guy surfing on the standing waves of the river that flows right through town.  This shot was taken from the bridge. 

Then, later we scrambled town to the water's edge, stuck our feet in, and watched the surfers up close as they dropped in to catch a wave.

 And, we discovered the Big Dipper ice cream shop!

Their ice cream is made from scratch right here behind the scenes of their little storefront.

Their big scoops were delicious!  I had the Mint Oreo and Victoria had the Huckleberry. Yum!!

Later on, we were walking down Higgins Street, and saw a yellow piano sitting on the sidewalk. A passer-by stopped in front of it, gazed, wondering if he should sit down and tickle the ivories, then his hesitation ended as his hand on the keys dragged the rest of his body onto the bench. As he played, others gathered around.

Little did we know, until we saw the front page of the local paper, that the placement of the canary yellow upright was part of The Music Social Experiment.

Next stop, the Kettle House Brewery for a couple of delicious local draft beers. 

Victoria pounded a honey wheat, then used the back of her hand to wipe off the foamy moustache. :)  I sipped a delicious English-style IPA that was smooth, well-rounded, and not too hoppy. Named Double Haul IPA, it received the top gold medal award in the 2014 World Beer Cup Competition, category 70 (English Style IPA).  We liked it so much that we bought a growler for the next day. 

Good morning All!  It's Saturday June 21st, the June Solstice. 

It's the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, and up in these parts, that means it isn't getting dark until close to 10 pm. 

Victoria and I slept in late at our comfy AirBnB rental, and woke up to the sound of the maple trees dancing in the wind just outside our window. 

We decided to head over to the Burn St Bistro for brunch. It was a great choice. The food was outstanding and the servers were having fun. 

Then, a walk through downtown led us to a cool bookstore, Bird's Nest Books. We were excitedly greeted by "Glory", a 7-month old golden retriever that didn't mind a pet or two. 

We bought some fresh wild salmon from the local market, and other ingredients from a nearby co-op to make dinner at our rental. The owners, Blake and Caryn, were very nice and allowed us to use their BBQ for the salmon. Then, we pulled our bistro table next to theirs on their outdoor patio under a giant maple tree, and had a wonderful dinner conversation. 

We then walked across the river just in time to the historic Wilma theater to see, "The Grand Budapest Hotel", a Wes Anderson film with a great cast. The theater must not have had more than 60 seats. 

As we were leaving the theater, we heard booms. A fireworks show had just started up West of town. We walked onto the bridge and watched an impressive display of colors illuminating the sky right over the river. 

When the grand finale ended, I looked down at my watch and observed that we still had 15 more minutes before the Big Dipper ice cream shop was scheduled to close. It could not have been a more perfect weekend with my wife in Missoula, MT.