One of the best things about being out on the road is the people you meet that really want to help you and take care of you. What I didn’t mention yesterday (because that blog was more introspective and less informative) was that Rudy was not able to come to the gig with us because it was a 21+ bar. As a matter of fact, we never would have known about the Bees Knees, OR have been able to play there without the help of Kristen, Dave and their three kids, Spencer, Elsie and Georgia.
Kristen and Dave first saw us years ago at a winery on Bainbridge Island called Eleven Winery. They again supported us and brought friends out when we played in Spokane. So, they reached out to see if we were going to swing through Coeur d’Alene on our tour. We mentioned not really knowing where we could play, and within a bit, Kristin had found some places, including Bees Knees, and reached out to them on our behalf. Then, she offered us a place to stay in their home, AND babysitting for Rudy by their kiddos! My only regret was that we didn’t get ANY pictures with them or their kids.
We pulled up to their house and, as we were getting our stuff out of the trailer and car, we heard, “Hi!!! Come on in!” We were greeted by Kristin and Dave, and introductions were made between Rudyard and the twin girls, Elisabeth and Georgia. One of them asked if Rudy liked Super Smash Brothers…and we never saw Rudy again. 😂 Kristin showed us our room and said, “We have an open refrigerator policy in our home. Anything you can find in our kitchen to fix or eat, you are welcome to anytime.” So sweet and kind! We spent a few minutes chatting and catching up before we headed to our gig.
After the show at Bees Knees, we came back to the house around 12:00. The kids were all up still and having a ball. Kristin said, “Did you guys want dinner? We have steak and stuff to make tacos!” We were sold! A couple ciders, some steak tacos, and some more conversation around a wine-barrel fire pit next to a fountain in their backyard kept us up and happy til about 1:00am. Finally Dave said he was gonna head to bed. “What time do you usually get up?” I asked Dave. “Oh, between 3:00-4:00 in the morn.” Eeew. I apologize for keeping him up so late but he said it was fine and he had a good time. We all headed to bed shortly after that and slept like corpses.
Whether you are a meat eater or not, one of the best smells to wake up to in the morning has got to be, hands-down, bacon. I believe between that and the smell of freshly ground coffee, that was enough to get me up and going in the morning. On top of that, Kristen had been up for a while making French toast for everybody. There are just some people in this world who truly love caring for others and hosting and making sure people are taken care of. Kristin is 100% that person! She was warm and kind, inviting, engaging and never once made us feel like we were a bother at all. It’s a very special gift and we were so lucky to have gotten to know the family better.
As we left that afternoon, Rudy got to the car and said, “Those were really good people. I’d like to get to know them better.” Well said. We couldn’t agree more, son.
For content and cuteness, I’ve included a picture of Rudy winning a stuffie from a claw machine in a Fred Meyer. He named her “Molly”.
He also chose my beverage for the day based on the picture of a “Viking robot, hacking its own arm off”…I’m not sure what kind of parenting win that was, but the beer was delicious and we’re most likely setting him up for success. 😂
We spent the rest of the day back at the “nakie park” (as Rudes calls it), making more friends, listening to music, eating dark chocolate covered raspberries, and night swimming in the pool. It is truly a blessed life.
