Idaho

Although United's handling of their flights does not fall into this category, many items fill the list of reasons why I love Idaho. As I fill in the hours waiting for my flight, permit me to list a few of those here (in no particular order) as noted during Spring Break.

1) The Boise airport offers free wifi courtesy of University of Idaho; this is particularly nice as it allows me to write posts and amuse myself while waiting for late flights.

2) My parents live here. Although my week wasn't chock full of activities and goings-on, it was still nice to chill at home with the parents, knowing that all was right in my corner of the world.

3) Where else does a state trooper pass you on the freeway, on the right, when you yourself are already over the speed limit? Enough said.

4) The first official day of spring actually FEELS like spring, which is more than I can say for the "lovely" state of Nebraska where it snowed Saturday.

5) Somewhat related to the previous item, a person can take a blanket, a couple pillows, and a good book outside to the backyard in March and relax all afternoon without fear of frostbite, soggy grass, or snowmen-not that I'm normally afraid of snowmen, it just kinda typed itself. :)

6) Although I didn't have the funds to do it myself, Idaho presents the opportunity of skiing or snowboarding during Spring Break.

7) Small churches are established here where they don't mind if two slightly out-of-tune clarinets and one French horn stumble through the hymns Sabbath morning during congregational singing. Also, the greeter (whose name I didn't know) remembered me from Christmas and asked if I had brought my flute along (sadly I had forgotten this Sabbath).

8) Cheap, two-dollar theater still exist instead of being torn down to provide more parking space.

9) Boise is home to the Northwest's most challenging half-marathon: Race to Robie Creek.

10) Residents have multiple reasons to own four-wheel drive pickup trucks.

11) On my flight in, I sat next to the chief-of-staff for Senator Risch, who not only chatted politely with me about my future plans, but also expressed genuine interest in my knitting and asked me to show him, slowly, how I do it.

And eleven seems like a good number to end with; after all, it's prime.