Saturday, March 3, 2007

Just in time, I found you just in time....

Okay, I was there, I heard it with my own ears, IDP Chairman, Richard Stallings, did say that Al Gore had formed a presidential exploratory committee. How he knows this, I don't know. Maybe he was reading www.algore-08.com or www.draftgore.com or www.electgore08.com. Or, perhaps he, as party chair, knows something that the news media has not yet heard about. Whatever the reason, it certainly sent my weekend at the Frank Church Banquet and state committee meeting over the top!

Having never been to Boise before, I found myself initially making comparisons to Los Angeles, or more accurately, the San Fernando Valley area, in which I grew up. Things were different back then. The Valley still had many farms and ranches, nobody locked their doors, and children played safely in the streets. I used to walk several blocks home from school at lunch and walk freely around my neighborhood, sometimes taking my bicycle to the store for my mom. That area and lifestyle have completely disappeared. Filled with urban sprawl, tract homes, strip malls and huge corporate owned store chains, the San Fernando Valley is a traffic congestion zone, often covered in smog, and many places are not safe at all. I could see Boise heading in that direction.

Then, I walked around the downtown with a friend yesterday morning and discovered a wonderful, Idaho friendly Boise, with great, individually-owned stores and shops waiting to be discovered on every street. We had a delicious latte with brioche and croissant at La Vie En Rose, did serious buying damage at The Basque Market, and peered through the windows at Trip Taylor Bookseller (which I intend to visit today, being too early yesterday). I was also too early for the wine store (darn, I don't remember the name) near 8th St. in BoDo (the taxi driver informed me that this meant Boise Downtown), and, alas, arrived too late on Thursday to have a late supper and glass of wine at theCottonwood Grille, but maybe I can catch them for lunch today.

I just noticed the time, and I have to skedaddle off the hotel computer to get ready for the second annual Idaho Democrats blogger breakfast....

2 comments:

Julie Fanselow said...

Linda, I searched high and low last night and can't find confirmation or even hints that Gore has made any moves. But as you say, it's conceivable that Stallings knows something no one else does.

Julie Fanselow said...

Hey, either the time stamp on your blog is wrong, or I have missed the breakfast!

Seriously, it's great you were able to sample a bit of Boise yesterday. We do indeed have a lovely town.