9 of 40 Birthday Experiences! July 2023 - Playing, Laughing, Picking Fruit, Playing Disc Golf, Watching Fireworks, and MORE! A great work-cation and vacation!
Day One: We made it into Spokane and joined Kassie’s family at the rental house in Spokane, Washington. Relaxing family time was the goal of this trip!
Day Two: After a few rousing games of foosball and ping-pong, we headed to pick strawberries, raspberries, and cherries at two places in Green Bluff: Knapp’s on Green Bluff and White Gables on Green Bluff. I think we got enough fruit to feed a small village (which we are!) and it was all so delicious. Both great and easy farms to enjoy as a family. Finished up the day with Disc Golf with Kassie’s Dad and Brother + Rick at the beautiful Corbin Park Disc Golf Course.
Day Three: For the 4th of July - we headed into Downtown Spokane and the celebration along the Riverfront Park. We rode in some gondolas over the river, walked around the park looking for ducks and crawfish, and had a fun lunch at O’Doherty’s Irish Grille. Then headed to the Manito Park and Botanical Gardens to walk it off. We hung out at the pond watching the fish and ducks and turtles (which Kassie’s brother tried to catch to show the girls - but that was a quick little guy). Then to the beautiful and peaceful Japanese garden. And finally the botanical garden with a lovely greenhouse. Later we headed to Liberty Lake to catch the fireworks. We were lucky we got there early because the place was hopping. A band playing, food carts, and plenty of people watching.
Day Four: After the excitement of the day before, we spent most of the day relaxing at the house. Rick and I both had to get some work done and after our day - we all headed to dinner then for a full family game of Disc Golf back at Corbin Park. This time we had a beer round (the adults) and had fun watching the kids beat Kassie in every round.
Day Five: We headed to Coeur D’Alene to check out the beautiful lake. What a cute town! We explored a bit before having a picnic lunch and the girls went off to get in the lake. Kassie + her Mom and Dad + brother went over to Chalice Brewing for a beer in the air-conditioning while Kassie’s SIL and the girls got in some extra swimming time. That night, the grandparents watched the girls while the “kids” (Kassie, Rick, and Kassie’s Brother + SIL) headed to Snow Eater Brewery for a few beers and snacks.
Day Six: After a quick visit to Gonzaga for Mom - we headed to Riverside State Park Swinging Bridge & Bowl and Pitcher. What a beautiful Park! It was so hot - that we needed to dip into the river but so pretty that it was worth the heat!
Important Links and additional information:
- Knapp’s on Green Bluff: https://knappsupickfarm.com/
- White Gables on Green Bluff: http://whitegablesongreenbluff.com/
- Corbin Park: https://www.facebook.com/corbinparkspokane/
- Corbin Park Disc Golf Course: https://www.dgcoursereview.com/courses/corbin-park-dgc.8298
- Riverfront Park Spokane: https://my.spokanecity.org/riverfrontspokane/
- SkyRide gondola: https://my.spokanecity.org/riverfrontspokane/attractions/skyride/
- O’Doherty’s Irish Grille: http://www.odohertyspub.com/
- Manito Park: http://www.manitopark.org/
- Liberty Lake: https://www.libertylakewa.gov/185/About-the-City
- Coeur D’Alene: https://coeurdalene.org/
- Chalice Brewing: https://chalicebrewing.com/
- Snow Eater Brewery: https://www.snoweaterbrewingcompany.com/menu
- Riverside State Park: https://www.visitspokane.com/things-to-do/recreation/parks/riverside-state-park/
What started as 40 from august to august has expanded to the start of 2023 to August 2024. Due to other people planning things that we want to join… before August 2023. This is the celebration of “omg Kassie survived 40 years - we never thought it would happen.” Maybe the next 40, I’ll be more careful so it won’t be so surprising. 40 “experiences” have to be #1 unique, #2 require the day and night in the location to count, #3 that’s it.
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Originally from Iowa (Kassie) and Kansas (Rick), we met in Kansas in 2005 and immediately found that we had so much in common - including our desire to someday see the world. We now live in NYC and quickly started catching up on travel after our first (just us) international trip to Iceland in 2015. We decided to start making videos for us and our family/friends to track our travels. Kassie is in Marketing, an Author (see her poetry + author videos), and Puppet Creator. Rick is an Engineer and Script Writer (see our current and coming puppet movies!)
YouTube Site: https://www.youtube.com/@KassieAndRick-ExploreManyPaths
Kassie's Author Site: https://www.kassiejrunyan.com/
Joint Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore_many_paths
Kassie's Magazine: https://www.opendoorpoetrymagazine.com/