Turning 23 In Whitefish

When Paul asked me to start thinking about what I wanted to do for my birthday, I wasn't sure. Sure, I love my birthday and I love to go all out to celebrate with Paul. But, I also know that it's not fair, financially, to ask Paul to spend too much money on me. I'm not even working, so I decided to give him the okay to do something small, in town, with low costs. And I was being honest when I said that that would be perfectly fine with me. But Paul had other plans and started planning a weekend trip to somewhere. He hadn't decided where when he came to me to help him decide. I started getting online to find a place, on the cheap, for us to stay for a weekend. And thankfully, Groupon was running a special on a place in Whitefish!! I was so excited because I have been wanting to go to Whitefish since we moved here. And you can't beat a 3 night stay, in a very nice lodge, for $100. All of a sudden, a weekend trip was completely feasible!

After some stressful drama at the bakery when they hadn't made the cake we ordered...we hit the road for Whitefish. Unfortunately, it rained the whole trip. On the drive up, every day we were there, and on the way home. Still, through all the clouds and rain, Whitefish and Kalispell are beautiful places to turn 23.

We got to town just in time for supper. Most tourists are probably interested in eating bison burgers and elk steaks but when we saw a southern bbq joint, we knew exactly where we were eating. Pulled pork, smoked chicken, southern potato salad, homemade mac and cheese and baked beans. They even served sweet tea! Every bite was wonderful. It was getting dark, and not to mention raining, so we drove around downtown and headed back to our room for the night.

Friday, we spent the day exploring downtown Kalispell, walking into historical shops, driving to nearby Flathead Lake, eating a picnic lunch by the water, buying Coldstone icecream and touring a model home (just in case we decide to move there)! We ate supper in a dive bar with the reputation of the best burgers in town and even saw a little bit of "home" on the wall.

On Saturday, after sleeping in, we spent the morning walking around downtown Whitefish. We had another picnic lunch on Whitefish Lake and then headed up to the ski resort for some winter's end fun. See, it was the last ski weekend at most resorts around here and they do this thing called a "pond skim". Basically, they make a pool on the slope side, fill it with water and people try to ski/snowboard across the water to the other side. It's a requirement to wear a costume and overall, it's a hilarious event to watch. Some people make it across with ease, but most crash and sink into the cold water. It was so much fun to watch and be a part of. By the end of the competition, it had come a blizzard and we left. This is the first time I've seen snow on my birthday!

Since it was my actual birthday night, Paul let me decide where to eat supper. We ended up going back to the same bbq joint for another amazing meal. It was such a gift to find a little taste of home here in Montana on my birthday, sweet tea and all. We ate cake and spent time cuddling in bed while the rain came down. It was a perfect birthday.

I love my birthday. And I love Paul for always making each birthday we spend together better and better.

Love and Happiness,
Bethany