Saturday Slight

We attended a smorgasboard of sorts last night----food-related, of course, but the smorgasboard aspect came more in the form of new friends and fun reconnections with a lot of familiar faces.

We were invited to Spud's Waterfront Grill for a soft opening of the restaurant's summer season.  We chose to sit out on the deck and soon were enjoying an IPA with a tasty citrus kick and some great introductory conversation with Jim and Karen McKiernan.

They moved to Sandpoint from Moses Lake over the winter. Jim is the new publisher of the Daily Bee. The couple also enjoy a close friendship with the Roth's in Seattle whom we've had the pleasure of meeting.  

The Seattle couple are very good friends of Annie.  Bryan Roth and Annie work together at Groundspeak, Inc. aka geocaching website company. Plus, they're pretty adamant Sounders soccer fans. 

So, we had that relationship in common with the McKiernan's.  Of course, lots of journalism stories dominated the conversation between our tables.  

Soon, we ended up sitting at the same table, enjoying a delicious meal.  I had a the Capistrano turkey sandwich, Bill had chicken, Jim chose steak and Karen had a plate of beautifully prepared salmon.

One of the true gems at Spud's, Megan Turner, spent some time telling us about the food selection, which features locally produced fresh ingredients and items from Winter Ridge Natural Foods.  

Megan, a self-confident, knowledgeable and charming young lady whose mom Jacque was one of my most beloved Ponderettes, serves as a phenomenal ambassador for the restaurant.   

During the course of the evening, we also visited briefly with several other people.  I learned from Bob Witte that his son Willie, who was in my English class, is enjoying some New York Times Bestseller recognition with a Road Trip Nation book. 

I made a mental note to learn more about what Willie's up to these days.  Back in high school, Willie was really in to drumming. Now he travels the world and creates clever videos.

Another former student walked by, and we talked lawyering.  She's a lawyer, and she'll probably be doing some legal work for us as we face the music about having to put together a will.  Megan Johnson is definitely topnotch at anything she does, so I think we'll be in good hands.

We saw and visited briefly with other journalism folks----Patty Hutchens with Sandpoint Living and Ben Olsen with Sandpoint Reader.  

We met the Pierce's who have established their auto dealership in Sagle after having similar businesses in Billings and Polson, Mont.   

We don't care what kind of cars they sell---we just know they're good folks cuz they have a Border Collie AND they live in our neighborhood. 

We saw several other friends throughout the evening and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and the wonderfully prepared food.  Those IPA's were pretty tasty too!

Looks like a great summer offering for the diners at Spud's, which continues, under its new ownership of Peter and Kelli West McDaniel, to put out a great meal, served by caring, friendly staff members and enhanced by the waterfront ambiance of Sand Creek flowing into Lake Pend Oreille.  

Great evening and looking like a great day ahead.  We're planning to pick up the new old motorhome, which had some repairs done this week.  Then, we'll be offering it for sale at a good price!

Happy Saturday.  And, thanks, Peter and Kelli, for including us in a very special evening.