You're Gonna Need a Boat

We were not originally planning on buying a boat, but got tired of standing on the shore watching all the fun "out there" . With so many lakes around Sandpoint, it just made sense to buy a boat.

We stalked Craigslist for months and finally found a perfect boat and, Bonus! it was only 25 mi away at the Coeur d'Alene Resort. We were prepared to go 100's of miles to find one because it turns out the supply of used boats in Sandpoint is very limited. It's like people buy a boat and never get rid of it. The previous owners' love of the boat was obvious; it was in pristine condition and they were noticeably sad to be selling it (they decided to buy a houseboat). We all went for a 10 am test drive and the Cda fog was really thick at first, but by the end of the test drive, things were clearing up. What a beautiful lake Cda is! I can't wait to go back for a nice long leisurely day. We agreed on a price, hauled it out of Lake Coeur D'Alene, followed them to the bank, and off we we went to take our new baby home. But about half way home, we decided "why not?" and drove right past our street and kept on going to City Beach in Sandpoint where we dropped her in for our maiden voyage. It was a gloriously warm October late afternoon and It was fantastic. I can see us spending LOTS of time on this beauty.

Love the recliners...and they swivel for fishing! 

Videos of our Maiden Voyage, taking in Sandpoint's Fall Colors 

Can't wait until next summer when we can take advantage of being so close to these lakes:

Lake Pend Orielle Sandpoint sits on it. It's HUGE and beautiful.
     Hayden Lake 45 mins south,very popular beach in the summer.
          Lake Coeur d’Alene 1 hr south, beautiful resort lake.  Tons on coves to explore and lots of great homes to cruise by.
              Priest Lake 1 hour north, is the prettiest of all the lakes in the area, with a really cool 4th of July celebration. All kinds of boats bob around a certain area, and then fireworks are shot from a barge in the middle of the lake.

Closer to the Ducks,  Closer to the Ducks!!

Building our Pole Barn

In Summer 2015 we decided to build a “Pole Barn”. Pole Barns are pretty popular in Idaho. They are less expensive and much quicker to build than a traditional structure.  It seems like EVERYONE has one up here, especially if you're on any kind of acreage.  
In California we could just park the RV outside all year long, but doing that in Idaho seemed a bit harsh. Plus its always been my husbands dream to have a huge shop to go play in. Who am I to deny that?
We scoured our property and found the most logical spot to build it. Here is the "before" shot.  It was nice that we only had to take out a few trees, as this spot was a natural tiny meadow to begin with.

The whole thing only took 2 guys(father and son) and 3 weeks to do it. I was rather impressed with their efficiency and the quality of their work.

Here's the finished product. It's a beast at 2400 sq feet, and somebody's wife thinks this is overkill, but hey, if he's happy...

The roof color is "copper penny" something I had to fight the hubby tooth and nail for, but now that its done, he really likes it. It is beautiful and sparkles slightly in the sun. We were not huge fans of the grey color we picked, we initially wanted a light tan. But after tons of over-analyzing, we decided it was best to match the color of the house (see the house peeking out in the background? it's a ways away from the barn). I think we made the right choice, because the house and the shop look like they belong to the same property now, rather looking like a neighbors property. Still, the tan with the copper roof is beautiful, and it's what the entire Coeur d'Alene resort is done in.
Not knowing anything about pole barns, I used to think they were just metal poles holding up metal sheets. NOT TRUE. These are actually “stick-built” on the inside (meaning real big wooden posts, beams, and trusses) and then covered on the outside with sheets of steel.
Compared to California, getting plans approved in Idaho is wonderfully EASY. Hubby and I hand walked the plans through 3 agencies and got signatures all in one afternoon….and still had time for lunch. We could not believe how smooth and easy and NON-Red tape the whole process was. You can literally draw your plans on a napkin and it would get built. 

Here is the only diagram we used to get the shop built. Its from a free website that lets you do design layouts. 

FYI, Our builder was Bob Fuqua, Superior Building Systems, and I would HIGHLY recommend him. He is straight forward, honest, and his craftsmanship is top-notch. Its just he and his son and they are freaking work horses! Here is his info:

Superior Building Systems
2101 West Pine Glen Court
Athol, ID 83801
Phone: (208) 661-5380