Area's 'unorthodox visitor's guide' filled with simple pleasures

It is mid-July, the lake is warm and Bonner County is at the height of the tourist season. It seems appropriate to spend a few words and moments elucidating some of the things I love about this place.

Perhaps, in doing so, I can offer some simple, if not a bit unorthodox, insights to visitors as to the enchantment of northern Idaho and in particular, Bonner County and Lake Pend Oreille.

I love driving north from Coeur d'Alene on Highway 95 and coming across the Long Bridge with the spectacular Monarch Mountains opening their arms to welcome me, the vast lake reflecting the infinite beauty of the region and my home.

I love having to slow down and let pedestrians cross in front of me, pedestrians who smile and wave with sincerity. Walking slows us down and Sandpoint recognizes that the world unfolds at its own pace no matter how rushed we may be. Slowing down has us pause and notice the people and personalities in our path.

I love that Rich Ballard at Ivano's still remembers I only spent $1.99 on my brother-in-law's birthday gift and reminds me every time I see him. And that he and his partner Jim Lippi do so much for the community in so effortless and humble a manner.

I love the sights and sounds of City Beach in spring as locals dawn their shorts and flip-flops, welcoming the sunshine and warmth. They bravely test the rising waters of the lake. Memories of Julys and Augusts past are renewed by the crisp water lapping at their ankles and between their toes.

I love that when I am driving, cars stop to let me in with a friendly wave and smile and that folks wait politely in their turn. Drivers here do not rush past me in the open lane, jockeying for position to save a few precious moments. I have never felt as if another driver's time is more important than my own.

I love that every time I go to the Shell station at the corner of Larch and Fifth Street Mr. Oskoui remembers my children, remembers they play soccer and always asks how they are doing and what they are up to.

And I love that my children want to return there again and again because Mr. Oskoui is "so nice and friendly." The same is true of "Hey Cupcakes" on First Street, where children are always welcomed with a smile and pleasant greeting, as if they matter and because they do.

I love walking into All Seasons on Highway 200 for last-minute gifts because I know they will take care of me and calm my all too familiar "wait until the last minute" anxiety. The first time I walked into the place I was not a customer but a friend.

I love that at the high school graduation, with few exceptions, every student hugged their principal as they walked across the stage. I don't know Becky Kiebert, but I want to. Any principal who can engender that level of admiration and affection is, simply stated, "one of the best." I want my children at her school.

I love the heat of summer on the lake and the sound of children doing cannon balls, jumping off a dock. I love their joyful screams and laughter bubbling across the lake. And I love the cool, soothing breezes of the evening offering relief for sun scorched shoulders and faces red with the satisfaction of too much sun.

I love lying in the cool, damp, grass at night and peering into the limitless sky where galaxies appear and shooting stars punctuate the beauty and the wonder of the heavens.

I love the simple pleasures of my life magnified by the people who populate and flavor my experience here. In this context and in this place even the mundane seems to take on the qualities of heaven.

If this is home for you, you will understand and if not, I hope you will stay a while and when you leave, please remember you are always welcome to come back and relive the magic of northern Idaho.

? Tim Durnin is a local Realtor. He can be reached at timd@century21.com or by calling (208) 946-7046.