Two weeks ago we faced a forecast of temperatures over 105 degrees (as high as 109) for 9 days in a row. And it was still June. Global warming? End times? General penance? Perhaps all of the above. In any case, when faced with such wilting numbers, I look for a pool. I have two daughters, ages 5 and 8, and their ability to complain needs no such prompting as extreme heat (they get that from me). When looking for a pool, you have a few options:
- Friends with pools are great, especially when they live across the street, allowing for a cocktail or three as you lounge in the water pretending it's fun to have your kids splash you in the face.
- Public pools frown on the cocktail part entirely, and add in the ick factor regarding how many children have sneezed, spit (or worse) in the giant (cess)pool everyone shares.
- Or you could spend a thousand dollars to fly to Cabo for a weekend just to lounge poolside or on a beach where a full staff waits to bring you a piña colada and book your next massage.
As a family of four, that last option to get out of the house and beat the heat isn't always a feasible one. But we've found a happy medium in the form of a staycation. This allows us to enjoy a nice pool and temporarily satiate the travel bug without jeopardizing our ability to make the next mortgage payment. My experiences thus far have led me to believe that if you have kids (and maybe even if you don't), the best staycation opportunity in Boise is The Riverside Hotel.
The pool and kids' splash pad combat those freakishly hot days which Boise rudely springs on us throughout the summer. As soon as we settled in by the pool during our last stay at The Riverside, a bird promptly crapped on me. But I reminded myself that if you're lucky enough to enjoy a staycation with your family, such things are surmountable.
I'm sure there are plenty of staycation options in Boise with pools, but what makes The Riverside better is that the pool is adjacent to The Sandbar.
This means that while the kids swim, you can lounge by the pool, order drinks and food, and listen to the live music coming from The Sandbar's current act.
After our day at the pool, we changed into dry clothes and then returned to The Sandbar for dinner and to hear the evening act. It was a band called Great Bait. And yes, they were great, so much so that my eight-year-old couldn't contain herself and danced with abandon in front of the stage.
We like to encourage such behavior, so we bought her a hat. She danced so much that the next day, she was too tuckered to get back in the pool, and opted to nap under the hat, instead.
Inside The Riverside you'll find The Sapphire Room, which is a great alternative if you like live music, but prefer a more elegant atmosphere as opposed to the outdoor, family-friendly, dog-friendly feel of The Sandbar.
There are perks aplenty, including pétanque, bike rentals to take advantage of the adjacent Greenbelt (25 miles of paved, tree-lined path along the Boise River), a killer brunch with bottomless mimosas, and the best ice cream sandwiches in existence (seriously, these bad boys are made with giant, chocolate chip cookies made in-house and a variety of decadent ice cream flavors). I wanted to take a picture of the ice cream sandwich, but I got sidetracked stuffing it into my face. And then it was too late.
You can exercise your body at the gym or your mind at the chess table.
Or kill two birds with one stone at the giant, outdoor chessboard.
Of course, it's possible that I'm wrong, that The Riverside isn't Boise's best family staycation. I might have to go back and do a little more research, just to be sure.