Spokane, Washington

In June of 2018, my parents and I took a steam boat cruise down the Columbia River, the itinerary of the cruise followed the same route that Lewis and Clark too bring their exploration adventure of the Pacific North West.

We began our trip in Spokane, Washington where we stayed at the historic Davenport Hotel. This elegant hotel has been in business since 1914 and is rich in history, it was a wonderful experience to get to stay there.

We never dined in the stunning Peacock Lounge, but we passed by it several times, the decor is sophisticated and swanky, with peacock motifs at every turn.

One of the things the Davenport Hotel is most known for is their famous soft peanut brittle. We would have been remiss not to try this one of a kind confectionary during our stay.

Dad and I absolutely loved it, mom isn't a fan of peanut flavored anything, so it wasn't her favorite. It has more of a consistency of a firm fudge, than a crunchy brittle which we both really liked. It has the perfect balance of sweet and salty with just a hint of crunch from the crushed nuts.

There is also a chocolate covered version.

This was my room, I felt like I was sleeping in a room fit for a princess. The beds were gorgeously carved, and the artwork was oil paintings set in rich, ornate golden frames which is uncommon for hotel rooms.

One our first day, after we had settled into our rooms and explored the hotel a little bit, Dad and I set off to find the famous Spokane Falls.  These falls are located in the heart of the financial district in the middle of downtown Spokane.

The falls consists of an Upper Falls and a Lower Falls. The Upper Falls is the site of the Upper Falls Dam, a diversion dam constructed in 1920 that directs the water into the Upper Falls intake on the south channel of the Spokane River.  The Lower Falls is the site of a second diversion dam, the Monroe Street Dam. Completed in 1890, it was the first dam built on the Spokane River and is currently the longest-running hydroelectric generation facility in Washington state.

Sidenote: Father's Day was founded in Spokane in 1910. The day we arrived and explored the city was Father's Day! Such a cool way to celebrate with my Dad!

After the Spokane Falls, another attraction that is not to be missed is the Riverfront Park Carousel also known as the Looff Carousel. 

 Built in 1909 by Charles I. D. Looff, this carousel was a gift for his daughter Emma Vogel and her husband Louis Vogel, who owned Natatorium Park in Spokane.  It remained at the park until 1968 when the park closed. The carousel was relocated to its present location at Riverfront Park in 1975 where it continues to operate. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 19, 1977.

The carousel still contains its original 1900 Ruth & Sohn band organ, which plays 87 key B.A.B. rolls, although due to deteriorating player rolls, a digitized recording is played during the carousel's operation. The organ was manufactured in Waldkirch, Germany and imported by Looff around 1900.

The carousel contains 54 horses, 1 giraffe, 1 tiger, 1 goat and 2 chariots, all hand carved by Looff himself.

I especially loved the little monkey riding on the back of the tiger.

This carousel isn't just a fun ride, it's also a game. It has a ring dispenser that allows the outside riders to grab a ring during each pass and then toss the ring at a clown with a hole for his mouth. If the rider is successful in capturing the brass ring, he or she can turn it in to win a free ride on the carousel.

After exploring the exciting and beautiful downtown Spokane, we headed back to our hotel, were we had a delightful dinner, we were seated in the beautifully decorated lobby. My dad ordered the ice cream sundae for dessert, and it was quite the culinary masterpiece.

The next morning I woke up to these beautifully dramatic clouds, vibrantly colored by the rising sun, such an invigorating way to start the day.

After breakfast at the hotel, we took an official tour of the city of Spokane. Our first stop of the day was at Bing Crosby's house. Gonzaga University houses a large collection of material relating to 20th Century singer and actor Harry Lillis (Bing) Crosby, a native of Spokane and alumnus of Gonzaga. Now part of Gonzaga, Crosby's childhood home was built in 1911 and still stands at its original location. The main floor houses over 200 Crosby items including gold records, trophies, awards, and his Oscar for Going My Way (1944).

The Crosby family moved to Spokane in 1906 when Bing was three years old. They lived in a rental home for seven years, just a few blocks away from this house which they built in 1913

In 1910, when Harry was seven, one of his friends began calling him “Bingo” from a local newspaper comic strip. The nickname was eventually shortened to Bing, and from that time on, he was called Bing by everyone but his mother.

For fifteen years (1934, 1937, 1940, 1943–1954), Crosby was among the top top ten acts in box-office sales, and for five of those years (1944–1948) he topped the world. He sang four Academy Award-winning songs – "Sweet Leilani" (1937), "White Christmas" (1942), "Swinging on a Star" (1944), "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" (1951) – and won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Going My Way (1944).

A survey in 2000 found that with 1,077,900,000 movie tickets sold, Crosby was the third most popular actor of all time, behind Clark Gable, and John Wayne.  The International Motion Picture Almanac lists him in a tie for second on the All Time Number One Stars List with Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, and Burt Reynolds. His most popular film, White Christmas, grossed $30 million in 1954 ($280 million in current value).

From the Gonzaga campus we drove to the Manito Park and Botanical Gardens, making a quick drive by of John Stockton's house on the way (not pictured, it is mostly hidden behind trees but still cool to see!)

Manito Park and Botanical Gardens is a 90-acre public park with arboretum, botanical gardens, and conservatory, 

We spent most of our time exploring Rose Hill, where there are 1,500 rose bushes and over 150 varieties of roses.

We met this sweet little buddy while strolling through the gardens, he had just gotten his summer haircut.

We ended our visit at the park at the tranquil Japanese garden, this beautiful space was created in honor of Spokane's sister city, Nishinomiya, Japan.