Sunday, June 8, 2008 was Mom and my last day on Idaho soil before we were to embark on our Cross Country Adventure to our new home in Pensacola, Florida the next morning. But we were not to slip so quietly out of Idaho and out of my former Home Depot co-workers that I considered dear friends. Karla had been planning to throw a farewell bash for Mom and me ever since we announced our plans to move to Florida to be near my sister Erika, and as soon as the sale on the house was official, she made reservations for the party at Joe's Crab Shack, a local seafood restaurant in Downtown Boise, Idaho.
At noon on Sunday, the moving van and the three movers showed up on time to clear our house out of its furniture and our other worldly possessions. Any worries of their not finishing on time for Mom and me to get to the farewell party were diminished when they quickly went to work loading everything into the moving van. I had made arrangements to go to Joe's with my former boss Art and his wife Joanne while Mom was to follow after the movers left about 2:30 p.m.
As soon as the movers left with a tip for drinks on us that night, Mom was just about to jump into the shower when the phone rang. GRRR! Perfect timing, it was her sister who loves to talk, and I told Mom with an eye roll to keep the call short because we had a party to go to. Of course, Auntie Ruthie was as usual her talkative self, and I left with Art and Joanne wondering if Mom was going to make the party at a reasonable time.
Joe's is located near the Doubletree Boise Hotel in Downtown Boise and is located on the Boise Greenbelt and Boise River. It's not on the ocean, but the decor inside and outside makes Joe's look like it's on the ocean rather than a small river in landlocked Idaho.
Art, Joanne, and I arrived at Joe's Crab Shack right on time for the 3:00 soiree, and I asked the hostess if Karla and the party were there, yet. Of course, the girl knew right away who Karla was, and we were escorted into the main dining area where Karla, Lauren, and about a half dozen of my friends and some of their family were. After a little applause, PJ came and hugged me immediately, and I walked around the long table to say hello to Molly, Sarai and her sister Lucie, Francine and her two kids Brody and Hailey, and Julie and her two daughters Jennifer and Julia, who gave me a nice little basket with Bed, Bath, and Beyond Soaps.
After sitting down at the head of the table, the place of honor, Karla immediately poured me a Corona. Since some of the girls had to leave early for other obligations, they had already ordered for their kids and themselves, but Karla, Molly, and I decided to wait until Mom got here. Joe's has kids meals for the little ones, and within minutes, Lauren and the gang were chowing on shrimp and other seafood yummies. Karla immediately poured me a Corona from the bucket of beer that she ordered for all of us, and Molly said that she wanted to buy me a drink before I left. I told her I would take her up on the offer after I got some food into me.
A lot of talking and laughter went on and time flew. Mom finally showed up about 4:00 apologizing for her sister's big mouth, and everyone was glad to see her. After introductions and more chatter, the waitresses came by to take our appetizer order. Karla, her sister Janey, and I split an order of Bucket of Shrimp, which was cold shrimp in Old Bay Seasoning and cocktail sauce. They were just right spicy and really good. After a little longer, Karla, Janey, Mom, and I ordered our dinners. Mom and I got the appropriate East Coast Platters ($16.99 each) while Karla got the Shrimp Platter and Janey got an appetizer of Crab Stuffed Shrimp. Molly had ordered Steamed Mussels with Garlic Bread.
Karla ordered another Bucket of Beer for everyone, and I took advantage of Molly's drink offer and got a Frozen Margarita with Strawberries. When the Margarita came to the table a few minutes later, I told Mom she was driving to Karla's after the party because the drink was huge in a big glass and was nice and cool going down my throat but gave me a little buzz on a somewhat empty tummy.
It took a little bit longer for our food to show up because it was Sunday and other people were in the restaurant and we were part of a big group. PJ had to leave early to get her son from church, and Julie and her girls had to leave for their trip to Las Vegas. So I got up from my meal to hug them good-bye and told them to keep in touch.
While the adults ate and talked, the kids sat in the window playing and talking with each other. The East Coast Platters were good portions of fried fish, crab cake, onion ribbons, and shrimp. Tartar and Aoli sauces completed the meal, and we enjoyed every bite along with conversation with our friends. Art, Joanne, Francine and her kids had to leave early, too, and once again, we had to hug everyone good-bye and get addresses and promises to keep in touch. It was only seven of us left after they left, and we were able to sit at only two tables and complete our meals. Our waitresses did a great job making sure our meals were OK and any requests were taken care of quickly.
The party came to an end with our bills and saying good-bye to Molly, who had to go to the airport to get a friend. The entire meal for Karla, Janey, Mom, Lauren, and me came to close to $100, including the gratuity for parties of eight or more people. Mom and I kicked in $10 when Karla asked for a little help since she and her better half Steve were planning to treat us the whole time. The rest of the party paid their own way. No problem. Waitress paid and tipped, we continued the party at Karla's house where we watched the Celtics beat the Lakers in the NBA finals. Being Celtics fans, Mom and I were very happy, and Karla and Steve, the Lakers fans, are still talking to us! There were plenty of tears, hugs, and kisses when Mom and I had to leave for the house in order to get enough sleep for our trip the next morning, and we will have many fond memories and pictures of our friends' love and generosity at the Farewell Party at Joe's Crab Shack.