Monthly Archives: August 2011

Dare! Find a small-town main street offering more than Coeur d’Alene’s.

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While my family visited Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, we spent quite a it of time in Downtown Coeur d’Alene, the lively little town which sets the scene for more than half of my Rhythms & Muse novel.

In addition to its most beautiful City Beach at the west end of downtown, Cd’A’s seven-block main street, aka Sherman Ave., offers a plethora of great experiences:

  • Hudson’s Hamburgers, with it’s 100-year legacy, is a destination for the most delicious, juicy burgers worldwide!
    (I very much regret I couldn’t find a good way to include Hudson’s iin Rhythms & Muse. Those burgers are one of my favorite reasons for visiting Cd’A. A point of interest: the Hudson family, including current proprietors Steve and Todd, lived next to my family in Fairway Hills the entire time I lived up there.)
  • Calypsos Coffee & Creamery, a great coffee venue right off Sherman on Lakeside Ave., where I held my book signing.
  • A number of charming retail shops, including:

    Looking west down Sherman Ave. from 5th St.(?) ©2011 ANVidean

    • Gallery Northwest, filled with lovely unique artwork crafted by local artists
    • Summers Glass gorgeous dichroic glass jewelry and art, beads, and more
    • Possibilities wine and gift-basket shop
    • Coeur d’Alene Chocolates, a family-owned shop with the most beautifully delicious treats I’ve ever seen.

      The sandy City Beach at the west end of Sherman Ave. offers a pristine view of the towering Coeur d’Alene Resort, and Tubbs Hill. ©2011 ANVidean

  • The Coeur d’Alene Resort, a lovely destination towering over the north end of Lake Cd’A right at the foot of downtown, with a  marina and one of the largest boardwalks in the world. It’s connected via skywalk to an indoor shopping mall featuring mid-to-high-end restaurants and shops.

I’ll be doing future posts to provide additional details on some of these distinctive hot spots, so watch the blog.

Do you have a Cd’A story or photo to share? Comment below, or send your .jpg image to me at avidean@videanunlimited.com and I’ll post it in the future.

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Rhythms & Muse novel and music CD:

One of America’s most beautiful downtown beaches

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My family just returned from a too-short visit to the beautiful northwest. We hung out in Spokane, WA, and Coeur d’Alene, ID, for a week… seeing friends, tracking down old haunts, and visiting places and activities mentioned in my Rhythms & Muse novel.

Lake Coeur d’Alene    ©2011 ANVidean

One lazy afternoon, we strolled the Centennial Trail through the City Park, soaking in sights like this one. But what’s so uber cool about this…? Downtown Coeur d’Alene is just about two blocks to the east of this scene.

Can you see why lovely Lake Cd’A certainly served as high inspiration for a major portion of my novel? Who wouldn’t want to spend time near this blue water?

Do you have a Cd’A story or photo to share? Comment below, or send your .jpg image to me at avidean@videanunlimited.com and I’ll post it in a future blog.

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Rhythms & Muse novel and music CD:

Spokane Trivia from Rhythms & Muse

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The Spokane River ©2007 ANVidean

I held a Rhythms & Muse novel and music CD signing at Calypsos Coffee & Roastery, 116 E. Lakeside Ave. in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, from 4–7 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011.

Beforehand, I visited the coffee house, checking the place out, drinking a delicious tropical green iced tea, and posting this trivia blog about Spokane, Wash.

A number of events in my novel take place in 1970s Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Spokane, Wash. If you know the area, or just want to learn some interesting facts about it, check out these questions and see how many answers you can guess?

Spokane Trivia Questions

22. What’s the name of the river on which the Cedar’s Restaurant floats?

23. The novel characters have dinner to escape the pressures of early fame at an oddly named restaurant specializing in Olde English fare and overlooking the Spokane River Falls. What is it called?

24. The former name of today’s INB Performing Arts Center where heroine Alexandra Lauren and her musical peers perform a benefit show for children’s music programs?

25. The name of the central city park, now the legacy of the 1974 World’s Fair in Spokane, Wash.

26. The bridge the main characters stand on, almost directly over the Spokane River Falls, connects to what island? For bonus points, what was the island named before the World’s Fair?

27. What three major landmarks in Riverfront Park can be viewed by the characters Alex and Matt while discussing their future together on the bridge?

28. What type of fish migration created one of the Spokane River’s true natural glories before Washington Water Power moved in to harness the river’s power?

Answers in comments below.

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You can find these, plus more Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Spokane, Wash., references in my Rhythms & Muse novel and music CD: