Nice view of the Coeur d'Alene Hotel from the lower deck.
Tony told us he'd be serving dessert! Little did we know we'd have to help.
We all took turns making ice cream the old fashioned way, by hand cranking!
Here's the finished product! Perfect homemade ice cream, served over huckleberry, rhubarb cobbler. YUMMM.
View of the back of Tony's Cabin, with his prized Mini Cooper in the driveway!
Tony's cabin sits across from the boat slips. This development once had a small resort with a dozen or so A-Frame cabins for rent. Modified A-Frames sit across the small bay from Tony's cabin. He told us he paid $50,000 for it in 1980 and feels like a millionaire when he gets his property tax statement. "I've gone to the assessor's office many times and argued with them that my modest cabin cannot possibly be worth what this tax statement indicates." Usually his attempts proved futile in reducing the tax liability.
Tony told us many stories! I wish I could remember them all. We talked about our idyllic childhood in Cottonwood, the joy of being a part of the larger Kopczynski family, and the challenges to keep connected to our 50+ cousins. Some stories brought tears, including the recent sudden death of Tony's best friend and brother-in-law, Les McDaniel. Other stories had us wiping tears of laughter from our faces, especially the stories of his walking buddy's 94-year old mother and her escapades of losing her keys and breaking a window of the wrong car!
We learned about Tony's generosity toward his nieces and nephews! Every year he invited the kids to Everett, bought tickets to the Nutcracker and then treated everyone to pizza. He named every one of them, where they are now, who they are married to, what kind of work they do. He loves his family! Pictures of his kids and grands cover the refrigerator, but he found at least one picture of the extended kids as well. Once again, we drove home counting our blessings.
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