day number 3.5 here.  it’s different than the east coast and somehow different than the california west coast i know.  i’ve been trying my very best to figure out what it is that makes it so unique.  the trees are quite similar to where i live.  there are mountains and lakes and lots of pleasant people.  there isn’t much of an accent and although dirt bike racing is popular, everything else seems to be quite normal.

yesterday afternoon i figured it out.  this is a hick city.  there are thousands of people surrounding me, a million starbucks, stores at your right and left — they even have a target!  and yet everything is completely hick.  the combination of urban life and rednecks is completely confusing.  so while i pass a massive herd of people on my way to the coffee shop downtown, these are a few things i pass which are reasons to love this place.  so completely hick.

reason 5.  massive ugly and dirty trucks seem to abound here.  and this kind is the definition of the west.

reason 6.  they eat/drink the strangest things.

one girl i met told me i needed to eat rocky mountain oysters to get the real idaho experience.  like the naive trusting thing i am i said i would.  i was then told what they are — bull testicles.  not everyone likes them, but it’s not unusual for all the men to go out for beer and oysters together.  gross.  i think i shall stay away from such Fear Factor-ish delicacies.