Bing Crosby Lived Here, and Other Activities (Featuring the FLOTUS!)

Tuesday was a relaxed day!  We were going to go to the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, but they are apparently closed on Tuesdays, we we had to revise our plan.  Luckily, our awesome tour guide Google was there for us.

Did you know that Bing Crosby's childhood home is in Spokane?  We sure didn't, but Google did and we headed out to check it out!  (Bonus: it was free!)  

It is now part of the Gonzaga University campus.  Bing (we're pals now that I've totally been to his house) went to Gonzaga to study law, although he quit to pursue music for some reason.  I wonder how that worked out for him? 

It was open!

Some award or something. :)  (It was a duplicate- not the real one)

There were both gold and platinum records on display

 We were a little nervous taking pictures.  We did not see anything that specifically said we couldn't, but it seemed wrong somehow.  He had an interesting life and seemed like an all around nice guy.

The house was owned by a family and then by a woman who rented out rooms to Gonzaga students for many years.  Just think- your college crash pad could have been Bing Crosby's childhood bedroom!

After we hung out at Bing's house, we dropped by the Jundt Art Museum, which was also free!   We really enjoyed the Close-In exhibit.  This was another place that we were not sure about taking pictures in, but we could not resist a few.

Not art related, but Cathy can never resist improperly used quotation marks. 

Cathy and her new BFF, the Close-In lady.

One of the pieces. 

Kirk reading the short story that went with the artwork.

There was also a Rodin sculpture.

After the art, we went back to Atticus Coffee, which has been one of our favorite little places to hang out here.  Cathy got a few more shots of the neat things. It's a fun location- stop by if you are ever in Spokane!

Beautifully displayed teas.

I love this mural. 

The rest of the day was spent relaxing until it was time to go hang out with Maja and her husband Adam, plus their three adorable, hilarious children! Cathy met Maja in 2007 (ish) through a mutual friend, and they've been friends ever since.  We talked about how soooo much time has passed since we had last seen each other, but it still somehow felt like yesterday that we saw each other.  Time is so weird.  Anyway, Maja and her family are awesome!  

Cathy, Maja, and little Calvin.

They were kind enough to host us even though Maja had *just* had a baby!  Little Calvin was sweet and slept nearly the entire visit.

Cathy loves holding brand new babies.

We caught up with each other, played some really fun games with the kids, (Luci is 7 and Sam is 2 and a half) and generally had a really good time.

Luci told Cathy that she looked exactly like First Lady Michelle Obama, causing general hilarity all around.  Cathy was not sure why- she gets compared to her all the time. Either way, Mrs. Obama is an interesting, educated, and gracious woman, so there are worse comparisons out there. :) 

Clearly Michelle Obama. 

We hope that we see Maja and Adam again soon.  You and your brood are always welcome in fabulous Wichita, KS! 

We plan to relax on Wednesday and check out the museum that was closed today.  We'll keep you posted!