The Yellow Coconut

I just returned from a trip to Missoula, Montana. I was there to help Rachel get into her new little place. She is now a graduate student studying social Work at the University of Montana. Go Grizzlies! Yes, she met the entire football team and they autographed a poster, but that is another story.

I like Missoula. The Clark Fork runs right through town. To get to Rachel's new place, affectionately know as the Yellow Coconut, you must cross this river. It is usually covered in people floating on inner tubes and surrounded by bicyclists and families pushing strollers on the riverside trails and in the riverside city center park.

Her place is located on this old treed street just a few blocks from campus, you can see the windows in a building at the end of this street if you squint. If you turn and walk the other way(west) you arrive at a section of town with great restaurants and shops, very hip, trendy, cool, or however described today. We tried about three of the restaurants and they were truly good. We had perhaps the best key lime pie ever and surprisingly, it was at an Asian restaurant. The home made ice cream place was a big hangout and always had a long line in the evenings. One night one of the local firetrucks was parked there with all the firemen hanging out eating a cone.

Well, anyway, if you stop on 6th street and look along the side of this house, you can see a little cottage way back behind the railing. This is Rachel's "Coconut".

Here is Rachel in her front yard which is the big house' back yard. She is sitting at the picnic table which is the closest spot around at which she can connect to the Internet. Fine for now but will need to be rectified as winter comes. I hear it gets cold in Montana.

Step inside and turn back towards the door and "ta da", Rachel's bedroom sized house!

There is a pretty small closet in the bathroom which is the only storage in the place. Rachel took my old cupboard from the Elba School, you can see it off to the left in a prior shot, and it does a pretty good job of holding most of her stuff. We also assembled an over the toilet shelf system for bathroom toiletries and towels and hung hooks and shelves around the place to help too.

The black freestanding stove is her only heat source. At least it is on a thermostat.

She is cold a lot even while here in AZ, (crazy girl, I never cool off). Did I mention that I think it gets cold in Missoula?
This cute little kitchen has no room for her table and chairs, nor does the rest of the place, so the table, if not the chairs, is probably destined for Goodwill.

Yes, she picked up her cat, Zoe in Utah, and I gave her a new(old) quilt for her bed, both shown here. I guess I should say Dave's bed 'cause she took his. The bed area and the shower area are under the low eaves making it impossible for even Rachel (maybe?) to stand erect at the head of her bed or in the shower, if there was one.

It is a good place in a good town and so cute. She is very excited about the new program, much dancing and singing ensued (see her post). She was really wishing she could do running back flips. I suggested a gymnastics course. What else is college for anyway?