Sunday is a good time for a Coeur d’Alene sail

Our friends Larry and Ellie Weiser own a 34-foot boat that they keep moored on Coeur d'Alene Lake. They invited us out for a Sunday sail, which turned out great because the weather was just about perfect: sunny, clear, warm and windy.

After sailing south for a couple of hours, dodging the occasional powerboat but mostly just enjoying the lake's relative emptiness, we headed back north to take in a dinner at Tony's on the Lake, which — according to its sign — offers "Italian Inspired Cuisine." I had the Fettuccini alla Bolognese (which, to be honest, was merely so-so). My wife's Pollo al Mattone was better, but Ellie's Tortellacci di Carne (little tortellini filled with beef and veal and covered in what tasted iike a butter-sage sauce) was delicious.

We washed it all down with a couple bottles of red wine, which helped us — along with some essence of clove (we were told) that the servers kept spraying around — battle the yellow jackets that seemed as interested in the food as we were.

Then we paid, got back on the boat and — after exchanging a quick greeting with my old friend, former Spokaeman-Review sportswriter Dave Trimmer — leisurely sailed back to the mooring. Under a nearly full waxing moon, unencumbered by a single cloud, the moment was about a perfect as it could be.

I guess a winning Powerball ticket might have made things slightly better. But I can handle only so many First-World problems at a time.