Priceless

Plane ticket from Los Angeles to Spokane: $340

Derailer at Shooter’s on Coeur d’Alene lake: $15

Hanging out with John Elway: Priceless

Well, I’m back from vacation, and yes, I did hang out with John Elway, famed Denver Broncos Hall of Fame NFL quarterback and my boyfriend’s childhood idol. We were at Shooter’s having a Derailer when John (as we like to call him) walked up with his friend Paul and began talking to us about our day on the lake. We talked about boating, they talked about golfing, and before we knew it, John was insisting we try his very favorite drink, 44 North vodka on the rocks. So we did, his treat, and then there were toasts, pats on the back, and another round. By the time we left, we were tripping over our feet, half from the drinks and half from the excitement of hanging out with someone little boys write letters to.

When we passed them in our boat on our way out of the bay, John called out to us to enjoy our time on the lake. We called out the same and sped off to share the story with anyone who would listen.

“I used to write him so many letters and beg him to write me back,” my boyfriend said on the way back. “And I told him that if he was ever in town, he should stop by my grandma’s house on Grant St. because she was a big fan, too.”

I laughed and shook my head in awe. It was such a neat, neat thing to happen, and I’m so glad I was there to experience it with him.

Before we left, I asked if he wanted me to take a picture of the two of them, but he said no, and I suppose it seems fitting. Without the pictures snapping and the autographs being signed, they were just two guys sitting at the bar, sipping on huckleberry flavored vodka and shooting the breeze. And really, isn’t that what all of us "grown ups" would like to do with the people we once dreamed of growing up to be?