What a weekend!
My wife and I took a spontaneous getaway to Salt Lake City, Utah.
All of last week, we were planning on going to the Finger Lakes in New York. But most of the B&B’s and hotels were booked, plus the weather was supposed to be rainy.
So I thought, “Why don’t we try to do a ‘last-minute’ sort of trip…maybe we can get a deal?”
I downloaded the Hotel Tonight iPhone app, looked at their list of cities, and saw Salt Lake City. We’d never been. “Let’s go,” we said.
My father-in-law works for a major airline, so we’re able to get standby tickets.
We reserved our tickets, left for the airport, got on the flight, booked a ‘last-minute deal’ hotel room, and by midnight we were there.
The next morning we had breakfast, rented a Ford Focus, got some maps (I am not a GPS type of person…a brain and a compass usually beats a GPS!), and off we were to the Great Salt Lake.
First time I’ve ever seen a bison! I’ve eaten them, but never seen one in person. Their heads are huge, by the way.
Afterwards, we drove back toward Salt Lake City, stopped for some lunch, then booked a hotel downtown. This much activity deserved a nap, and we took advantage. Later, we found a hip Italian restaurant and had a D.O.C. Margherita Pizza (D.O.C. stands for ‘Denominazione di Origine Controllata’, aka the real deal margherita pizza, as they make them in Naples).
Then we checked out the University of Utah campus, stopped at a Whole Foods for water bottles for the next day, and hit the sack back at the hotel.
The next morning we drove to the trendy 9th and 9th neighborhood and found the go-to café – The Coffee Garden.
Maybe it was the neighborhood, but Salt Lake City is definitely a place for hipsters. The state is very outdoor-oriented also, which I love. There is a laid-back vibe in the air.
After breakfast, we drove east through the mountains to go to Park City, Utah, home of the Sundance Film Festival.
We did a little shopping, then continued on our drive to a geothermal, underground mineral water crater at the Homestead Resort in Midway, where we swam in the warm, deep-hued turquoise waters.
This was the epitome of relaxation.
My skin felt smoother than I think it’s ever felt before. If you can ever swim in natural mineral water, I recommend it!
The next destination on our trip was Sundance, Robert Redford’s famous mountain resort. On the way there, we drove along the long and winding Deer Creek Reservoir, a popular recreational area. Maybe we’ll swim here next time?
Eventually we got to Sundance, where we bought a few gifts at the store, whose establishment preceded the well-known Sundance catalogue.
We had some food from the café, then headed back towards our hotel we booked by the airport in Salt Lake City, but not before making another stop at The Coffee Garden in 9th by 9th to unwind for the evening.
Utah, thanks for the memorable trip!
Look out for paintings in the next couple months of beautiful Utah scenes!