Hiking the U (Almost)

Isa and I were missing Broadway and we really wanted to go see a show, so we found a high school in West Jordan (that’s the “other side of the tracks” for those of you not from around here) that was putting on Seussical the Musical. We had never seen it, and it was only $10. So we drove down (we rented a car for the weekend) to see it.

They actually did a pretty good job. We found out that although it was held at the high school, it was put on by a community theater. So it wasn’t just high school kids. The Cat in the Hat was fun – very talented and charismatic (although I would have loved to see this on Broadway, because I think he would have been really great). Our favorite character was actually Myrtle McGirdle. She was such an expressive and fun actress. We smiled every time she came on the stage. We also liked Horton.

It finished and we drove back to Salt Lake City around 10pm. Since we had a car and it was still so nice out (about 90 degrees still, with a breeze and no humidity) we decided to drive up to the U. (Here in Utah, many of the cities put a giant letter up on the mountain that you can see for miles around. Like this:

BYU has a Y. The U (University of Utah, here in Salt Lake) has a U. There’s a B for Bountiful, a G for Pleasant Grove, and all sorts of other letters depending on where you go.

Isa and I hiked the Y when we drove through here two years ago, and it was hot and miserable and long and really just not a very good experience. But I had heard that hiking the U was much easier (for the pansies that go to the U, that makes sense). So we decided to try it. And easier it was.

You can drive pretty much right up to it. Then you take a sidewalk straight across to a road, walk for about 30 seconds, and you’re right below it. Then you need to hike up the mountain for about 100 feet. Not bad, huh?

Well we didn’t make it. The dirt on the trail was so dry and loose that our sandals couldn’t get a grip. We got about three fourths of the way there (so I was about 20 feet away from the bottom of it) and we decided to turn back. Turning around was probably the hardest part of that hike.

So if you want to hike the U, make sure you have about 5 minutes and some good sneakers.

A New Era

Well, well, well. It's been a while and things have changed a bit since we last updated you, blog. I'm sorry for our neglect, but to be fair, we've been busy. And if it makes you feel any better, we really haven’t updated facebook or foursquare either. And poor twitter has absolutely no idea what’s happening. As far as twitter is concerned, we're still relaxing with the Mayor in NYC.

So here we go.

We no longer live in New York City. (gasp!) I know. It hurts. And we miss it. As much as we try not to admit that we miss it every day, and we’re doing much better at not mentioning how much we miss it every day, the fact of the matter is that we do. There’s just no place like the City.

We’ve moved to downtown Salt Lake City. We live across from City Creek, which is a beautiful shopping center.

Instagrammed pic from inside City Creek.

We live about a two blocks from the temple, and one block from Trax. I take Trax to work every morning (we’re planning on not buying a car – that’s right Utah, it actually is possible to live here without a car).

I work for Del Sol. I’m the new Sales Training Manager. I love it. I’m overhauling everything and making it much easier to access and use the tremendous amount of sales training content we have available, with the intent on helping our stores learn and implement the skills they need to succeed in our slower economy.

I also go to school full time. Yeah, it’s kind of a busy time for me. I have one year of insanity before I never have to go to school again. Ever. I enjoy my classes so far. I’m currently taking classes in history, writing, and marketing. One of the requirements in my writing course is to maintain a blog. So here you go. Entry #1.

Temple Square to Las Vegas ROAD TRIP!!

After Spokane, Isa and I flew down to Salt Lake City to see friends and stuff. Isa had never been to Utah (or Vegas) so we wanted to do and see as much as possible. So we started out at Temple Square. If you haven't been there, you should go. It's really pretty and not just for mormons. We were there on a Friday so we played "spot the bride" most of the time. There were plenty of newlyweds around and it's always fun to see (and judge) the wedding gowns they chose.

I had never been up to the top of the church office building, so we did that. It's really cool and offers fantastic views of the capital building, the temple, the grounds, and the conference center.


The guides up top are also full of cool little insights too, so I highly recommend you talk to them. For example, did you know the capital building is built on a foundation of rubber pillars, allowing it to sway up to 2 feet in any direction in case of an earthquake (which is apparently long overdue).

After a day in SLC, we took off down toward Vegas. We made a stop in St. George to go on a little hike. We went up to Snow Canyon and hiked the sand dunes (which are super cool and really fun to see the wind whipping across them - and then pelting you which is not as fun) and then we went over to Jenny's Canyon. It's a really small canyon, but it gives you a good example (albeit on a MUCH smaller scale) of what Zion's canyons look like.


After our hike, we went on to Vegas, which is always farther than I think. If you've ever driven to Vegas, you know what I mean. I always think, "This is it... Just up and around this bend and you'll see Vegas." And then it's still not there for another 50 miles. Boo. But we finally made it and visited with my little brother Jason and his family (wife Christy, 3-year-old Ty, and baby Madison Jayne). We went to dinner and to see their new house (a ridiculous 5-bedroom house that they can actually afford because of the housing crisis in Vegas) and then we headed in to play on the strip.


We saw the volcano explode at the Mirage, we walked through the Venetian through the Grand Canal, and of course we saw the water show at the Bellagio.


Vegas has also changed a lot since I was last there. The whole new Aria and City Center right in the middle of the Strip was new to me. And I don't remember the Encore next to the Wynn either. But of all the new things that I noticed, probably the most surprising was a wonderful little restaurant out front of Caesar's Palace. (Go ahead and click on the picture to enlarge it.)


Yeah! Serendipity 3 is there now, complete with $10 Frrrozen Hot Chocolates. MMMmmm. Vegas baby, YEAH!!