Thursday, September 14, 2006

Park City/ Salt Lake City: Wednesday Sept 13 and back to Houston Sept. 14th.

So it was time to head home. We did decide to purchase a time share from the Marriott resort we stayed at. You can see the hot tubs and rooms at the link.

It was nice to head back to Salt Lake City. Bernie and Jeff headed out for one more game of golf, and dropped me off at the Family History library, where I wanted to see if I could identify when/where my grandparents were married (sometime between 1918 and June 1920). I didn't have any luck with that search, looking at all the marriage records for Washington DC for that time period.

Jeff and Bernie picked me up and we went out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Delicious food! Erika joined us too, and we visited awhile at the apartment afterwards.

We packed up and got ready to be at the airport at 6 am (yawn), and me to be at work that evening.

And that's the end of the journal of Salt Lake City and Park City.

And tomorrow, I leave for Dallas!

Catch me if you can...I'm heading for Victorian Elegance.

Park City/SLC pictures

Random pictures from the trip.

Grandbaby Sebastian aka "Meowsie"
Berries from second day of golf. Loved the pale blue, pale green and pink stem.
Cucumber from Jeff's garden
More rose hips Posted by Picasa

Park City continued part 2

Once we got home Jeff came up to join us for a dinner. We chose a Southwestern style restaurant that was fabulous.

I loved the metal goblets, they made the water (delicious mountain stream water) taste even more icy cold.
I ordered a buffalo dish.
Bernie got elk.

We switched as I found the buffalo was a little too flavorful for my palate.

Jeff, seen in the background here, ordered Trout Fajitas.

Oh. My. Gosh.

A taste sensation, should I ever go trout fishing again.

Were these not the most delicious looking meals?

(In the center of the restaurant were about 20 men having a gathering of some sort...bottles of wine and appetizers galore.
My jaw dropped when I realized that the shrimp cocktail that one man was consuming was being held by a bowl in which swam a siamese fighting fish...a blue one....AKA a Beta fish. I don't know if I could handle eating shrimp with a live fish giving me the fishy eye!)

After our meal we headed back to the resort, and dangled our feet in a hot tub while Jeff had a macanudo cigar and we enjoyed the stars in the city light free black sky, under an autumn half moon.

Sweet. Posted by Picasa

Park City continued

Strawberry Lake, fed by Strawberry River and Strawberry Creek, all of which made you want to fish!

I loved how the clouds reflected in the water.
This area was red soil.
Purple aster like flowers lined the road.

I didn't get a picture, but we stopped for lunch at at gas station/truck stop. The owner was a New Zealander, and I had a hamburger "Kiwi style", which meant with a fried egg atop the meat.

It was yummy!
We ate as a the two year old son of the waitress experimented with unscrewing the top of the salt and pepper shakers and "seasoning" the Kiwi's lunch.

Cute little baby! Busy, busy boy. Posted by Picasa
Tuesday we headed out for a drive through the area. We went through Heber Valley, out the 40 East, then swung down 191 South and back up on the 6 West. About 250 miles of "Stop the car, I want a picture!" driving.

I thought this was a pretty funny toilet paper holder at one gas station.
At one point the rocks were white and castle like.
Then around the bend there would be valleys like this.
Aspen seemed to not have any consensus about when to change! Posted by Picasa

Park City: Day two continued

We finished our drive around and went for dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant.

They had what seems to be the trend in Italian restaurants of paper on the tables and crayons with which to color. This wasn't the chain restaurant so common in Texas and Colorado...so I am just guessing that it is an Italian thing?


Aspen not yet turned yellow.
Scribbling before the meal.
Bernie is happy...gin and tonic, and some red wine, and eggplant parm has made his sore throat less annoying! Posted by Picasa

Park City journal:

Park City is where the Winter Olympics were held. We drove around just sight seeing.

This first picture interested me as the fall colors were only on one side of the hill, and abruptly changed at a point that was almost a perfect line.

(Blogger using Picasa will only allow four pictures per post by the way....which is why I am spliting up some of the days)


Posted by Picasa

Salt Lake City journal: Day 4

Sunday evening we headed up to Park City, about an hour up from Salt Lake City, where we stayed at the Marriott Mountainside Resort.
Six hot tubs under man made waterfalls were under our 6th floor window, which overlooked the ski slopes in their autumnal best dress sans snow.

Monday was 9/11. It was surprising what a weight that was, just seeing news reports and headlines. Bernie had picked up a bit of a sore throat, so we decided to take it easy, and just shop through old Park City.

We went through each and every gallery and shop. Bernie was so patient, however, I think I had been a pretty good sport to ride along for two days of golf!

I bought myself a turquoise ring. It was, again, just a lovely day to look at art and just enjoy being together. Posted by Picasa

Salt Lake City journal: Day 3 continued

Proof that I was on the mountain!
There were two of these nests, we guessed ground squirrels or chipmunks?
The sun beaming through the clouds.

There was a German Octoberfest going on at the foot of the mountains. It was so-so.

We drove up the road a bit more for an amazing Sunday brunch on the hillside. We lolled under umbrellas on the deck while the mountains just shone in autumn spendor.

The eggs benedicts and crepes were stupendous.
We ate our fill and then just relaxed and stared at the mountains.
 Posted by Picasa

Salt Lake City journal: Day 3 continued

After church we headed up the mountains to Snow Bird/ Brighton area to take the tram to the top of the mountains.

The aspen was changed to yellow only in this one patch!
The guys are usually up here with skiis and googles and jackets. I NEVER am up here in the snow...I just find skiing to be a painful on my feet and terrifying to my brain experience, so to visit on such a lovely day without SNOW was a delight for me! Posted by Picasa

Salt Lake City journal: Day 3

Sunday we went to early service. Again, beautiful day, the sky a fabulous blue. I loved worshipping with my husband and son...something that doesn't happen often with our far flung family.

I think the First Presbyterian Church of SLC is gorgeous. There are two huge stain glassed windows on either side of the church, one of the Nativity and one of the Resurrection.


The front and sides of the church have lovely flower beds. Everyone was so friendly, it was a time of all around delight.

The balloons were part of the church's recruitment Sunday, a chance to sign up for the church's various committees and service projects.

And no, I wasn't wearing a hat, although with all that sun I sure missed having one with me. Posted by Picasa

Salt Lake City journal: Day 2 continued

Golf game done, we headed back to Salt Lake City and downtown to the Greek festival.

Girlfriend Erika joined us in the mob scene.
We got waaaaayyyyyy too much food, but it was delicious the next day too.
The best part was watching the lovely and energenic Greek dancers, and listening to the Greek music. We were all swaying to the beat, and I actually found myself wanting to join a folk dance club. Anyone who knows me well knows I have ZERO rhythm. So that is saying a lot. Posted by Picasa

Salt Lake City journal: Day 2

Saturday September 9:

We drove to below Provo to Hobble Creek golf course (lucky me....)

The fall folage was gorgeous, the day perfect temperature, lovely streams running through the links, and I just enjoyed being with my guys and seeing the beautiful colors. The mountains were like a bowl shape around the course, and huge thunderheads kept building, but it didn't rain a drop until we drove off the course.

Cigar break.
I guess I should blog what the guys scores were. Bernie said he shot an 88.
It was beautiful, I just don't remember the numbers at all! Posted by Picasa