salt lake city

I had a free companion ticket on Southwest airlines and asked my good friend if she wanted to go on holiday with me.  She of course said yes.  The only caveat was that she was going to have to plan our stay in the MST.  I was consumed with work and would not be able to make an itinerary, car rental, or arrangements for our stay.  All I had time to do was book our flight and Uber to the airport and curate a list of potential places to dine.

She chose Salt Lake City, Utah. And just like that, we were off.

Day one. 

This was our Airbnb.  It was conveniently located close to downtown SLC.  She said that she tried to book a hotel but they were full.   As long as the bed is comfortable, that’s all I needed at that time.

It was a long day for both of us since we both worked the day we left California.  I took a shower and changed into my pajamas while she did her homework.  We went over our schedule for the next couple of days and I helped her finish up her homework before we fell asleep.

Day two. 

We had brunch at Whiskey Street.  We couldn’t believe how much less expensive the food was in comparison to Southern California.  It was at least half the price cheaper…like what the actual fuck?

We went overboard with ordering food because this was like a damn treat to us.

The deviled eggs: pimento cheese, bourbon smoked paprika, double smoked bacon, pickled mustard seed, and chives.

Cheese curds.  I needed this.  I was raised on the dairy.  Too bad my friend who is lactose intolerant couldn’t partake in this deliciousness.  That just meant more for me.  Muhahahaha!

Whiskey burgers: certified Angus beef, smoked cheddar, caramelized onions, tomato, ancho chile aioli, arugula, and Whiskey Street BBQ sauce on the side for both.

I like my meat medium rare or medium.

We quickly found out why the hotels were all full.  It was the All-Star weekend.  All these black SUVS cruising around the city and long lines of people waiting outside to catch a glimpse of their favorite athlete or celebrity.

We snagged tickets  for the All-Star Celebrity Game.  We had pretty good seats and got to see Simu Liu, Ozuna, 21 Savage, Janelle Monae, Guillermo Rodriguez, Kan Brown, Ranveer Singh,  and other celebs run around on the court. I was for team Dwyane and to our delight, they won.

Since the city was full of visitors, getting last minute rezzies was nearly impossible.  We ducked into a vegan restaurant and ate food that was mid.  It was forgettable TBH.  So forgettable that I don’t even recall the name of the place.

We decided to call it an early night because we were still tired from the day before.

Day three.

We woke up early in the morning and made our way to Loki Coffee to wake up.  I desperately needed caffeine.  I had a basic Americano and she ordered tea.  I admire people who don’t need good ole fashioned espresso.

Then it was off to Midway to go to the Ice Castles.  The whole drive was a mood and so scenic.  It was gorgeous.

We were famished and grabbed a bite to eat a quick brunch on the way there.  Of course I had an avo toast with eggs.

When we got to the Ice Castles, we were very underwhelmed.  At least I was. I had seen the ice palaces in Minnesota and this did not look like that at all.  It just seemed like mounds of snow and no actual palace looking figure in sight.

After walking through the sculptures in ten minutes, we wondered if we had enough time to go to Moab but since it was already in the afternoon, we wouldn’t get there till 1700 and we still had our Airbnb.  That was not enough time to even enjoy Moab so we decided to see what else was around town.

We hit up Ogden since it was on the way back to go skiing and snowboarding.  We also walked around the quaint city and took in the views.

We had to get caffeinated again, this time from Bjorn’s Brew.  We loved the fact that they donated to animal charities.  It was a Lavender Americano for me.

By the time we got back to our place, we were so tired that we just fell asleep without even changing our clothes or brushing our teeth.

Day four.

The next morning, we went to the Natural History Museum of Utah where the had the Ankor exhibit.  I got to read and see artifacts from the ancient empire and see the colonialism, religious evolution, and technological advances.

On the third floor they had indigenous art and on the first floor there were dinosaurs displayed.

We had reservations at HSL later that evening.  I ordered the Cauliflower which was like General Tso style.

This was our final night and we wanted to be rested for tomorrow since we had a few things lined up before our flight.

Day five.

I loved the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.  At UMFA, they had the Ancient Mediterranean Art: Res Mortis exhibit.  They had different traditional funeral objects such as tomb offerings, ceramics, and Egyptian coffin.

We took a walk around the capitol and checked out the shop across the street.

And what’s a visit to Utah without going to the Salt Lake Tabernacle? We saw a live performance by the choir and the organist.  The Mormons were quite nice and eager to answer any questions that we had.  I was half expecting them to kidnap us and force their religion upon us but they didn’t do that.

Things that we learned on this holiday.  When two introverts go on vacation, it’s going to be fucking boring.  There were a lot of moments when we sat in silence.  I was fine with it but I could tell that she was not.  When we’ve gone out of state or out of the country together, it’s been with other people who are extroverts.  Also, five days was a bit too long, I think that we could have done three days in SLC and two days in Moab.  But now I know and knowing is half the battle.  The next time I’m in Utah, I’d want to visit Moab and Kanab.