Well, well, well. It’s been quite a week.
As I mentioned in some earlier blog posts, last Friday was my final day at Microsoft. It was a bittersweet departure for me…I’d been there for a long time (especially for me.) A small group of work friends went to lunch at the sit-down restaurant on campus. I got a steak sandwich and perhaps one of the greatest inventions in the history of mankind: Sweet Potato Fries. (Cue: Choir of Angels). Then, my boss scheduled a little celebration for the whole team for my leaving. I’m not sure if they were honoring me or celebrating the fact that I was FINALLY gone. (I’ll chose to think the former. I just like living in that world of oblivion.) He got pie. (Have I ever mentioned how much I love pie? I haven’t? Well, I love pie.)
It ended up working out that I was able to take a week off between leaving Microsoft and starting at DataSphere. So, I woke up Saturday morning with a full week of luxuriating and lounging and being a bum ahead of me. As I was laying in bed snuggling with my puppy, trying to avoid getting out of bed, I had a thought. Now, normally, I try to avoid having thoughts as, more often than not, my thoughts only lead me down dark and dangerous roads from which there is no possible return. This time was no different. I was laying in bed thinking about a conversation I had with my cousin earlier in the week. Austin and I have been close since we were little kids. He’s only six months older than I am, and when we got together we were dangerous. Well, dangerous in only the way that two goody-two-shoes Mormon kids can be dangerous…which is to say we weren’t dangerous at all, just really annoying. Anyway, Austin and his wife were travelling to Utah to visit with his parents…who only live about five minutes away from my parents. As I was laying there in bed, I thought. "It’s too bad that I can’t be down in Utah while Austin and Anna are there. I’d like to see them again. Wait a minute. Why can’t I be down in Utah?" I didn’t have any work considerations, why not go. So, at 8AM, I called up my folks and said, "So, um, would you mind terribly if I just drove down to Utah today?" Then I called up Constance at Paws-A-Moment, the awesome boarding facility at which Luke stays when I’m travelling, and by 10:30 AM, I was on the road.
Thirteen hours and one really terrible audiobook later, I pulled into Syracuse, UT at about 12:30 AM. (Yes, I know that 10:30 AM to 12:30 AM is not 13 hours. There’s a time zone change. Sheesh.) (And seriously, that audiobook was AWFUL!)
Thus began my very short, but very fun spontaneous vacation to Utah.
Sunday, the folks and I drove across the causeway to Antelope Island, out in the Great Salt Lake, and took a boatload of photos. It was an absolutely stunning day, and the island was beautiful. I got a LOT of really great shots, including the really cool shot that is now the banner image for my new photoblog. Below is the view from the east side of the island looking back toward the Wasatch mountain range. (Click on the image to see the full-sized version. Warning: It’s HUGE.
We putzed around the rest of the evening, and took a walk down to the little pond/park at the end of my parent’s street. Again, I got some more great pictures of some of the local birds. Especially these little ducklings!
So cute. Monday morning (Memorial Day) dawned extremely early as my dad, uncle, and I decided to hike Adam’s Canyon just east of Layton. Getting up at 5:30 in the morning is against my religion. And getting up at 5:30 in the morning ON VACATION is even more evil, but nevertheless, I set aside my deeply held beliefs in order to appease my tormentors. By 6:30, we were starting a long uphill climb to a very pretty area with a big, 40-foot waterfall.
The hike was tiring, but very pretty. I carried all my camera gear along with me to take a bunch of pictures…a few of which turned out all right. It reminded me that before I go on any long backpacking trip, I really do need to get into better shape. By the end, my legs were like Jello and I felt the need to sleep for the rest of my life.
After the hike and my nap, my sister, brother-in-law, and niece came to my parents house to visit, then we all went over to my aunt and uncle’s house to have a little BBQ (not a really barbeque…just grilling burgers) and enjoy each other’s company. It was nice to see everyone, the food was great, and the weather was just perfect.
No, she’s not screaming or crying. She’s making a (hilarious) camera face.
Tuesday was much more laid back. Austin, Anna, and I went to this little dive called The Star Cafe in Layton, which serves "Utah Scones." I’m going to write a whole blog post about Utah Scones vs. Regular Scones (Utah Scones SO win) so you don’t get a picture now. Stay tuned for that little gem. Breakfast was awesome. This is one of those places where you could become "a regular" and the waitresses know your name and know what you want when you come in. Plus it was CHEAP! Austin, Anna, and I ate enough to sustain a small third world country for about a week, and it ended up costing us $23. Whereas, I can usually spend more than that just for myself at my cafe here, and still not get as much food. Good on ya’, Star Cafe!
The rest of the day we just spend hanging out. We ran some errands, watched The Princess and the Frog, ate Cafe Rio (my most-missed Utah food) including their awesome Tres Leches, and did some work on Dad’s computer. Then, Wednesday, I was back in the car for another 13-hour drive back home to Seattle. And, of course, about an hour before I got back home, it started raining, and hasn’t stopped since I got back. (Not that I’m bitter.)
I’ve never really done something that spontaneous before. It was a lot of fun. I actually even enjoyed the car ride. I tell you what: a good audiobook or two really make the time just fly. (For military or sci-fi nerds out there, I would HIGHLY recommend Jack Campbell’s Lost Fleet series. Very captivating.) I am the kind of person who generally plans his activities and doesn’t generally like having to change my plans at the last minute. I was just planning on working on my website, maybe starting my next audiobook, and playing some video games. Instead, I got to take about 800 photos, see distant friends and family, eat some great food, enjoy the sunshine for a couple of days (since we haven’t seen it in Seattle since last October), and let someone else clean up after me for a change!
The moral of the story? Aw, hell. I don’t really do morals. Just suffice it to say that if the opportunity arises to make a surprise visit to my family again, I’m totally going to do it. Big thanks to mom & dad for the flexibility, and to Rich & Barb for saving space for one more for Memorial Day! It was a blast.
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Sally
