SLC Vacation 2018

July 15, 2018 | Rob

After moving to New York, we had originally thought of planning to come back to visit our families around Christmastime. But then we realized that we would miss our last chance to fly Alex for free before he turns two. So, being the cheapskates that we are, we switched to a summer vacation around the Independence Day holiday instead. This worked out better anyway because I think the summer frees up more people to visit since they are free from the stress of the holidays, not to mention the unpredictability of the weather. Since it's a lot more difficult to make the trip back to Utah now, this trip was longer than I usually stay.

There is an airport in Binghamton that flies Delta, and several other airports within driving distance. We ended up finding the cheapest flights through Rochester on Southwest, which is 2.5 hours away. So we drove up to Rochester on a Friday night after work, and stayed in a cheap hotel that night. The next day we were able to take our time in the morning and catch an afternoon flight. Now that he walks (and sometimes runs), Alex is a lot more wily than he used to be and he won't sit still for very long. So I was worried about how he'd handle the flight. We were prepared with toys, snacks, milk, and videos. He slept for most of the first flight (as did I), and did ok on the longer connecting flight to the destination. My parents picked us up in Salt Lake that evening.

We tried to sleep in on Sunday to combat jet lag, and then Alex took a long nap that morning, which made us miss most of church. In any case, I got to go and say hi to a few old neighbors. Later that day, most of my siblings and their families stopped by and we enjoyed visiting and playing. Every time I go home to visit, my dad has a new car to show off -- as in new for him because it is usually something older that he has acquired and fixed. This time it was something really old - a Model T from the late 30's I believe. Alex's younger cousins really wanted to play with him, but he was still a bit shy and clingy. But Finley was able to take him for a ride down the sidewalk in the Barbiemobile, and later, grandpa took him for a ride in the Model T.

Jim and Mel spearheaded plans on Monday to go to Jordanelle reservoir - the closest thing Salt Lake has to a beach besides the Great Salt Lake itself. Most of the family came, and we had fun using everyone's paddleboards and kayaks. Alex really enjoyed playing in the sand. We also go to do some tubing on Linda and Alan's boat (which quickly put Alex to sleep).

Not much was planned for Tuesday, so we left Alex with grandma and grandpa and took a trip to the temple. It's not something we get to do very often anymore because we don't have family nearby that we can leave Alex with, and the closest temple here is a few hours away in Palmyra. I wanted to take Becky to the Salt Lake temple, which she's never been inside. But we got there only to realize that is was closed. Fortunately in Utah, you're never very far from another temple. So we turned around and went to the Jordan River temple. It recently underwent a lot of renovations, and although I was once very familiar with it, I couldn't find my way around it now without some help. Later that evening, we went with Jim and his girls to the Clark Planetarium and the water pad at the nearby Gateway mall. I was really impressed that the Clark Planetarium has free admission -- most children's science museums would charge at least $10. One of SLC's greatest assets is the number of things there are to do for kids, which is something I can really appreciate now.

Wednesday was July 4th, and we began the day by driving up Big Cottonwood Canyon and hiking with some of my family to Silver Lake. Jim lent me an old baby backpack carrier that worked well for Alex, and even let me take it home. I've been wanting to get one of those. There is a nicely laid out meadow at the beginning of the trail near the Silver Lake community, and we spent some time afterwards hanging out there so Alex could run around a bit. Later that day, we went over to Jim and Mel's and had BBQ and other food, played volleyball, let the kids run around, and eventually did fireworks. With all of the activity, Alex wasn't getting his regular naps in, so after some crankiness he finally passed out inside during the fireworks. 

Thursday morning we joined some of the family at the Murray pool. It's a pretty classic place that reminds me of The Sandlot and hasn't changed much since my childhood. For whatever reason, Alex was very clingy and just wasn't into it. Although he once used to get really excited about baths, he hasn't wanted to get in the water much at all since he started walking. I think his distaste for water extends to pools as well. I'm sure he'll get over that someday. We had been staying with my parents and their new over-friendly puppy that Alex was not a fan of. But they left up to Canada for a family reunion on my dad's side, and so we left up to my sister Linda's place in Heber later that day to spend a couple days with her family. It's always nice to stay with them because their place feels like a cabin vacation in the woods -- they are a bit out there in the sticks, or mountain rather. To thank them for their hospitality and babysitting, we made them spiedies for dinner, which are a local culinary tradition we have enjoyed. They are basically sandwiches with meat marinated in Italian dressing with spices. 

On Friday, we hung out with Mason and Keaton, who took us kayaking at a nearby lake and for a ride on their new all-terrain vehicle. Later that evening, we took advantage of their babysitting offers and drove to Pleasant Grove to visit our friend Shane for dinner at Cravings Bistro. He invited two other couples he is close with and we had a great time chatting, telling stories, and enjoying gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. Afterwards, we went to Shane's house to chat more and see what he's done with the place he bought there so far. We knew Shane from the mid-singles scene in Arizona before we were married, and became friends because he was one of those guys that was always up for making plans, hanging out, organizing ping-pong tournaments, and chatting extensively about various obscure bands and types of food.

We went back to my parents' house on Saturday, and didn't do too much else besides visit with Jim and Mel and enjoy some Cafe Rio for the second time. We miss good Mexican food, it's hard to find in upstate New York. Jim showed me his Nintendo emulator and I realized that my skills at Dr. Mario have significantly diminished since I was a teenager. 

On Sunday, we went to Victoria and Erik's ward. Although it's not the ward I grew up in, it kind of feels like it because so many of my old neighbors are now in those boundaries. It was a busy day. Later, we had dinner with them and let Alex run free in Victoria's dance studio. He really comes alive down there -- something about the open space and echos in there I guess, he just runs around and screams. After that, we stopped by to visit some old friends of mine that I grew up with two doors down. Britton and Brandon were there at their parents' house visiting with their families on what happened to be their birthday. Alex passed out on Becky as we swapped stories about our glorious youth, many birthdays ago. After that, I went solo over to my brother Bill's place to see his new house in the downtown area that he is fixing up. It's an old place in a nice location with a lot of personality, but it definitely needs a bit of TLC. His kids came over too and we grilled some kebabs.

Monday was our last day, and we didn't do too much besides laundry and packing up. My parents were still on their way back from Canada, and so Victoria took us to the airport. Becky and Alex were flying to Arizona to see her family while I was flying back to New York, and we planned it so that we would leave at about the same time. That worked great for me. We got there plenty early, and Alex was pretty good at the airport. But after I boarded my flight, it didn't go so well for Becky. Phoenix was in the midst of yet another haboob, and her flight was delayed by a few hours after getting on and off the plane a couple times. I swear Phoenix is the only place in the Western hemisphere, maybe the whole world, where flights are often delayed due to inclement sand storms. Anyway, she said Alex handled it pretty well and they eventually connected with her family, where they will be for the rest of the month while I fly solo in New York.

Speaking of flying solo, I got into Rochester pretty late that night, so I got a hotel since I didn't need to be back to work until Wednesday. So Tuesday morning, I took my time driving back to Binghamton and stopped at Watkins Glen State Park along the way. This popular hiking spot has been on my list of things to see for a while. It's nicely laid out trail with steps along a waterway with lots of cascades and bridges. It's not a rugged off-the-beaten-path sort of hike, and the trail was full of tourists, but its pretty nice nonetheless. It reminds me of some parts of Zions National Park. Since I was by myself, I walked quickly along most of the trails to scout them out so we can go back there someday soon with the baby backpack carrier I got from Jim.

It's always hard to see everything and everyone that you would like to during a visit to the homestead, but I feel like our time was well spent. I think the summer timing worked out well, and we'll hopefully make the summer trip home a tradition for us. 

You can find pictures from Utah here, videos here, and also pictures from my hike at Watkins Glen here.