We'll Always have (Cafe) Rio...

I went to Utah.

I went to Utah this past weekend. I went for a wedding. Let me just say that very little in this world will entice me to go to Utah.
I simply do not like it there, Sam-I-Am.

You see. I went to school there. Against my own wishes. But according to my better judgement. I went to "The BYU," which is an entirely sound and delightful institution of higher learning. I received a great education there, hands-down, no-disputin' it. But I never really enjoyed the "College Experience" that BYU had to offer. And the campus, while clean, just didn't live up to my expectations of a college campus after having attending Indiana University (Beautiful campus!!).

As for Utah in general: I never really enjoyed the "Culture." (Call me crazy but I hate Jello) And there are just SOOOOO many Mormons in Utah! Geesh.

(Yes, I am Mormon also. So you could conclude that I ought to have fit in there... but I grew up in Northern California with *shock/horror* cultural diversity! And Berkeleyonite hippies. And call me crazy again, but I like diversity. And most hippies. And I want to grow old wearing long, flowy pants and tunics and scarves. True story.)

Anyhoo... Things that could get me to go to Utah include:

1. Skiing. It's pretty much awesome there. Great powder! Brighton. Park City. Love them!
2. Family doing stuff there. (Luckily I don't have much family there, so...)
3. A dear old college roommate getting married there.
4. Stopping there on a layover in the Salt Lake airport (grudgingly).
5. Not freaking much else!

Oh.
6. Zion National Park. I want to go.

So, that's it.

Wait!
Number 7 (lucky 7): Cafe Rio! YUM.

Can you guess what dragged me up there this time?

Bingo!!! Numero Tre.

A wedding.

And ya know what? I had fun. And when the wedding was over I found myself with an entire extra day. So I took two field trips.

I'll tell you about the first in another post.

The second field trip was to The Great Salt Lake! It's a real place you know. It's salty. And great. And a lake. Not unlike the Dead Sea.

And when I went (for the life of me I don't know why I'd never been, what with going to BYU for three years and all.) the sky had just finished a putting on a gorgeous display of lightning and rain and moody cloudiness, and was in the process of clearing all that away AND bringing on the sunset. What a lot of work all at once, right?

Well, that whole mess looked pretty much amazing.

See?