Sunday, March 6, 2022

Mosaic Monday #168: A Little Getaway

Dear readers: strap on your seatbelts, we're going for a ride!  Skiing?  Check.  Flying?  Check.  Delectable eats?  Check.  Retail therapy?  Check.  Family time?  Check.  Our getaway in Idaho and Utah was delightful in every way you can imagine.  Come take a look!

We drove to Idaho Falls to visit #1 Son, and the temperature gauge never exceeded 5 degrees F.  He met us at his apartment, and his pride was evident as he showed us the new digs.  We delivered a few more boxes and other possessions, which we could not squeeze into either vehicle during the original move (see January 23 post), and then we headed out for dinner.  He was excited to share one of his favorite restaurants, The Cuban Table.  And he warned Spousal Unit: "Don't even get out your wallet!"


The next day, we continued heading south for three hours, aiming for the Utah mountain home of my oldest brother and his wife.  After unloading the 4Runner, we chatted about the plan for the upcoming week, and quickly came to the conclusion that the afternoon would be one of the best opportunities for my sister-in-law and I to pop into Shepherd's Bush.  If this sounds familiar, it is because I wrote about it in December 2020, recounting our previous Utah road trip.  On that occasion, we were not able to enter this fine needlework store due to the pandemic.  So, just like a kid that is only allowed to look at candy through a shop window, my anticipation was at a fever pitch.  And, I was not disappointed.  I could have bought many more projects, but I limited myself to these four, all fairly small in size.  For some time, I have wanted some "seasonal" cross-stitch that I can hang/swap out with the progression of the year, and these fit the bill perfectly.

Full of a delicious dinner of pulled pork, baked beans and squash boats, we slept like babies until it was time to rise and shine for our first day of skiing.  Snowbasin is the closest ski area, and the "home" resort for my brother and his wife.  Collectively, we decided to travel a little farther, to Park City, reasoning that crowds would be smaller there on a Thursday as compared to a Friday.  The bitterly cold temperatures continued, but that didn't prevent us from enjoying the robin's egg-blue skies and the silky smooth groomed runs.


A hot tub, margaritas and another fine meal, featuring salmon pasta, soothed aching muscles from a day on the slopes!  The next day, a 15-minute drive brought us to Snowbasin, and we were treated to a view of a moose along the way.  AND - Mother Nature had delivered six inches of fresh snow to the mountain overnight.  Could it get any better?



That evening, Taggart's Grill, a favorite local dining establishment, gave our hostess some relief from kitchen duties.  Friday night specials typically include prime rib and pot roast, and we enjoyed both of them.  I felt like I was back in my Mom's dining room as I tucked into the skillet of pot roast!  If you click on the picture at right, you can read about this historic location, which began as a quaint campground with a pet Bobcat, and developed into a restaurant famous for its individual cheesecakes, pies, cookies, coconut macaroons and carrot cake.


The next day, we took a break from skiing.  My sister-in-law went to Salt Lake City airport to collect my niece, and my brother took me flying in his newly acquired airplane!  I have flown with him a number of other times, mostly in a sailplane.  The new plane has the advantage of an engine (!), which allows options such as flying close to interesting land features, including this canyon with red rocks.



In the afternoon, my brother flew with Spousal Unit.  Since my dear hubby has been taking flying lessons and is nearing his solo flight, my brother had him take the left-hand seat - most of the instruments are there and that is typically the seat of the "pilot".  Below is a video of the plane on take-off.  


During the flight, Spousal Unit performed three rolls!  With my brother at the helm, he also experienced a backwards loop, practice stalls and more rolls.  Needless to say, he was over the moon!



A fabulous sunset was the perfect ending to this day.


On Sunday and Monday, we skied at Snowbasin, and our niece joined in.


The temperatures had re-bounded but not enough to spoil the conditions.


Salt Lake City was the site of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, and Snowbasin was chosen as the venue for the men's and women's downhill, super G and combined races.  The Allen Peak tram takes intrepid skiers to the starting point for the downhill races.  (Fortunately, you can also take the tram back down if you change your mind!)  In the collage below, Spousal Unit and I are standing to one side of the tram with a vista spread behind us.  The hut in the second picture is the starting point for the men's downhill.  My brother told us that he once sped down the course as quickly as he could, finishing in about 5 minutes.  The winning time in the 2002 Olympics was 1:39.13!!!!



We returned on the tram owing to rocky conditions at the summit, but not before catching a glimpse of the (disappearing) Great Salt Lake to the west.


Snowbasin has two gondolas, and something about watching them pass before a massive mountain appeals to the romantic in me.


One of the first dates I had with Spousal Unit (before he was Spousal Unit) was to a ski resort in Scotland - Aviemore.  He had never skied before, and spent most of the time on his bum.  That, together with his strong dislike for ski boots, probably explains why he is now a snowboarder.  But we still enjoy skiing/riding together!


On our final full day in Utah, Spousal Unit and my brother spent another day at Park City.  My sister-in-law took our niece to the airport, and then we engaged in a little more retail therapy.  The first stop was the New World Distillery in Eden.  Unfortunately, the Distillery is not offering tastings and tours at the moment, but the owner took the time to review the products.  I opted for the Apple Brandy - he suggested that it is a perfect base for a Sangria, and referred us to liquor.com for recipes.  I will have to wait until after Lent to try it since I have decided to give up all alcohol until Easter!

Our next destination was the Rainbow Gardens Gift Shop.  It is the ideal place for a unique gift, and delightful for people who like gourmet goodies, kitchen essentials, gardening items, candles, soaps, toys and fashions, not to mention a full line of Vera Bradley handbags and travel accessories.  I can't show you everything I bought because some of the items were gifts, but I can share three of their spectacular window displays, and the new garden flag that is already hanging outside!



After returning to the house, several pleasurable hours were spent cross-stitching and chatting with my sister-in-law.  In fact, quite a bit of progress was made on #1 Daughter's adult Christmas stocking on this trip - in the car, while in conversation and during various TV programs that we watched as a group.  It was one of many blessings of this getaway.  On our way back to Montana, we met up with #1 Son for another meal, this time at an Indian restaurant.  It wasn't too difficult to say good-bye since we will see him again in 78 days - in Grand Cayman.  But that's another getaway and another post!


Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.
Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.
The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Tuesday (U.S. Mountain time).
Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog.
Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back.
As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by.
Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.
Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us. 


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33 comments:

  1. Wow, what a trip you had. I'm glad the bitter cold didn't bother you. Park City is amazing. I've only been there in the summer.

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  2. What a trip ! It must be an amazing experience to ski there.

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  3. Such a beautiful mountain and what an adventure, I'll bet the skiing was something. Love that plane, I used to fly too way back in the day...in a plane of course.

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  4. wow! It seems like you had a wonderful trip with adventures. Sure, skiing is an amazing experience.
    Thanks for hosting and have a great day!

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  5. I have never skieed - no snow here - and too late to start now. But it looks wonderful, as does your holiday. And all that snow. Wonderful. Thank you for taking us along, stay safe, and thank you again for the link up.

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  6. At my childhood I was skiing, I was remembering ... it's long time ago and it was great fun.

    Yes, I understood you very well, Angie, that was a wonderful time for you and your family. That's the most important, being with the people we love ... isn't?

    I enjoyed reading.

    Happy MosaicMonday

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  7. What a wonderful time you all had! I'm sure your loved seeing your son all settled in to his apartment and job, and then spending time with your brother and his family for skiing, flying shopping and eating.
    Thanks for hosting Mosaic Monday every week, Angie!

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  8. Hello, Angie. Perfectly lovely trip with reunited families one after another, flying like a bird on the snow slopes and in an aircraft, eating delicious foods and nice shopping. I’m amazed how you keep yourself busy so happily, as always. I like to change handmade ornaments every month with the progression of year, too. Mine is padded cloth pictures crafted by my late aunt.

    Yoko

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  9. I so love to see your shots with all that snow, we had such a warm Winter, it seemed Spring until the beginning of March when Winter has arrived, but our fruit trees are already in bloom, alas!
    Thanking you for hosting, dear Angie,
    I'm sending my dearest hug to you
    XOXO Daniela at ~ My little old world ~ (Dany)

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  10. Gosh, you get around, Angie, and always seem to have the best of times; skiing down ski slopes, flying in planes, enjoying restaurants....retail therapy. Gorgeous landscapes and, blue, blue skies. Wonderful you were able to enjoy special family times.

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  11. Dear Angie,
    oh, that looks like a great getaway! But with the temperatures you have to be a real "winter fan" ;-) *) In any case, it looks like a wonderful ski resort. Flying over the beautiful landscape would probably have been fun for me too - but please no loopings - I don't think my stomach would have taken it well 🤢🤪🤮...
    Your description of Taggart's Grill, which started out as a campground with a pet bobcat, made me think of Tom Robbins' offbeat novel "Another Roadside Attraction" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_Roadside_Attraction - maybe it was a place like Taggart's Grill the model for the "Captain Kendrick's Memorial Hot Dog Wildlife Preserve," a combination hot dog stand and zoo along a highway...?
    Your embroidery is already developing very nicely. And of course it is particularly great that you were able to visit several family members during this holiday. Seeing Son #1 again soon on Grand Cayman doesn't sound bad either ;-))
    Hugs from Austria,
    Traude
    https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2022/02/italien-reisebericht-trasimenischer-see.html
    *) But we didn't have it very warm either - about -5 degrees Celsius = 23 degrees Fahrenheit during our short holiday in the Czech Republic. Blog post will follow soon...

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  12. I have loved seeing everyone together enjoying family times. We have still to reunite all together and when it happens I might just do a three loops in the sky too! So many are enjoying being back in Europe enjoying skiing this year, how lucky were you with all that beautiful snow, lovely photos! Happy days.
    Wren x

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  13. Ahhhh! Always a pleasure to tag along on your trips, Angie. It looks like great fun was had by all.

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  14. Hello Angie,
    What a wonderful trip and fun family times. The scenic views are just gorgeous. Wonderful post and beautiful photos. Take care, enjoy your new week!

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  15. Spirits, scenery, and slopes. I like everything but the cold!

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  16. You do go on some amazing trips! Love hearing about a place I've never been too. I think of beach vacations but you make the snow look like fun! Enjoy your week!

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  17. Missing you two! What a wonderful trip; thanks for coming! It's our turn to visit you and do some hiking. Love you bunches.

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  18. You do know how to have fun! Wonderful trip. I think I'll try to convince my family members to move about the country to wonderful destinations for visits. That would be nice. I have missed Indian food and will remedy that with a trip next weekend to Idaho. Bring that Tandoori on! Glad you could have all these good times.

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  19. Thank you for sharing the beautiful scenes. Many of us cannot afford to ski. At this stage in my life, I'm certain it would injure me anyway.

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  20. You had such wonderful skiing holiday. I have once been on board a small airplane. I did not feel calm :) The needleworks are charming. Wishing a lovely week.

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  21. Fun, fun, fun! Reading about all your meals, adventures, and get togethers has me in full wanderlust. Cheers, Angie!

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  22. What a wonderful time away ands so many beautiful snow photos! Friends here used to stay at Park City each year and go to the film festival (that was before covid!) She loved all the quilt shops. That gift shop you visited looks amazing. Enjoy your stitching, they are lovely patterns.

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  23. What a beautiful getaway you enjoyed. Wow to your husband doing three rolls! I'm glad I wasn't in the plane. Good food, fun adventures, time with family, shopping - so many good things!

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  24. Not a fan of the cold but the scenery is beautiful and definitely sounds and looks like you had a wonderful time. Happy stitching.

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  25. As usual Angie, I am exhausted by just reading your exploits. Man in a Plane is getting pretty dare devil too. Bey you can't wait for him and you to roll around the sky together? I'm just warming Britain up for your visit. Give it a few weeks and we'll be ready. Are you coming in the two seater?

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  26. What a great getaway trip. Family, scenery, all your favorite activities and delicious food. Wonderful. And the plane!!! Wow. I thought we were fairly adventurous for retired people (the first few years especially as by now we've rather settled into more of a routine) but you two really re-define enjoying early retirement! Keep on having fun -- and thanks for sharing it!

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  27. Damn, i had a collage to post this week and totally forgot! The irony is that the weekend you didn't host Mosaic Monday I remembered!

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  28. An amazing trip, glad you had a great and wonderful time. Enjoy the weekend, Angie and thanks for sharing.

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