I do a good job of making my life seem like it is all "sunshine and puppy dogs" -- on this blog, on my Facebook page, on Twitter...
But sometimes things don't go according to plan, tempers flare, frustration sets in, and you have to find a way to adapt.
That's the situation we found ourselves in on the Wednesday morning of our trip to Utah. We had already enjoyed three jam-packed days of cycling races, sightseeing, food and fun, and were looking for the opportunity to enjoy another stage of the Tour of Utah.
We had a late start on Aug. 2, and didn't roll out until around 10 a.m. local time.
Unfortunately, the cycling action that day wasn't your typical road race. Instead, the day featured a time trial (the first one in several years at the Tour of Utah), and the entire thing took place up in the mountains, meaning access in and out was restricted.
There were shuttles that would ferry interested spectators to either the "start" of the race, or the "finish line" of the race. The shuttles departed from a parking lot, and would wind their way up to the two different ski resorts that bookended the race.
The way things were setup, you could either hit the start or the finish -- not both.
Our crew deliberated what we wanted to do. We couldn't come to a consensus either way, but we settled on going to the finish line since that is where the VIP area was located.
Unfortunately, when we arrived at the parking lot, the shuttles were done for the day. That fact disappointed all of us in the RV, and it was also disappointing to other interested folks who pulled into the lot while we were there.
This is as close to the race as we got:
We were tired and unhappy. We had just wanted another day of being able to interact with the riders, volunteers, Axeon team staff, and fans.
We did eventually regroup (it got ugly there for a bit), and decided to hit a mall and In-N-Out Burger (a destination my niece Veronica had requested the day before).
First, we stopped for fuel at 7-Eleven (the nieces are too young to remember when Omaha had them, and they wanted to get Slurpees).
I was given a list by the nieces of possible malls to visit. I chose the destination at the top of the list -- Trolley Square Mall in Salt Lake City.
Apparently, the mall was the site of a mass shooting in 2007 (I just discovered that little tidbit on Google).
Trolley Square Mall, in its present form, is sort of an odd mix of Crossroads Mall and Regency Court in Omaha. There are some nice vendors like Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn Kids, but the historic structure also has a lot of empty bays.
There was a cool store called Cabin Fever Cards and Gifts that had some cool "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" items, and I picked up a few things:
(As an aside, most of the people killed in the Trolley Square shooting died in Cabin Fever. We didn't know that at the time we were there, obviously.)
We only stayed an hour because we were eventually heading back to Cheyenne, and didn't want to get in too late.
Our next stop was In-N-Out Burger -- a destination that seems "en vogue" with people whose municipalities don't have the hamburger chain.
I'm not sure. The burgers and fries were tasty. I wouldn't label it a religious experience in the lexicon of burger restaurants I've visited, but it was pretty solid for a fast food chain deal.
Bridget bought us all these souvenir t-shirts:
One more thing...
We kept running into this truck driver on the road who had a Tonka truck strapped to the back of his flatbed trailer. I don't know why he showed up (or why he had a Tonka on the back), but he kept popping up along I-80 (and he'd wave at us every time we saw him):
And...
That's pretty much it. Not much more to tell. We did make it back to Omaha on Aug. 3.
I had fun. It's so hard to get away from home, and I'm typically reluctant to leave work behind for any length of time.
But I needed a break from the normal routine. I realized this a few hours into the trip. My mind needed a respite from everything that has gone on the past several months in our family.
It was nice to spend time on the road with Bridget, Emily, Lauren, Julia, Olivia, Veronica, and Danielle. I love these ladies. We've experienced a lot together over the years.
Bridget and I don't have kids of our own, and it means something to be able to spend time and experience new things with our nieces. They'll probably never know just how important it is to us.
These fleeting moments become more ephemeral as the girls get older.
Since I don't want to end on a somber note, here is a picture of Lauren playing with magnifying glasses on the way home at a Sinclair station:
And here is a picture of a Sinclair hat that Julia and I thought was kinda cool (she ultimately got a Sinclair gas station t-shirt from a surprisingly large selection of Sinclair t-shirts they had on hand...):
Note: I want to give a special shoutout to my nieces Olivia and Emily for providing me with some of the photos that appear in this post.
Missed yesterday's post? Read it here: Utah Trip, Part 3 -- Brigham City, Snowbasin, High School Musical, and Leatherby's
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