Utah weekend

So I'm back again after another wonderful weekend in Utah. It was a busy weekend for me and I'm rather tired (since I took a late flight back in to Atlanta last night), so I'll try to hit the highlights.

Friday--Yay! I made it to Utah by a miracle!
Left work in a frazzled hurry, trying to battle traffic and make it to the airport during rush hour. Got to the airport early and had to wait forever at the gate. Met a freak who talked nonstop and invited me to join him on trips within the first 5 minutes of meeting. He gave me a star fruit from sunny Florida (as if I have never been there like 100000000 times) as a going away gift. I had almost given up getting on the plane, when the gate agent paged me right before they closed the doors to the plane. I was the last one allowed to board the plane.

Saturday--A day with the Grunt and Clyde.
I had the pleasure of meeting up with one of my awesome blog buddies, the Grunt and his beloved truck, Clyde. I was looking forward to meeting him since we always have so much to talk about. As it turns out, we have just as much to say in person and our meeting turned into a whole day event. We even had to eat twice! Clyde was pretty cool as well. He was lookin' GOOD! It had been a LONG time since I had taken a ride in a truck.

The Grunt is a very cool, fun (and cute) guy to hang with. I had called off my hotness plan for the weekend so I could indulge myself in good food. And it seems we have the same taste in food, so it was totally worth being un-hot for the weekend. We spent most of our time in the Ogden area. As many times as I have been in Ogden, I had never walked down the historic 25th Street nor paid a visit to Union Station. Grunt accompanied me to both places.

I was very happy at Union Station because I got to play on the trains. And I got to show off what a true dork I am. Oh and I got to play in the snow, too. This was very exciting for someone who hasn't played in snow for four years. I hit Grunt in the mouth with a snowball. That wasn't very nice of me, was it? Like I said, he was exposed to my true dorkiness. I just couldn't help myself!Inside the station was beautiful. He pointed out some very creepy areas that are haunted within the building. And I wish that I could have seen more.

The Ogden area is supposed to be full of the paranormal and that was a big reason why I wanted to check it out on foot. Unfortunately, we didn't get to do a true Scooby Doo ghost hunt as everything was closed and I didn't want to bring him down to my level of breaking and entering to ghost hunt. Plus, Grunt was just not cooperative playing Freddy and wearing the gay man scarf (Though it was totally his color!) We looked for the cemetery that is home to the "Green Lady" legend. I am not sure if we went into the right place, but at least we tried. I was quite fine settling on a chocolate shake and dinner. (It is a good thing I burned off all those calories the next day on the slopes!)

After our second meal, it was getting late and both of us had to get up early the next morning. It was a little sad to say goodbye, but not too much because I have the feeling Grunt is one of those friends that is the real deal and I know I will see him again.

Hey Grunt, maybe next time I'm in your neck of the woods it will be warmer and we can hit a trail! What do ya say? ;)

Sunday--Snowboarding!
I'm still alive and I have no broken bones! Not only that (which is more than I expected) but I totally LOVED it! Now let me make it clear that I was by no means a natural, but I did learn how to snowboard!

My first remarks to Best Friend and Slot Canyon Boy when eyeing the slope was "I am NOT doing that!" I caved in to the peer pressure and, to my own dismay, found myself terrified at the top of the slope. Somehow I had managed to not fall when getting off the chair lift. In fact, I didn't fall by accident that much. I ate snow-face first only three times. But don't let that give you the impression that I didn't fall down much. Because I did. Mostly, I fell on purpose when I felt I was going way too fast. Best of all, that fear disappeared quickly and I was no longer afraid even when I went down steep areas or boarded down at a faster pace than I ever imagined I would. That initial push off the top was the hardest part.

My first run down the slope was slow. I couldn't figure out how to turn or control direction. Slot Canyon Boy helped me with that and I was much better on the next run down. I learned to control my direction finally. In fact, it wasn't too long before I was becoming decent. But then the fatigue had set in and I found myself having to stop (fall down on purpose) to rest. I was pissed because I wanted to keep it up and do more, but my legs said no--firmly.

I can't wait to do this again! When I grow up, I totally want to be a professional snowboarder and do sick tricks on the jumps.

Monday--Home again
Had to catch a plane back to Georgia. I've been home less than 24 hours. Okay, I've had enough! Time to go back! Grunt, have Clyde waiting for me at the airport!


Me and the Grunt at dinner.









Union Station in Ogden.









It's me!








The waterfall in Ogden Canyon. I have a million pics of this waterfall but this is the first time I've seen it frozen.











Best Friend and me in gear and ready to board.









By George, I think I finally got it!

Slot Canyon Boy and Best Friend showing their stuff.