Foreign Travel

I spent the weekend in Utah. No passport necessary, but definitely a foreign experience. I was going to Utah to visit my friend Susan. Her husband happened to be out of town, so I arrived in time to keep Susan safe in the peculiar land of Utah.
My trip started off quite lovely. The ridiculously long security line at the San Diego Airport ran out of bins to put your shoes and dignity in. People were standing around like old ladies at a dance, not knowing what to do. I told the dude in front of me to hold my place and I awkwardly wheeled over a cart full of bins. I was the hero for the next 15-20 people in line, but I was told not to expect a tip.
Once boarded I was seated next to the window and a tall man who smelled...well, like lemon pine-sol. It was somewhat refreshing and yet at the same time nauseating. I exited the plane with exuberance and the desire to mop a floor or two.
Transportation (the Airport)
Utah is hilarious. Although it is untrue, I just think everyone is Mormon. As I came down the escalator to the baggage claim, I could see about five huge entourages of people holding "Welcome Home Elder" signs and examining each soul riding down the escalator. Every few minutes loud cheers would emerge from the crowd as a sharp looking young man dressed in a suit descended toward the baggage claim. It is like nothing you ever see anywhere else.
After an eternity waiting for my luggage I went outside to wait for Susan who pulled up in her black Honda with a bright orange/yellow sign that read "Welcome to Utah J-dub". It was awesome!!!!

House Decor

Susan's house is a cute little "Avenue" house transplanted on the East Side near Canyon Rim near the 80. They have a breathtaking view of the mountains from their front porch. The house came with a strange metal thing hanging from the veranda. I claim it must be a bird feeder though the verdict is still out.

Cuisine
I don't know if you are aware, but there is something called, the Jell-O Belt and I was smack-dab in the heart of it. "It is a colloquial term that refers to the parts of the western

United States with large populations of

Latter-day Saints. The name "Jell-O Belt" references the stereotype that Mormons supposedly have an affection for Jell-O, particularly when served with shredded carrots, or blended with canned fruit and set in molds. Green (lime) Jell-O is the most stereotypically Mormon of Jell-O flavor-colors, probably because lime was once the best-selling flavor of Jell-O in Utah. Jell-O has been designated Utah's official state snack food. " (As defined by Wikipedia) This is a picture of the jell-o aisle at a grocery store in SLC. I have never seen such an enormous selection!

Entertainment and Ettiquette
Utah has this DVD movie rental thing called “Red Box”. Several stores have it in their entry. You can rent movies for a buck! Well, we went to rent one for that night, but the first place we went to was out of order. We were hungry and we had decided on Indian food. We went to eat at a place called, “Bombay House”. The place was packed! I didn’t know people in Utah ever branched out from their casseroles and jell-o. We put the name “Susan” on the list and were told it would be fifteen minutes. We decided to go to another store close by that had a “Red Box”. We quickly slid our credit card and the movie popped out. We were gone for fifteen minutes and returned to the Bombay House to find that our name had been stricken from the list and marked with an X. We told them we were here and they said it would be a few minutes. Not a minute passed and they called out “Susan”. We stood up and followed the host. We heard one man in the waiting area as we walked past say, “Oh they came back.” Then as we turned the corner we heard another guy say, “Is that Susan?” It was hilarious. They must have yelled our name for all to hear a number of times, if everyone knew that we came back. Although we had that social faux pas, the food was delicious! The waiter had the hots for Susan and was disappointed that she was married.

Climate/Exercise
I ate breakfast while wearing my fashionable snow pants. We headed out to rent snow shoes at REI. It cost about $10 for each of us for the shoes for the day. I know what you are thinking, but Snowshoes do not look like tennis rackets hooked to your feet. They are more like short, fat skis. We drove up Mill Creek Canyon. We walked along the trail and saw beautiful mountains and trees and patches of yellow snow (a lot of dogs running about). The scenery was truly gorgeous. There was a little bit of snow flurry every little while, but the weather was crisp and refreshing. I wanted to build a snowman, but since we were short on time we made a snow turtle instead. We named him Timmy the Turtle. It turned out quite well!

Religion
We went downtown to Temple Square to the Lion House Pantry for a ward Relief Society Luncheon at noon. We took the elevator up to the second floor to the Pioneer room. It was full of tables and ladies. We sat down amongst a very lively group of women and ate to our hearts content. We had their famous salad consisting of lettuce, peas, bacon, and some sort of mayo-like dressing. Then came the main course, which was honey mustard chicken on stuffing with broccoli and rice. The dinner rolls were superb with the honey butter. Man! It was good. As they served the cheesecake with raspberry sauce for dessert, the "musical therapy" program began. I would not have been in Utah without a meal and a woman singing songs as she played the piano. She was incredibly talented. It was excellent.

The Temple

Before going to the temple, we walked around Temple Square a little bit, through the Joseph Smith Memorial building and the South Visitor’s Center. We went to the tabernacle for the demonstration of the acoustics. They talk without a microphone and then rip a paper and drop a couple of straight pins and a small nail. It was cool.

I have wanted to go to the Salt Lake Temple for a long time! We arranged to meet our friend Aunika (Anneke) at the temple. The temple is so beautiful on the inside! Without saying too much, this temple is a tad different than most and that difference was thought provoking. I came away thinking about things that I hadn't noticed before and I really appreciate the experience. During the session, there was a guy that kept making popping noises with his mouth. It was comedic, yet annoying. Aunkia mentioned that she just figured he had Terets. In that case, I am glad he wasn't swearing the whole time.

After the temple session we walked around the temple and saw beautiful stained glass windows and original woodwork and the East temple doors that don’t get used anymore. Everything is very ornate and colorful.

Culture
After dinner at the famous "Café Rio" we went to a dollar movie theater. Yes folks, a movie theater that costs only one dollar! We saw “Enchanted”. (It is a little Disney flick with a cheap cartoon beginning, but an amusing live story.)

The Natives
Sunday morning Susan and I went for a walk down the street and around the block. I cannot tell you how many double and triple baby carriages I saw over the weekend! One lady was out running with her three kids in a carriage. Turbo! No wonder the streets and littered with candy! I saw gummy bears and life savers on the ground as Susan and I walked around the neighborhoods.

More Religion
Church was at 11 am. We were on time unlike half of the ward. Sacrament meeting was hard to pay attention to because of all of the entertaining kids making noises and little ones making laps around the chapel. Yes, it did actually happen. Sunday School was absolutely excellent. The lesson was on the Atonement. The instructor started with Adam and Eve and the fall and the need for a Savior and then had scripture references etc. It was well done, thought out, organized and insightful. When we got home we made some cupcakes and Susan delivered them to her neighbors. (No doubt a cute card was made to go with them.)

Social Life
Everyone knows someone. It is a small world and in Utah, the world is the size of a shoebox. I have friends in Utah. True. My friend William came over for dinner. We were having real Chinese food at my request. I mixed up the stuff for dumplings and William came over with dumpling skins. We sat around and folded and talked. (We made pot-stickers for all of you white folks out there). They were absolutely heavenly. So good! I love my Asian friends.