Utah- Part 3

Tuesday: A short hike and Girls Night

A short hike

Katie dropped Mary and I off somewhere on Wasatch Boulevard-home of multi-millionaries.  We were about to take a short hike up the mountains.  But first we had to find the trail.  There was a steep wooden staircase we trekked up.  It led into a wealthy neighborhood.  Several styles of McMansions surronded us, brick, stone, castle, roman palace.  And we walked the whole neighborhood, searching for the hidden path to the mountains.  I suppose we were a bit distracted by the sheer size of the mountains and luxury homes.  Eventually we asked one of the residents arriving home where the path began. 

"Just down the hill there, next to to the craftsmen style home." 

She pointed in the direction we had recently passed.  How did we miss it?  We thanked her and headed towards that craftsman style house. With more careful inspection we found a narrow trail leading up more stairs.  Stairs, its no wonder people are so fit here.  If you hike in Utah, there is guarenteed many uphill battles.  Thankfully for Mary-who didn't want to hike at all, it was a very short trail leading to a pretty waterfall.  We hung out by the water, took pictures, admired its beauty and headed back.

We really should've hung out in the mountains a bit longer because our ride (our brother in law Josh) was an hour late in picking us up, due to obligations at work.  That gave us enough time to tour the neighborhood once more, walk up Wasatch road, sit on the wooden steps and throw sticks, argue about the length of my little sisters shorts and get a new do by Mary-after she rubbed her hands in dirt and spit on them to clean them off...hmm. We thought about knocking on one of those fancy homes for a seat and bathroom break, but then decided against it. We survived the heat and hunger with packed waters and apples to tide us over, and were releived when the air conditioned car crept into the parking lot.  Good times.

Just your typical Greek/Roman Mansion

Girls Night:

I wrapped a strand of hair into one last curl and held tightly to the iron.  Yes I was curling my hair.  I don't normally do this, since the style rarely holds past an hour, but in Utah with its light dry hair, it would.  It took a little longer to prep that evening, but I felt pretty. 

Our destination: A girls night out in Gardner's Village, an adorable quaint shopping center straight out of a Marth Stewart Magazine.  (It's like a smaller version of Peddlers Village PA friends.) 

But first we scrambled together and clicked at our cameras, capturing the moment of all this hard work we put in to looking beautiful.

Is it any surprise with our over primping, that by the time we arrived in Gardner's Village it was 8:30pm.  We peaked in the glossy windows.  Shadowy images of headless mannequins were drapped in intricately sewn garb. The village was closed.  The lights still twinkled outside, despite the darkness in the tiny shoppes.  Insistent upon getting something out of the trip, we strolled through the cobblestone paths, gazing inside each building and admiring the gardens.  We walked past the charming covered bridge covered in glittering bulbs and soaked in the the serene pond ahead of us.  It would have been a lovely place to explore when open.


"Well...do you wanna go get something to eat?"  I asked my sisters as we walked towards the parkling lot where Katies pretty blue Altima sat.  They're heads bobbed in unison.  Every restaraunt and baekery was closed in the village, so it was off to a different destination...the mall.

We weren't shopping...we'd done enough of the that the day before....we were checking out   "The Cheesecake Factory"  I was a virgin to the experience, and I was soo in the mood for some sickeningly sweet deserts, as well as somehting salty. 

This wasn't your average "Cheescake Factory"  or at least don't I think it was-it was my first time.   It felt as if I was entering some grand Egytpian Palace.  The ceilings stretched and towered high above us.  Massive stained glass funnel shaped chandeliers hung down.  Royal purple, sunset orange, flaming red, muted golds, flowed through out the building in beaitful accessorized patterns.  We followed the hostess to our booth, in fornt of a long spacious window, allowing the setting sun shine on us in it's pink beauty. 

Finally a place to sit and munch and laugh.  Immediately we went to work scouring the menu and discussing out options. 

"I'll get that..if you get this...we can share this...I've gotta try that...."

We ordered...LOTS....appetizers and desserst and shared it all.  It was delicious.  We joked about how you go on vacation to eat, and how we were winning at this goal.  We chatted and joked, stuffed our faces and laughed some more.  I love laughing with my sisters.  I love eating with them. 

The sky was dark by the time we finished our snacks and were out the door.  The highway held a glittereing view of the valley.  It stretched on for miles. twinkling under the black sky.  I love the summer nights in the Utah.  I love the gorgeous views in the valley.  I loved my vacation time with my sisters.