I’m sure you, dear Reader are brimming with curiosity on how I found myself in Salt Lake City, Utah. T.B. -not The Boyfriend’s actual initials but he has been dubbed Travel Boy by one of my loyal readers. And since I love the dual meaning behind the initials, we’ll go with that. So T.B. has a friend (Christina) who currently lives in SL,UT, and has been for the past decade! Ok, maybe not that long, but quite possibly longer, and I couldn’t stay for more than a weekend. After living for so long in SLC, her Vibe Tribe wanted to throw her a proper going-away party as she prepares to move to Atlanta, Georgia. And what is more appropriate than throwing a funeral/wedding/birthday/revival fiesta to celebrate her time there?!
T.B. and Christina are known as “ship friends” and if you say it just fast enough or after some wine, it sounds like “shit friends.” She is a lovely person and I really liked spending time with her – she kept thanking us for visiting her and wanting to attend her “silly little party.” Which if you saw the invitation (serious wedding vibes) and heard her describe the festivities, it was no little party we’d be attending. She even had to rent a tent due to the rainy weather expected for Saturday night. Except the tent blew down because of the wind so the going awake was moved to the garage of her friend’s house. We arrive to the new location and are instantly greeted with a guest book to sign and given a program…. she had a freaking program of the night’s festivities… again, wedding vibes. And while a ‘going awake’ party might sound a bit much (it is), it was amplified by the fact that SLC is a quiet, boring town. And it quite literally, sucked all my energy away. Which is why I’m writing this blog entry 3 days after the event! Update: I still hadn’t finished my entry until the 4th day. Guess I’ve been playing catch up.
Having arrived in time for the wine cocktail hour, the services started at 7pm with opening remarks. A few people spoke about Christina & how much they’d miss her – a few tears were shed, and not just by Christina. A friend of hers played the guitar while another sang a song. So while she wasn’t really dead, it was a testament to the type of friend she is that so many would rally around giving her the most unique send-off possible. For the record, it was so cold that night in the garage, that had we stayed there longer, T.B. would have lost a finger or toe from the cold. Somehow, I found someone who’s extremities get colder than mine AND who is considered a snack for mosquitoes – they like him way better than they like me. Score!
Our flight out of SLC wasn’t until early Monday morning so we took a drive to the mountains attempting to get to Park City but the road was closed due to weather and all we wanted to do was get back to watch the Padres/Phillies game. And since it’s now a couple of days later, I’m well aware that the Padres lost but the excitement around San Diego was buzzing for some time. Trying to find a bar to watch the game at proved to be challenging – so we stopped at a restaurant made to look like a German beer hall. I’m talking Oktoberfest with lederhosen! For a minute, I almost forgot where we were – until we interacted with our waitress. We ordered our first (and only) drink and were reminded by the waitress that the establishment had a restaurant license and that our next drink had to be accompanied with food. If you want to get sober, SLC is a great place to park yourself and wither away. The shame around alcohol is strong… like 10% ABV strong.
Having been to SL,UT (Salt Lake, Utah) once – I can say the most exciting part was finding the SL,UT sticker that is now proudly displayed on my water bottle. I’m now thinking, I should have put it on my flask for greater impact!
There She Goes... 