Lovely And Pleasant Trip To Utah

Since The Kids left in April, I've been planning (or at least awaiting) my trip to Utah this month.  Well, actually what precipitated the trip was one of my sisters making arrangements to have my mother escorted from Roswell to Ogden for a while in order for her to be closer to those of us this far away.  I jumped at the opportunity to visit her in a closer locale, so my brother and his wife, who live in Hillsboro, OR, and I drove out there last week.  To Ogden.  Utah.  Where The Kids now live.  You know, those kids...my grandson Desmond being the central figure in that group.  It was great to be with all three of them, of course.


The three of us PNWers stayed with another brother and sister-in-law up on the hill.  My sister and her husband hosted my mother and some grandkids and there were others (sister's kids and their kids) in the area.  A big bunch of people all related in some way or another.  I have a sister in Colorado and a niece in California with their own little family members, who didn't make it and I'm sure all this information is boring as hell to most people, but I'm counting on forgetting these details in the future when I would probably like to remember them.


I love a good road trip, and we did the jaunt in one day (about 12 or so hours) both ways, and I saw some interesting and beautiful things on the way, as well.

Once we got there, we

• visited a lot in a few different homes
• took a drive north of Ogden to the fruitway where we buy Montmorency cherries (the most delicious I have ever tasted) and to an "Amish" market where we couldn't find much Amish food or other goods at all (a nephew had proclaimed that the deli sandwiches were very good there, so there were a couple of reasons to check it out)
• watched Desmond open a dozen kinder eggs (the legal part)...you know, it's legal to sell them in the United States if they aren't wrapped in candy, and they are soooo cute!

His favorite was the tiny retractable tape measure,

because how else are you going to know how big your head is?!

• visited my mother's late brother's widow and son where we looked at some old photographs

• sat in the shade or sun and watched the cousins play in my sister's pool

• sat in the shade and watched Desmond and his Baba tend and feed each other from their garden

• gathered in large groups for summer evening BBQs
• attended an outdoor music concert, sitting on the grass (in the shade again)...one of the bands my daughter's fiancé plays in...which was very good and I'm not just saying that!

• took a drive up Ogden canyon, almost getting to the beach at Cemetery Point, but by the time we got there, decided to turn around and not battle the crowds, instead opting for one more trip to the Monastery instead

I was just very interested to see the Quonset hut restrooms with their arched ceilings.

• had late lunch on the patio of a restaurant on the river--well, not the outdoor patio, but an indoor booth with sliding picture windows overlooking the patio
• hiked in the hills
• watched and waited for the Strawberry full moon on the summer solstice
• felt reluctant to leave

Desmond was so very sweet and cute and confident and loving and helpful and just all around happily wonderful!