Park City

July 9

This was our last full day in Utah and Chris wanted to make sure I tasted Cous Cous, one of his favorite lunching spots.  He left for work earlier than usual and came back to pick me up for lunch.  I wasn't quite ready on time, since I had returned to bed after breakfast.  Sleeping in is delightful.  We were first going to explore Red Butte Garden, which had been highly rated on Trip Advisor.  It was at the university, so we drove across town to the east.  As soon as we drove up and saw the entrance I realized it might cost to get in.  I didn't think too much about it originally since the Fullerton Arboretum didn't cost, I didn't think about this one costing.  We walked in through the doors and saw it was $10/person.  That was more than we wanted to pay for our limited time, but there was a very nice gift shop.  We both found gifts for our mothers there, so it was not wasted time.

We drove what seemed so far south of there to Cous Cous and ordered the Mediterranean nachos and the Potato dumplings with basil pesto sauce.  Topping it all off was an order of the Southern Pecan baklava.  I love baklava and went on the recommendation of our cashier to try that one.  Chris said hello to the owner, who instantly recognized him, and introduced me.  I can tell why this place is highly rated and popular at lunch time.

I realized that the potato dumplings were really like gnocchi, a favorite dish of mine.  These dumplings were perfectly made, nice and airy, not too heavy like many not freshly made.  The Mediterranean nachos was partly made up of garbanzo bean chips, refried garbanzo beans, cheese, shwarma, and mango salsa.  The chips were really very good - they had a seasoning on them I really liked.  I was not such a fan of the shwarma, but Chris loved it.  And then the baklava...oh, it was so good.

Due to Chris' schedule and my meeting a friend, he dropped me off back at the hotel and I walked to the Rose Establishment from there.  It was just about a block over and a block down  - so close.  I met my friend Dawn who lives just north of Salt Lake City.  She was my camp counselor when I was nine, then again at ten and thirteen.  I was her first camper.  Then, when I was older I worked with her mother, sister, and brother during the summers I was long term staff.  Camp friends are really like family, so I was happy to have an opportunity to meet up, even if it was just for a short time in the middle of the afternoon.  I ordered an iced Americano, we sat on the deck, and she told me about life in Utah.  I didn't realize just how different the culture is out there, and how strongly an influence the Mormons have outside the city (although, they definitely have a strong influence in the city as well, with their temple and City Creek, which she told me they owned, dominating the center).

 Dawn had to leave, so I walked her back to the parking structure she was in because it was at the old train station area and I wanted to explore there anyway.  The afternoon was one of the warmer ones while I was there but dark gray clouds covered the sky to the east.  I was hoping I wouldn't get caught outside in another terrible thunderstorm.  The train station turned shopping center was interesting, but most of the stores were no different than what we have at home.  I did look around a vintage clothing shop and another clothing shop, but didn't dare buy anything since we are watching our budget.  I also walked into a souvenir shop and laughed at some of the pajamas and boxers as they played on words having to do with different animals like moose, deer, and bears.  Still, I bought nothing, and decided to head back to the hotel and hopefully miss any rainstorms.

To return I walked across the Energy Solutions arena where the Utah Jazz play.   The Devereaux mansion was just across the street.  I didn't know much about this place, other than I liked the way it looked, but then, I like almost any historic building.  Watching the sky made me a bit unsure about our plans to go up to Park City for the evening.  The freeway up there is wide and easy, so even if there was a big storm, it shouldn't be as intimidating and scary as the road up to Big Cottonwood Canyon would be.

We decided after looking at the weather radar that even if we did get caught in a storm, it didn't look too severe, so after Chris had returned and showered after work, we drove up there.  Or I should say I drove while Chris napped.  He didn't have the advantage of going back to bed in the morning like I did.  The drive was clear and we reached our destination in less than forty minutes.  I remembered the city well from when we were last there about three years ago.  It is a cute little mountain town playing up it's old west history down historic main street.  We parked and walked down the street, not expecting it to be as chilly as it was.  We thought about seeing the cost of the Alpine slides we had enjoyed last time, but as we reached the end of the Main Street it started to rain.  We quickly pulled our phones to scout for a dinner place on Yelp and settled on the High West Distillery, which happened to be right across the street from us.

The High West Distillery had a cool rustic feel about it but with some modern twists to the decor.  My favorite was a wall covered in black metal sconces with simple, clear cylindrical glass.  It gave the wooden paneled wall a soft glow.  The menu wasn't large, but I quickly settled on the chicken pot pie and Chris the buffalo/beef burger mixture (this time he really did get to try buffalo).  My chicken pot pie came in a cute little cast iron mini pot with three little legs.  The place earns an "A" for presentation.  My pot pie was good, but not great.  Chris's meal was the same.

The rain had poured while we waited and ate, then stopped before we headed back out to walk up Main Street.  The air was thin again, and we both could feel it in our lungs, but our saunter up the hill didn't make us exert too much energy so we were fine.  We stopped in a book store, noted the shops and eateries that had been there three years ago.  We visited Java Cow, a place we ate breakfast at before, hoping to find dessert.  Not to be disappointed, we ended up with a chocolate chip cooked and a chocolate covered giant macaroon (the coconut kind, not the fancy little French ones).  Chris bought coffee, but I was still full from finishing my hot tea from the restaurant.  We shared the cookie, but it was a bit stale and not so sweet.  It was okay, but not great.  We save our coconut macaroon for home.  The night time sky had brought with it the turning on of twinkle lights up and down Main Street giving it a magical appearance.  We appreciated it, but continued to the car where once again we turned on the heat, then drove back down the mountain to our Hyatt House.