TRAVEL TRIP: SLC, day one

Thursday, April 15, 2010. Day One or travel day coffee suicide.

Here's what the very end of the Albuquerque-Rio Rancho metropolitan area looks like from above. There's the Rio Grande on the left:

My flight didn't leave until 12:55 so I had the whole lazy morning to myself, picking out dresses that could act as shirts, pants that could be worn everyday, scarfs that could transform into sweaters or belts... My regular suitcase broke so I had to use the little red one meant to transport doll clothes. I did a pretty wonderful job of packing though so you have to give me a hand.

I packed (including what I was wearing on the plane):

2 dresses
2 shirts
1 pair of pants
1 pair of shorts
3 socks
5 underwear
2 shoes
1 loose cardigan
1 bra with removable straps
1 light coat

Plus, I fit in my battery charger which took up a tenth of space in the little red case (that rhymed) and my big bag of toiletries: toothbrush, hair bands, deodorant, baby powder (for greasy hair), razor, tweezer, mirror and tampons because I'm an idiot and keep scheduling travel days on my period. I'm going to look on the bright side and remember traveling with a period is still a million times better than traveling with a fetus or worse, constantly wondering if I'm pregnant to the point where I accidentally blurt out "Yeah, I'm visiting here from Abortionquerque- ALBUQUERQUE! I mean Albuquerque. Whoops, ughhh..."

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The airport was normal, whatever. I forgot to take out my toiletries (hate that word) bag and had to go back and rescan it. And I forgot to pack the book I'm reading now (Dune, because I'm part of the Cherry Hills Library science fiction book club. Does this make me look fat? haha, jk) so I bought a Nylon and realized my plane had already boarded and were waiting on me to get on even though it was still 20 minutes til take-off. I apologized twelve times and sat in the back. It was a mostly empty plane.

I still can't figure out what this dead piece of land is partitioned for.

Here are the most ridiculous Sky Mall ads:

• voice activated R2D2 who plays tag with you
• the temperature regulating blanket (at first not that funny, but it's not an electric blanket. It's just a quilt made of fabric so in that sense, every blanket is a temperature regulating blanket since every blanket keeps you warm.)
• the telekinetic obstacle course
• underwater pogo stick
  

Then the pilot sang She'll Be Comin' Around the Mountain on the intercom for approximately 15 minutes and I made a mental note to bring my headphones for the ride back.

This is somewhere south of Salt Lake City. Also, I don't have any other snaps from this day other than these plane shots... sorry.

I really did not know what to expect once we landed and I got on the bus heading downtown. As of 2008, Salt Lake City is the 126th largest city in the US which shocked me because I always thought Albuquerque was smaller, but turns out it's not so. Albuquerque proper is ranked 34th largest city in the US at 2008 census. SLC's population soars over Albuquerque when you consider the Salt Lake City-Provo metro area, but that's like taking the whole population of Albuquerque and spreading it thin into boring suburbs from Santa Fe to Los Lunas. And I mean really thin. Yesterday I woke up from a hot tub house party and walked 34 blocks through dollhouse neighborhoods. Cute, but totally not my style.

Of course on day one, I didn't know all this. I got off the bus with my suitcase wildly happy and lost and immediately went looking for free wifi and coffee.

It's so beautiful above the snowy mountains. This snap dulls it down too much.

Either the capitol building or one of the massive Mormon buildings can clearly be seen from anywhere downtown. It sits on a hillside where other very expensive houses sit and look down into the city. I couldn't really tell the difference between the government buildings and the religious LDS (Latter Day Saints) buildings. Creepy, no? There's so many strange words here, too. I keep seeing LDS which I'm afraid of saying LSD when I say it out loud and Zion is all over the place... But this is one of the best parts of traveling for me, being surrounded in very different environments and experiencing them firsthand. No one can tell me what to think of the Mormon movement in Utah because I have seen it for myself. I have made my own responsible opinions. Well, not quite yet since I've only been in town for roughly 1 hour :)

I took a billion snaps of this thinking it was Great Salt Lake. It's not. It's Utah Lake. Boooooo! (Still pretty)

As you know, I eventually found Beans and Brews coffee house and chugged two extremely caffeinated coffees while waiting for my cousin, Jesse, to call me and invite me to his house. He lives in the Sugar House district (See? What did I tell you about Polly Pocket names). So by the time I got there I was shaky from coffee, sweaty from walking, smelly from traveling and happy to see a familiar face. We went to a Mexican restaurant - more on that later - and drank beers (correction: a beer) and talked until 2 in the morning. For a travel day, it felt relaxed and homey.