The Dynamic Duo

A Weekend in Utah: Sept 26-27

The prep for this weekend actually began several weeks earlier when Jimbo got a call from Rebecca, an old high school friend.  She had met a great guy and after knowing him only a couple of months, was going to marry him. Did I, Jim inquired, want to attend the wedding with him? After ascertaining that the wedding would be held in Utah at a location not terribly distant from Jim’s present digs in Salt Lake City and that Jim would actually LIKE for me to go with him, I answered an emphatic ‘Yes!’ I arranged for the time off work and packed my bags.
UltraDad, meanwhile, considered the pros and cons of coming along. He definitely did NOT want to go to the wedding, but he DID want to see Jim. He SHOULD stay home and work on tiling the bathroom, but he DID want to see Jim, and so on. At the last minute, he decided to come.
We were trying out a new Auto GPS I had bought, a Garmin Navi 200 , or some such number. I entered Jim’s address and off we went. Everything went swimmingly until we turned a corner near where Jim lived. “You have arrived at your destination,” my GPS informed me in an authoritative female voice, “on the left.” As it turned out, ‘on the left’ was a concrete divider. I pulled into the next convenient parking lot and called Jimbo. Apparently, this GPS, like me, has a little trouble with her ‘lefts’ and ‘rights’. As per Jim’s instructions, I made a loop, and coming back down the street again, took a right and then a left turn (I think), this time arriving at my destination in reality.
We hadn’t arrived with a lot of time to spare, so I made a quick change into my wedding duds. Jimbo set his Dad up with movies to watch and told him to help himself to anything in the fridge, and we were off to the wedding. About 10 minutes after leaving the apartment, Jimbo realized he had forgotten the wedding announcement and did not remember the name of the resort we were heading towards. “Call Dad,’ he instructed. “The announcement is next to my computer.” As I prepared to make the call I suddenly remembered that Dad’s cell phone had a dead battery, and he had not brought his charger.  “Shall we go back for it?” I wanted to know.
“No, I think I can figure it out,” Jim replied with typical male confidence. “It’s somewhere near Wellsville.”
It was a good thing we had allowed plenty of time. The drive was a little longer than we had anticipated, but as we neared our ostensible destination, the scenery became more and more…..well, scenic. The hillsides were covered in trees in various fall colors. “This is reminding me of when I used to go to Utah for Ladies Retreats with my church group years ago,” I told Jimbo. “It was at a really great place called…….uh…..” Just then we passed a sign pointing off to the left reading “Sherwood Hills Resort.” “That’s it,’ said Jim. “That’s where the wedding is.” “That’s it,” I said in turn. “That’s where I used to go for Ladies’ Retreat.”
We were able to turn around about 5 miles down the road, and, after taking the proper exit, drove down a winding road with even more autumn hued hillsides and soon arrived at a parking lot.  A short walk past that, in a clearing surrounded by trees, and a little artificial waterfall (not nearly as good as mine, I assure you), the scene was clearly set for a wedding. We visited with several of Rebecca’s family members and met the groom. I took Jim on a short walk, pointing out various things I remembered from my Retreat Days. “I think the Osmonds had something to do with this place back in the day,” I told him. I remember some of the rooms had their names on the doors.”
“Like Ozzy?” Jim wanted to know.
“Uh, no, like Donny and Marie,” I answered, marveling at the generation gap. It was several hours later that I realized Jim was referring to Ozzy Osborne, not Osmond.
The wedding was smaller than we thought it would be, but very nice. Rebecca wore a traditional white dress & veil, but had a green sash tied about her waist. She was, of course, beautiful and glowing.  I was fervently glad I had brought my jacket, and wished I had worn something more on my feet besides summer sandals. It was downright chilly!
We debated skipping the reception, which was being held at a friend’s home about 15 minutes away, but in the end we went, mainly because we needed to deliver the wedding card. Lanterns were lit and tables set about in the yard. They served slices of pumpkin rolls the bride had made with her own two hands, and cut the cake.
By the time we were on our way back to SLC, it was after 9 pm, and we were hungry. We were feeling a little bad about leaving UDad alone at Jim’s for so long without any outside communication, so we made a quick stop at an Arby’s drive through, where we bought sandwiches and fries for three. UltraDad had watched three movies in our absence and seemed happy to see the food. We played a little game of cribbage while we ate, which Jim, true to form, won with ease.
Jimbo gave his comfy bed to us and slept in his recliner. When I awoke the next morning, it was quite late; I must have been more tired than I realized.  The guys had been up for hours and were starving, so as soon as I grabbed a quick shower, we went out to find some grub. We ended up having ‘brunch’ at Squatters, a locally semi-famous establishment known mainly for its microbrewery. We dined outdoors, enjoying watching the birds that boldly landed inbetween tables looking for a handout. We did not avail ourselves of the famous beer at 11:00 AM, but did enjoy burgers, or in my case, a greek salad.
We debated how to spend the rest of our day, and after spotting posters around town, decided to attend the circus. We got tickets online and set off. I was really glad Jimbo was doing the driving; the traffic around the ‘Energy Solutions Center’ (formerly the Delta Center) where the circus was being held was a nightmare. 

Stay tuned for Part II: The Circus and Dinner at Ima’s, coming soon to a blog near you!

UltraMom