Go West, Young Woman
Jul. 26th, 2003 09:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hiddenmuse(or, The New Miserable America West Airlines Experience ... staying near Tempe and doing *nothing* cool, dammit.)
Last week, I went to Utah to see my brother. While it was a great trip, it wasn't without its share of hitches. It all started with ...
It rained and stormed like crazy on the 18th, which delayed my flight by 4 hours. I was supposed to leave St. Louis at 4:30 and get to Salt Lake City by 10:00 (including a layover in Phoenix). Instead, we left St. Louis close to 9:00, and I got to Salt Lake City by 10:00. Saturday morning, that is. My luggage, on the other hand, got to SLC around midnight Friday night/Saturday morning. And somewhere along the line, an underwire in my bra decided to break loose and had to be shoved back into its place every 5 minutes. Fun.
The airline refused to comp rooms for those of us that were stranded in Phoenix. Our options were: (a) a voucher for a discounted hotel room, or (b) spend the night in the airport with blankets and pillows provided by America West. Well, since I didn't want to risk putting my back out trying to sleep on the floor or chairs in a fucking airport, I went with the discounted hotel room.
Since my luggage had been sent on without me, I only had my backpack. Which meant that I had my meds, a bottle of water, a sandwich I'd made earlier that day at home, my assortment of word puzzles and CDs. I was able to get a toiletry kit from the airline (guess they figured they were doing us a huge favor with it or something), and went to my hotel room for the night at the Sleep Inn Hotel, near ASU/Tempe.
So, once I got settled in, I turned on the TV, got down to my underwear and sat in bed, eating my sandwich and watching some cheesy film on cable TV at 1:00 in the morning in Phoenix.
It got better once Saturday rolled around. Really.
Thankfully, the flight from Phoenix to Salt Lake went off without a hitch. When I arrived, my luggage was already there - no needing to wait at the friggin' carousel, and my brother was there, too. I just felt like a heathen running around Mormon State in a Barenaked Circus t-shirt. Especially in Temple Square. God, if nothing could feel anymore brazen and heretical than that ... well, I suppose making out with Kellie in the middle of Temple Square could rank up there, but I digress.
Regardless of my temporary status as a Mormon Heretic, downtown Salt Lake City and Temple Square were beautiful. It was a wonderful place to visit. Even if I was occasionally met with reminders that not *everyone* in Utah is Mormon - contrary to the preconceived notion I had as a sheltered Midwestern Mormon.
Dan and I went for lunch at P.F. Chang's, which was excellent food. If they have one in St. Louis, I'll have to get the family to go out there with me. We also went to Park City, driving past parts of the Olympic Venue and such. Yes, Main Street in Park City just screams "yuppie sellout village tourist trap", but it was still a nice area to visit. Even if my Effexor had me feeling like anywhere I went was like a damn sauna. (Gotta love those hot flashes)
Then, it was back to Salt Lake City, to visit a mall that was built during the Olympic hoohah. So most of the stores I could find in St. Louis, and had no use for, but if nothing else, the Virgin Megastore did have the new Me First & The Gimme Gimmes CD - something I'd been waiting on for months now. :) Heck, I was just happy to be hanging out with my brother in Utah for a few days.
We made it into Logan later that night, and I got myself situated in my hotel room, ready to collapse after the first 2 days of my vacation.
Sunday was perfectly lazy - and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Yes, I was a good girl and went to church on Sunday with Dan. I met his friend Andy, who was just damn cute - 20something, from Alaska (yes, he's an Eskimo), Steven Page glasses and carried his Bible in a Batman lunchbox (which I found to be somewhat humourous).
I did feel a bit out of place in church with people that were probably no older than 22 on average, but it went pretty well. No one looked at me like I didn't belong there, and the few people I met thought it was cool to finally meet Dan's sister.
After church, I went back to Dan's place, had lunch, watched a little TV, met his roommates, then went back to my hotel for a nap. In the evening, Dan and I went to Bear Canyon Lake, which was a gorgeous drive, and a gorgeous lake. It was just so beautiful and peaceful out there, and watching the sunset over the mountains was unbelievable.
As for the Eskimo Grooves mix CD, that was the music for driving out to Bear Canyon Lake. I found out the next day that the CD was one that Andy had pulled together for Dan - very diverse mix of Black Crowes, Coldplay, Rufus Wainwright, etc. Great music - and from what Dan told me, it was an excellent accompaniment to his road trip to Boise, Idaho for a Guster show.
Mondays are for sunburning, barbecues and The Power.
I had to check out of my hotel on Monday morning, so after Dan picked me up and dropped my stuff off at his apartment, I got to go to his place of work on campus, and meet some of his co-workers. The office seemed pretty laid-back, or perhaps it just had to do with the fact that they were nearing the end of their work time for the summer.
It was a great, pretty laid-back day though. After lunch at a cool little Mexican restaurant, I went to the Super Wal-Mart. For some reason, small-town Wal-Marts are always a million times cooler than the ones in the 'burbs. Probably because they take me back to a time when I was a kid and I'd go to visit my grandparents during the summer, and since they lived in a small town, going to Wal-Mart was a pretty big deal. Well, that and small town Wal-Marts are a hell of a lot cleaner, it seems.
After meandering for a while, I left and wandered about the area, looking for a bus stop, hoping to catch a bus and get over to Tommie's Donuts for some bagels. Eventually, I did find a bus stop - and got to Tommie's. Then, I managed to get nicely sunburned on my arms, chest and upper back ... as well as get lost on the Logan Transit System. It only has 9 routes that were running in the summer. You'd think that I couldn't get *that* lost, but I did! It only took me almost 2 hours to get back to my brother's place.
The barbecuing (besides that of my flesh in the Utah sun) was that night, for the Family Night. Dan, Andy and I went to Macey's (think of any über-cheap, almost-trashy grocery store - that's Macey's) to pick up food for the barbecue. While looking at the fireworks for sale (something that can't be done in Missouri - fireworks sales, that is), Andy spotted "The Power", and got Dan rushing to check it out. I thought that "The Power" may have been their term for a hot girl. I was wrong. Turns out that "The Power" is a mullet. *shakes head* I swear, I brought him up better than that... ;)
Anyways, I got photos of Dan and Andy barbecuing in the sartorial finery that are aprons - especially Andy's frilly apron. And got to hear a story of Andy and some friends getting naked during a full moon at Arches National Park. As though my overactive hormones weren't already lusting over Andy (at least for the glasses and spiky hair ... he's a bit skinny for me), hearing him say that "nakedity is a good thing" almost had me ready to schlep him to a BNL concert with me - or kiss him, at least.
Tuesday - do I *have to* go home?
Monday night, I opted to stay in Salt Lake City, as my flight home left at 7:30 in the morning, and I didn't think my brother would be up for getting up at 4:30 in the morning to take me to Salt Lake.
When asking for a wake-up call, and scheduling a shuttle to the airport, you'd think that a hotel couldn't fuck it up. Well, the Travelodge Hotel in the middle of East Bumfuck Salt Lake managed to do that. I requested a 5 a.m. wake up call and a 5:45 a.m. shuttle. At 6 a.m., I get a call from the front desk, telling me that the shuttle is leaving. I tell them that I was supposed to get a 5 a.m. wake-up call and didn't, could they reschedule me for 6:15? They apologized for missing the wake-up call, and rescheduled me. Still, that irked me. A lot.
Thankfully, the trip home was particularly uneventful. I made my connections, my luggage came home with me, and while I was glad to be going home, part of me wanted to stay in Utah longer. But, finances didn't allow it at the time. (Especially since my account is overdrawn post-trip!!)
In conclusion...
Would I go out to Utah again? Definitely.
Would I fly America West Airlines again? Fuck no.
Would I stay in a Days Inn again? Of course.
Would I stay at that Travelodge in East Bumfuck Salt Lake? Oh no.
And so went the story of my trip out west.
Last week, I went to Utah to see my brother. While it was a great trip, it wasn't without its share of hitches. It all started with ...
It rained and stormed like crazy on the 18th, which delayed my flight by 4 hours. I was supposed to leave St. Louis at 4:30 and get to Salt Lake City by 10:00 (including a layover in Phoenix). Instead, we left St. Louis close to 9:00, and I got to Salt Lake City by 10:00. Saturday morning, that is. My luggage, on the other hand, got to SLC around midnight Friday night/Saturday morning. And somewhere along the line, an underwire in my bra decided to break loose and had to be shoved back into its place every 5 minutes. Fun.
The airline refused to comp rooms for those of us that were stranded in Phoenix. Our options were: (a) a voucher for a discounted hotel room, or (b) spend the night in the airport with blankets and pillows provided by America West. Well, since I didn't want to risk putting my back out trying to sleep on the floor or chairs in a fucking airport, I went with the discounted hotel room.
Since my luggage had been sent on without me, I only had my backpack. Which meant that I had my meds, a bottle of water, a sandwich I'd made earlier that day at home, my assortment of word puzzles and CDs. I was able to get a toiletry kit from the airline (guess they figured they were doing us a huge favor with it or something), and went to my hotel room for the night at the Sleep Inn Hotel, near ASU/Tempe.
So, once I got settled in, I turned on the TV, got down to my underwear and sat in bed, eating my sandwich and watching some cheesy film on cable TV at 1:00 in the morning in Phoenix.
It got better once Saturday rolled around. Really.
Thankfully, the flight from Phoenix to Salt Lake went off without a hitch. When I arrived, my luggage was already there - no needing to wait at the friggin' carousel, and my brother was there, too. I just felt like a heathen running around Mormon State in a Barenaked Circus t-shirt. Especially in Temple Square. God, if nothing could feel anymore brazen and heretical than that ... well, I suppose making out with Kellie in the middle of Temple Square could rank up there, but I digress.
Regardless of my temporary status as a Mormon Heretic, downtown Salt Lake City and Temple Square were beautiful. It was a wonderful place to visit. Even if I was occasionally met with reminders that not *everyone* in Utah is Mormon - contrary to the preconceived notion I had as a sheltered Midwestern Mormon.
Dan and I went for lunch at P.F. Chang's, which was excellent food. If they have one in St. Louis, I'll have to get the family to go out there with me. We also went to Park City, driving past parts of the Olympic Venue and such. Yes, Main Street in Park City just screams "yuppie sellout village tourist trap", but it was still a nice area to visit. Even if my Effexor had me feeling like anywhere I went was like a damn sauna. (Gotta love those hot flashes)
Then, it was back to Salt Lake City, to visit a mall that was built during the Olympic hoohah. So most of the stores I could find in St. Louis, and had no use for, but if nothing else, the Virgin Megastore did have the new Me First & The Gimme Gimmes CD - something I'd been waiting on for months now. :) Heck, I was just happy to be hanging out with my brother in Utah for a few days.
We made it into Logan later that night, and I got myself situated in my hotel room, ready to collapse after the first 2 days of my vacation.
Sunday was perfectly lazy - and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Yes, I was a good girl and went to church on Sunday with Dan. I met his friend Andy, who was just damn cute - 20something, from Alaska (yes, he's an Eskimo), Steven Page glasses and carried his Bible in a Batman lunchbox (which I found to be somewhat humourous).
I did feel a bit out of place in church with people that were probably no older than 22 on average, but it went pretty well. No one looked at me like I didn't belong there, and the few people I met thought it was cool to finally meet Dan's sister.
After church, I went back to Dan's place, had lunch, watched a little TV, met his roommates, then went back to my hotel for a nap. In the evening, Dan and I went to Bear Canyon Lake, which was a gorgeous drive, and a gorgeous lake. It was just so beautiful and peaceful out there, and watching the sunset over the mountains was unbelievable.
As for the Eskimo Grooves mix CD, that was the music for driving out to Bear Canyon Lake. I found out the next day that the CD was one that Andy had pulled together for Dan - very diverse mix of Black Crowes, Coldplay, Rufus Wainwright, etc. Great music - and from what Dan told me, it was an excellent accompaniment to his road trip to Boise, Idaho for a Guster show.
Mondays are for sunburning, barbecues and The Power.
I had to check out of my hotel on Monday morning, so after Dan picked me up and dropped my stuff off at his apartment, I got to go to his place of work on campus, and meet some of his co-workers. The office seemed pretty laid-back, or perhaps it just had to do with the fact that they were nearing the end of their work time for the summer.
It was a great, pretty laid-back day though. After lunch at a cool little Mexican restaurant, I went to the Super Wal-Mart. For some reason, small-town Wal-Marts are always a million times cooler than the ones in the 'burbs. Probably because they take me back to a time when I was a kid and I'd go to visit my grandparents during the summer, and since they lived in a small town, going to Wal-Mart was a pretty big deal. Well, that and small town Wal-Marts are a hell of a lot cleaner, it seems.
After meandering for a while, I left and wandered about the area, looking for a bus stop, hoping to catch a bus and get over to Tommie's Donuts for some bagels. Eventually, I did find a bus stop - and got to Tommie's. Then, I managed to get nicely sunburned on my arms, chest and upper back ... as well as get lost on the Logan Transit System. It only has 9 routes that were running in the summer. You'd think that I couldn't get *that* lost, but I did! It only took me almost 2 hours to get back to my brother's place.
The barbecuing (besides that of my flesh in the Utah sun) was that night, for the Family Night. Dan, Andy and I went to Macey's (think of any über-cheap, almost-trashy grocery store - that's Macey's) to pick up food for the barbecue. While looking at the fireworks for sale (something that can't be done in Missouri - fireworks sales, that is), Andy spotted "The Power", and got Dan rushing to check it out. I thought that "The Power" may have been their term for a hot girl. I was wrong. Turns out that "The Power" is a mullet. *shakes head* I swear, I brought him up better than that... ;)
Anyways, I got photos of Dan and Andy barbecuing in the sartorial finery that are aprons - especially Andy's frilly apron. And got to hear a story of Andy and some friends getting naked during a full moon at Arches National Park. As though my overactive hormones weren't already lusting over Andy (at least for the glasses and spiky hair ... he's a bit skinny for me), hearing him say that "nakedity is a good thing" almost had me ready to schlep him to a BNL concert with me - or kiss him, at least.
Tuesday - do I *have to* go home?
Monday night, I opted to stay in Salt Lake City, as my flight home left at 7:30 in the morning, and I didn't think my brother would be up for getting up at 4:30 in the morning to take me to Salt Lake.
When asking for a wake-up call, and scheduling a shuttle to the airport, you'd think that a hotel couldn't fuck it up. Well, the Travelodge Hotel in the middle of East Bumfuck Salt Lake managed to do that. I requested a 5 a.m. wake up call and a 5:45 a.m. shuttle. At 6 a.m., I get a call from the front desk, telling me that the shuttle is leaving. I tell them that I was supposed to get a 5 a.m. wake-up call and didn't, could they reschedule me for 6:15? They apologized for missing the wake-up call, and rescheduled me. Still, that irked me. A lot.
Thankfully, the trip home was particularly uneventful. I made my connections, my luggage came home with me, and while I was glad to be going home, part of me wanted to stay in Utah longer. But, finances didn't allow it at the time. (Especially since my account is overdrawn post-trip!!)
In conclusion...
Would I go out to Utah again? Definitely.
Would I fly America West Airlines again? Fuck no.
Would I stay in a Days Inn again? Of course.
Would I stay at that Travelodge in East Bumfuck Salt Lake? Oh no.
And so went the story of my trip out west.
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no subject
Date: 2003-07-26 11:35 pm (UTC)I am *SO* up for it. But you know me... I'm a total heathen anyway. I'd probably burst into flame if I even looked at the place.
And there is a PF Chang's right up the street from my house. Remind me when you are here and I'll happily take you. :)