Fall Colors

                      

In October, Ramon and I decided to take a little trip to Utah to visit my sister and adorable nephew, along with the fall colors and my old college. At last I was going to take a vacation and get away from the hassles of Austin life and work. So we took an early morning flight and landed in Salt Lake City to a beautiful sunny morning of 68 degrees. It was a wonderful departure from the 85 degree humidity of Texas. We quickly arrived at my sister's house where I met my darling new nephew Asher. He is definitely going to be a heartbreaker when he grows up. I held him as often as I could. So cute!

Along with Asher was my long time best friend Zoey - a cocker-lab mix who can't stand to be anywhere but in your lap at all times. Normally dogs flock to Ramon and fall in love with him in a matter of minutes. This time around, Zoey just couldn't seem to choose him over me. Did I get great satisfaction out of this?

 Absolutely! It was quite funny to see him desperately trying to win her over. In the end, I'm still the dog's favorite. According to my sister, if anything happens to her and her husband the dog is my responsibility. I'm sure Ramon will love that.

 

Then our week of touring for Ramon, and reminiscing for me began. First stop was the incredible Cafe Rio.  It's just as good as I remember and oh how I miss it! We then took some drives through Provo Canyon, the Alpine Loop, and Park City and saw the amazing fall colors.

So, I have to admit that the main reason I wanted to go to Utah for a vacation was because a) it was a free place to stay, and b) I love to see the colors in the fall.  More than anything I miss the fall season in the mountains with the changing colors, cooler temperatures, and that crisp smell of leaves and nature. Texas can't even compare as they have no mountains and few seasons. The weather was perfect for hiking and mountain viewing the day we choose to drive through.

We also toured downtown Salt Lake and saw the Temple Square sites. We took a tour of the Conference Center, saw the Beehive House, ate at the Lion House, and Toured Temple Square. As this was Ramon's first trip to Utah, he took pictures every step of the way. The paintings were beautiful, the temple grounds are always incredible, and it was great to see how much things have changed. I was also able to meet up with my old roommate Amy at the visitor's center, one of my most favorite people. 

Then it was off to the beautiful BYU campus and chocolate covered cinnamon bears. We went to the airplane museum at Hill Airforce Base and Ramon was lost for a few hours in the old war planes. We fought the BYU football traffic, and met up with more old friends at Tucanos for some amazing meats and grilled pineapple.

The week went by quickly and before we knew it, it was time to go home. We arrived in Utah to beautiful sunny weather, and we left in snow. It's amazing how fast time flies when you are having fun. All in all it was a truly relaxing vacation with plenty to do and see, but lots of time to relax and recoup. I wouldn't say that I necessarily miss Utah, but I certainly miss the wonderful people and the beautiful mountains.