Last night we dropped Orco off at Hardy's (and collected a bag of travel goodies that Jewel surprised us with), then drove through the night to Utah for Ann Marie's wedding reception. We made the decision at the last minute, packed some things in the van, and googled a hotel near Temple square before rushing out of the house.
With a couple stops, we got to Salt Lake by 9:00am the next morning, almost 15 hours after leaving home. The first thing we did was find a place for breakfast - and for that we went to Ruth's diner, an amazing restaurant that has been featured on an episode of Diners Drivins and Dives. Even more impressive is a framed dinner napkin on the wall, upon which a customer named Betty Crocker had pencilled a note, complimenting Ruth on the food.
While we were eating, two guys at tables next to us started a shouting match after one of their wives complained about the other's wife coughing loudly. They were out of their chairs and it was looking like it would come to blows so I got up and reminded them that our children were sitting right there. Whew, it made for an interesting breakfast at least.
After the meal, we visited the nearby This is The Place monument to enjoy the beautiful weather and the wonderful spirit and example of the early pioneers.
The hotel we chose let us check in early, so we swam in a pool we had all to ouselves before lying down for a much-needed nap.
When we woke up, we walked several blocks to visit Crown Burger, a place that Heather had heard about and is famous for its pastrami hamburgers and fry sauce. It was an amazing meal - four burgers, two pops, and two orders of fries had our family of six feeling as though we had eaten too much.
As we entered the lobby of our hotel, I was stunned to see Aunt Karin and Matt and James and their families. It turns out that the hotel we had chosen at random as we were rushing out the door, was actually ground-zero for the Toone family reception party. Suddenly, Ann Marie and Scott also came down from their room upstairs! It was so great to meet Scott, especially a day sooner than we thought we would. Even Jordan and his family showed up to check in.
It was the most unexpected and wonderful surprise and if you'll excuse us, we are just headed down to the pool again - I'm sure it's a party down there by now!
- C
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