Today was the day we’d set aside to go up into the Wasatch to Silver Fork Lodge for lunch and an autumnal stroll around Silver Lake. I went to sleep to rain in Salt Lake, which meant snow in the mountains, but we didn’t realize quite how much. By the time we reached the restaurant, we were seeing nearly ten inches of wet snow on the ground. After lunch we continued up the mountain to the lake, where it was closer to a foot.

The path around the lake was obscured, and I didn’t especially want to accidentally veer off and end up in the lake by mistake. So we contented ourselves with following another intrepid visitor’s footprints for a bit before returning to the car for a small snowball fight.

I am out in Salt Lake to work, but, this is also my vacation, so today we made sure was a day mostly dedicated to the latter. We checked out a new coffee shop, bought a ton of stuff at rhe farmers market, took a nap, bought new jeans, and ate pizza.

And I spent more time outside than in probably the last month combined enjoying a gorgeously sunny day.

I made it to Salt Lake just after midnight local time.

The new airport terminal is not made for someone low in sleep or mental reserves. I had to walk at least a mile from gate to get to the car. (Rudi made it the ten minutes from the air b-n-b to the airport before I got out of the building.) I’m sure it’s lovely in the daylight, while you’re waiting for a flight, getting to see the sun set over the Wasatch front. I look forward to experiencing it that way.

But the empanada I had from a new-to-us Venezuelan restaurant for a late supper was excellent — and weighed about a pound. (There’s a second one in the fridge.) I can see why there was a line.

We’re going to start the day with a trip to a farmers market and then either head over to the house to assess or to see Rudi’s mom.

Have a good Saturday!

Ha!

I’m not sure where people get the idea that the country is so much quieter than the city.

There are two owls — one down my folks’ driveway and one somewhere further down the hill — chatting about potential meal options.

Something or maybe some things (Deer? A bear? Smaller nighttime critters trying to stay out of someone’s supper plans? The dog in the house up above sometimes hears it too. ) keep traveling through the brush uphill, stepping on downed branches and sending loose debris tumbling down the bank.

And that doesn’t take into account the crickets and peepers.

So, nope, not quiet here at all…

It was a perfect day to spend at the beach. The air and water were both in the 70s. It was sunny, with very little breeze. There were enough waves to make the water fun, but not enough undertow to make it feel fraught.

The beach was already packed when we arrived, but folks start to disappear in the late afternoon. We discovered they were all hanging out on the boardwalk when we went up to buy our ice cream cones just as the sun was setting.

We found a new-to-us brewpub up the shore in Lewes. Rudi enjoyed a flight of beers, including a sour beer flavored with piña colada, and I had a fantastic grilled cheese with peach preserves. There were other things we wanted to try on the menu, so we’ll definitely be back.

It’s been another rough workweek, so Rudi asked if I wanted to spend tomorrow at the beach.

Um, YES!

I’ll see you on the other side of sea, surf, and sun!