Embrace the detours

Today marks the end of a wonderful trip with my Eddy, but I'll start at the begining:

Wednessday we flew into a very rainy Salt Lake City. The forecast had not been good, and I was bitter that lovely Utah looked to be very crappy for our stay. We picked up our rental, a very butch and outdoorsy Jeep Grand Cherokee, and headed to Baci for dinner with some of my SLC buds. Baci was my favorite restaurant downtown. I used to walk there after the opera for some late night snacking.

In a twist of fate, the place was to go out of business a mere two days later. As such, they were out of everything I tried to order! It was great to see some of the old Utah crowd, and Ed got to finally put faces with names he'd been hearing. We walked around Temple Square in the rain/hail afterwards--not as romantic as I'd imagined, but nice nonetheless. Chanda, the cheap Asian whore, I mean one of my best friends, was nice enough to put us up for the night. It was great to hear stories exchanged by an old friend and the current bf.

The next day, we treked down to Moab, a major outdoor tourist spot in Southern Utah. We hiked around Arches National Park for the better part of the day.




We stayed the night in a quaint bed and breakfast owned by an older Belgian couple with the CUTEST accents. We spent an enchanting evening in the outdoor hot tub with the spectacular mountain sky ablaze with stars you can't see at lower elevations. It was quite romantic. After bed, the breakfast included Belgian waffles (of course!) served by the women we nick-named Zja Zja due to her accent and inflection.

After the previous day of hiking, neither one of us wanted to do anything too physical, but we still needed some adventure. So we rented ATV's!!!!! It was one of the most fun things I've done in a LONG time! Riding those things isn't as easy as it looks, and the rocky, mountainous terrain proved challenging at times. There were many moments of panic when going up a steep slope or slip-sliding down a treacherous bank. On one flat part, we raced them to over 40 MPH! We rode for almost five hours through creek beds, sand washes, buttes, and mountains. Southern Utah is spectacular country; there's something very primitive and grandiose about it.




We drove back to SLC that night, but missed one of our turns in the dark. As a result, I got a FREAKIN' speeding ticket on a stretch of highway we never shoulda been on. Fate is cruel sometimes. I used to get tickets in Utah all the time, but I've never even been pulled over here in Missouri. Ironically, I go back to Utah for the first time in nearly two years and get nailed. Sheesh!

We finally got back to our Hilton (i love you Priceline.com!) and then met the boys at the gay club. Ed had never been to a gay club, although Shattered comes close at times. "I feel like I've finally arrived," said the boy. I was a little nervous to take him to a club filled with beautiful shirtless guys, and the club used to be a source for feelings of inferiority and disappointment for me. However, it was nice to dance and share the new experience with Eddy.

After much needed sleeping in the next day, we hit the exercise room and drove down to Provo. It wasn't the most exciting for Ed, but for me it was quite nostalgic. I can't believe it's been ten years since I first transferred out to BYU. I had a lot of wonderful experiences and opportunities there, as well as some bitterness and heartbreak. This trip made me remember the highlights of my time there, though.

Back in SLC, I introduced Ed to the culinary wonder that is Rodizio Grill, a supposed Brazilian restaurant that is a meat lovers heaven. Guys keep bringing out different kinds and cuts of meat as long as you want them to, combined with an exotic salad bar. I'm still recovering from the protein induced shock! The rest of the night was spent walking/sleeping off our dinner.

Today we somehow managed to get TWO hours ahead instead of the required one hour "Spring ahead." That combined with our rental drop-off and airport check-in taking hardly any time at all caused us to be over two hours early to our flight. Thus we found an unoccupied laptop cubicle and napped underneath it for the better part of an hour and a half!

It was a great vacation from the humdrum world of retail, and I got to see many old friends for the first time in two years. I spent it all with my very sexy, very fun Eddy G. He made me laugh so many times, and he was such a joy to travel with. Although we both need some alone time after being together 24/7 for five days, I very much enjoyed having him there night and day as a friend, companion, and boyfriend. One of my favorite parts of the trip was watching family guy together after we arrived home, prolonging our separation. This detour to a place in my history has reminded me of the past, but it has also served as a reminder to aggressively seek to improve my future. For now, the immediate future needs to see me in bed. I hate you time change on top of a time zone change!