Mr. O works insanely hard, and was rewarded this year with a trip to Park City, Utah, along with 100 or so of the other hard-working folks at his company. He’s actually been out there skiing a couple of times with “the boys”, so he was excited to see it in the summer. And, double bonus for me, spouses were invited!!
While I had never been to Park City before, I did accompany Mr. O on a ski trip to Steamboat Springs last winter (it’s nice to know people who own homes in fun places – makes the travel much less expensive!) and had a wonderful time. The mountains are so beautiful and majestic. But, wow, the altitude makes me tired! It took me a good 2-3 days to acclimate in Steamboat, and Park City was no different.
We went out a couple of days early so we could explore before all of the scheduled corporate events started. Now, I would like to mention that I can be a bit of a planner when it comes to travel and packing, checking the weather forecast as soon as it is available to see, choosing clothing appropriately, etc. So, I checked the forecast about a week out, and I was seeing low 80′s during the day, high 60′s at night. Weather perfection, considering we were sweltering at home in the 100′s and 90% humidity. Ahhhh, cool mountain air, here I come!
It was a little busy around our house the week before we left, so I didn’t keep an eye on the forecast. So, imagine our surprise when we stepped off the airplane in Salt Lake City to temps in the 100′s! But don’t panic, I thought. We still have to go up a couple of thousand feet, surely it will be cooler in Park City.
Nope.
It was in the high 90′s at 7,000 feet. Oh, and did you know that for every 1,000 feet up you go, the time it takes to get a sunburn decreases. Because you are that much closer to the sun. I’m not kidding. And, whoops, I forgot the sunscreen at home. Not that it mattered much, because everything I brought had sleeves.
But I honestly didn’t care about the weather all that much. I was just excited to to get out and see the town, and check out the shopping I had heard so much about. After a quick rest, because the altitude was kicking my butt. Just a little nap first…
An important note – Main Street Park City is One Big Hill. First order of business: find the shuttle that will take me to the top of the hill so I only have to walk downhill. Check. Main Street has lots of fabulous food and shopping, and it took us two days to see everything on both sides of the street.
The days were pretty basic: get up, eat breakfast, take the shuttle to Main Street, take the trolley to the top of Main Street, pick a side, and start walking. Halfway through, stop for lunch. Drink copious amounts of water. Continue walking. Catch shuttle back to hotel. Rest. Eat Dinner. Go to bed. Yes, we are wild, crazy party animals.
By day three I was starting to feel less tired, more normal. Not normal enough to walk 12 blocks uphill, but normal enough that I could walk on a level surface and carry on a conversation at the same time. An improvement.
Then the work portion of the trip began. First, we transferred to The Montage Hotel. Thousands of square feet of 5-star deliciousness set into the mountains of Deer Valley. We have never stayed at a hotel anywhere in the same universe as this luxurious compound. To stay in the room that we had at the Montage for 3 days would cost roughly the same amount as our monthly mortgage payment. And the room itself was just shy of the same size as the main floor of our home. Oh, did I mention that Vice President and Mrs. Biden were staying there, too? No? I must have been too distracted by the bathroom that is larger than my kitchen. But yes, Mrs. Biden was hanging out by the pool. Y’know, no big deal.
The next three days were full of activities. A cocktail reception that included a chair lift ride to the top of the mountain, a whiskey distillery tour, dinner at Olympic Park with a aerial skiing show by world class athletes, a day at the spa, and a gala dinner. The usual for me.
Chair Lift Ride – View of the Montage Hotel
Whiskey Distillery Equipment
Olympic Park
Gala After-Party
This trip was a wonderful whirlwind, but as always, it’s great to be home again. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go clean the bathroom, and be grateful it’s not the size of my kitchen.