a birthday trip for a birthday boy.

I am a little extravagant and sometimes I exaggerate or overly indulge in experiences but one thing that is always worthy of that extra-ness is Cade. He's my best friend, my secret keeper, my anxiety relief and husband. Sometimes I want to tell him that I don't like him but that's usually just the heat of the moment and a little bit later I'm back to thinking he's the entire world. So we'll focus on the positives all the time, right?!

Anyway, for his birthday I wanted to surprise him in a big way and boy did I do that ;)  ... We went to Salt Lake City! Neither of us have ever been and so I bought our plane tickets, reserved the hotel room and did some scoping on the internet to figure out what we could do. The trip was incredible and having that weekend to ourselves with no responsibilities was exactly what we needed and exactly when we needed it. 

The flight into Salt Lake was about as beautiful of a flight that you could possible imagine. Once we got below the clouds it was just mountains. Big, beautiful mountains that completely surrounded us. It was a moment and it I might have shed a little tear just thinking about how grateful I am and how incredible the opportunity was to be able to do something like this with someone I genuinely adore and love. It was touching and I'll never forget it.

After we landed and got to our hotel we got ourselves checked in and situated. At this time it was probably near 6PM which, to our bodies was actually around 8 and we decided that we needed dinner and to rest. Unfortunately I don't really have any pictures from dinner but we went to Squatters Pub and it was a great time. The food was delicious and the beer selection was vast and plenty. We both tried different things and we loved it all! 

DAY ONE: 

Coffee: Blue Copper Roasters

This was a few blocks from our hotel so we decided to go here for breakfast and coffee and it was such a cute little place! We got a little travel mug to take back with us but the best part was definitely shared between the coffee and the friendliness! We sat at the coffee bar and during conversation with the baristas we explained that we were from out of town and wasn't sure what to do. They gave so many great ideas and a stranger sitting at a table even chimed in AND showed us on his laptop where to go and how to take certain transit lines that tourists may not be too familiar with. I should mention now that I was completely blown away by the kindness and patience that I received from the locals. It was terrific! 

This was taken with an iPhone. Not zoomed in whatsoever and not edited. SAY WHAT?! 

 

I'm not sure if this video will work but I thought I'd need it for proof to show that the mountains really were this overwhelmingly beautiful and big and magnificent! 

Salt Lake is nothing if not a city for every kind of person. Sure there is a temple and large Mormon population and yes there is obviously skiers and snowboarders but also there's many mom and pop shops and breweries and restaurants for those of us who aren't necessary active (in religion or sports, get it!? get it?!). Anyway, we went to the breweries and local shops, it was perfect for us! 

Uinta Brewing
Epic Brewing Company
Proper Brewing Company
Lucky 13 Bar and Grill

 

DAY TWO: 

On day two we decided to travel up to Park City after receiving this suggestion from nearly ever Uber driver, waiter/waitress and helpful passerby. So off we went and just a little tid bit, if you find yourself in SLC then you should absolutely check out Park City. They're not lying! 

Coffee: Atticus Coffee, Books and Teahouse

We walked up and down Main Street and just took in these amazing views! How can you describe it other than doing your best to capture the beauty?

For lunch we checked out High West Distillery

We slowly made our way back to Salt Lake and decided to check out Red Iguana after (again) everyone told us to go and it lived up to the hype! The wait was a quick 25 minutes and the food and service were equal parts fantastic! We really hit the jackpot with this trip with regards to where we went. I know I sound like a broken record, but it was all worth our time and money. Not a single complaint! 

In Temple Square we visited the Temple ^^ and the Mall (below)

We were sad to leave a great trip but also SO ready to see our Frankie and get back to normal life and our bed! We already want to go again and there will be quite a few places that we will be going to again! 

Oh, and Cleveland welcomed us back with quite the sunset over Lake Erie.