Fall Break in the City

Fall Break started out much differently than I had anticipated. The original plan was for a mother-daughter bonding trip to Salt Lake. All of the menfolk were heading up north for a different kind of bonding trip. Fishing and camping. Don't get me wrong. I love fishing and camping. I just don't love it when it is COLD. And they were heading into COLD. If my socks stand up beside the tent and I can see my breath in the morning air, then that's not the camping for me. I would never have put up with Klondike Derby camping in Scouts if I had been born male. Anyway, Owen woke up sick and ended up with us. I warned him that he was subject to all things female for the weekend and he wasn't allowed to complain or make derisive comments. And I have to say he did pretty well!

We started out meeting Heather and two of her kids for lunch at Kneaders...
Notice Flat Grandma and Flat Grandpa. They are coming with us on all of our adventures.



Owen decided to try his hand at being a reindeer...


Bronwyn had insisted on Gardner Village for one of our adventures. Twist my arm! We had fun trying on witch hats. The Village was all dressed up for Halloween. There were people everywhere there since the Village was hosting their big Witch Festival the next two days. Glad we missed the bigger crowds!

In the evening Bronwyn and I headed downtown on TRAX to enjoy a night at the opera. We saw MacBeth, which is not performed very often. I was surprised at how well she followed the story and how much she enjoyed the performance. It was a very late night for her, though.


I have wanted to visit Tracy Aviary for a long time. I had been there several times as a child, but I have to admit that nothing looked familiar. We had a wonderful morning wandering around, looking at some very unusual birds. I think my favorites were the sun conures and the great southern hornbills with their unusual faces and eyes ringed with eyelashes.


We finished off our day with dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Trolley Square. It was the first place I ever got a job when I was a teenager. I still love the food and atmosphere of the restaurant. The dark wood floors and tables and booths, the delicious smell of pasta, mmmmm. I could eat there every day.
I also got hooked on the Twilight series. I read all of the books that weekend (much to the detriment of my usual sleeping habits) and watched the first movie with my niece who came to visit us for an overnighter. Thanks for loaning us the video Sarah! We had wonderful weather for tromping around, and I don't think Owen felt too corrupted by feminine influences (unless you count getting hooked on Twilight himself feminine corruption!). Sigh. I was NOT ready to come back to "real life" this week.