Starling Travel

This article had such a great name that I was drawn to it. My spoiled inner child has lots of fantasy trips that she would like to visit. What could Fodor’s give her?

• Fodor’s Travel Wire | Spoiled Rotten: Fantasy Trips for Your Inner Child

Not much, apparently. Each of these trips are EXPENSIVE. I guess when they say “Fantasy” they actually mean “Pricey.” If I were to let my inner child run free with her fantasies, she would come up with a far different selection of trips:

The Daydreamer:

I love to sit in a busy cafe when I am in the mood to daydream. I love to take a sketch pad and try to draw the people around me or maybe my Moleskine and just write whatever comes to mind. In Salt Lake City, Utah, the best cafe to sit and people watch is a toss up.

Any Barnes & Noble: I like to buy a tea and sit in the cafe section, watching the people. Sometimes I make up stories about them in my head. Other times, I grab a book off the shelf that I would never deign to buy and read it. Address: Various Cost: $5-10 for tea and refills.

SouthTowne Mall Foodcourt: The busiest mall in the Salt Lake Valley is SouthTowne. If I can find a seat at the foodcourt, I can sit there all day watching the people. Sometimes I get a diet soda from one of the vendors, other times I just sit there without need for any more refreshment other than the loud and excited activity bustling around me. Address: 10450 South State Street Cost: $5 for a soda.

The Spy:

My favorite spot in Salt Lake City to pretend I’m a spy is the LDS Temple grounds. I’m not LDS, so there are areas of that tourist site that I am not allowed. The temple is available to only Mormon members in good standing (they need to have a Temple Recommend). Skulking around the temple grounds and trying to catch glimpses inside the temple itself makes me feel a little like a spy. There is always the question about what they do in there and the rumors among the uninitiated run rampant. Ask a Temple Recommended Mormon and they will tell you nothing. A visit to the LDS Temple is a venture in finding out the secrets that Salt Lake City has to offer. Address: 50 W. South Temple Cost: Free (unless you sign the visitor’s book and then you’ll get visits from the LDS Missionaries at great cost to your time and maybe soul).

The Diva:

The Utah College of Massage Therapy will treat you like you’re a queen, but only on Saturday and Sunday between the hours of 8:00 am to 5:30 pm. If you are willing to wait until the weekend, you can get a massage from one of their students for CHEAP. You can be a diva that saves money. Address: 25 South 300 East Cost: $25 for a 50 minute massage.

The Nerd:

The best place to nerd it up is Sam Weller’s bookstore. They have a simple selection of new books (Barnes & Noble will beat them every time), but the true beauty of this store are the used sections. There are used sections upstairs and downstairs. The hallways can be a little canavernous, so if you have claustrophobia, stay in the more open sections. Otherwise, you can dig through the tomes of the past to your heart’s content. Address: 254 South Main Street Cost: Free, unless you buy a book.

The Architect:

Our most stunning piece of architecture in Salt Lake City is the new City Library. The inner child that played with Lincoln Logs can take a walk up the incline of this building. There is art inside for you to peruse and the vistas from the walls of glass are stunning. Enjoy the park area at the top of the building and the fountains at the base. Address: 210 East 400 South Cost: Free, even when you borrow the books!

If I can compile this list about my hometown, I’m sure you can do the same. Sure, the Fiji islands may appeal to the inner child in you, but some time people watching at the best local sites might do the same. Your inner child doesn’t need to spend a lot of money to enjoy itself. You just need to give yourself some time.

I am sitting in Mo’s Grill in Salt Lake City, on West Temple. I’ve never been here before. Once, while we were waiting in line at Port O’Call across the street, my friends walked across the street to Mo’s Grill. When they came back, we asked what they did, my friend exclaimed,

“We had a Flaming Mo!”

It was the famous drink that Homer Simpson invented in Moe’s Bar on The Simpsons. We were awed and we wanted them to stand in line for us while we went over, but we were so close to the front of the line, we didn’t get a chance to go in.

My belly is warm from my Flaming Mo right now. It tasted like cough syrup. The waitress was reluctant to set it on fire for me. She said,

“Most of the time the fire just goes out. Either that or it goes down the side of the glass and sets your hand on fire.”

I was willing to have an Unflaming Mo in order to remain unscathed. We ordered burgers and enjoyed the quiet night at the bar. It’s a Thursday night, so there are only two other groups of guys in the bar. There is an unattended pool table, a pinball machine and two video games (2005 Golden for Tee and Deer Hunting USA). The televisions are showing the LSU football game. I’m not much for sports bars, but my city has the famous Mo’s Grill. I can’t leave it unvisited.

The food is slow in coming and I order my favorite drink that tests whether the wait staff is snooty or stupid. I order a Kamikaze with the rest of the glass filled with club soda. It’s the kind of thing that either breaks their brains or makes them turn up their noses. Neither happened with her. She replied,

“Do you want the normal Kamikaze or the Blue Kamikaze?”

I’m floored and ecstatic, “The blue one, of course!”

By the time the burgers come, I’m a little tipsy. The burgers are fresh off a flame-grill; they have that perfect charcoal flavor and not too crispy. My cheeseburger is delicious and Mike’s barbeque burger is excellent. The French Fries have a seasoned salt on them, giving them extra flavor. We continue eating, even though we are both full because they taste so good. The clientele is excitedly talking about the most recent movies and ignoring the football game.

They have a wireless network that my computer connects to, but I can’t get past their router. I don’t need a password, but it doesn’t work. I ask the waitress about it and she laments that they have had trouble all day, but that it usually works. Oh well, I work offline just as easily as online. One of the regulars brings in his iBook. After a few moments, he tries restarting the router, to no avail. He seems surprised that it doesn’t work, so her story about it usually working checks out.

No one notices when I take pictures of the inside of the pub and flash pictures of my food. I waited until our waitress was out of sight, though. Aside from the two waitresses, I am the only female in the room. The rest of the people in the pub are men over 35 years. One of them is giving his friend in-depth descriptions of all the latest movies and the preferred physical attributes of the female leads. I smile to myself. It feels like Cheers in here, except the waitress is nice to me.

Our bill came to 28 bucks, which covered the two burgers and fries, a soda for Mike and the two drinks for me. I tipped the waitress 20% (typical for Utah) and left full of good food and happy for the visit.

If you’re in Salt Lake City, you need to try out Mo’s Grill, it wasn’t named after the bar in The Simpsons and I don’t think this is the bar that inspired it. It’s a great place to relax and type on your laptop for a while. Just don’t let the Flaming Mo set your hand on fire.

Mo’s Neighborhood Grill
358 S West Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84101-1911
(801) 359-0586

A couple of weekends ago, we stayed at the Rainbow Hotel in Wendover, Nevada for a family party. A weekend in Wendover is by no means, “travel on the cheap.” Unless you stay there on a weekday, Wendover tends to be pricey. Our total cost for the two night stay was $185 for a normal hotel room with two queen beds.

The room was equipped normally for a Nevada hotel. There was a coffeemaker and hair dryer in the bathroom, but no mini-bar. If you want to drink in a hotel/casino, you’re expected to go downstairs and play on the slots. A lovely lady will come bring you a drink for free if you plant your butt at a slot machine.

There is gambling and eating and little else to do in Wendover during the winter. I don’t care for gambling and I’ve finally got my eating under control, so I was surprised with how much time I had on my hands. I was able to exercise at the Montego Bay hotel gym (Rainbow, Peppermill and Montego Bay are all owned by the same company). I was able to get a little writing done. Mike and I folded oragami Christmas ornaments. We were able to do all that and I was also able to spend a little time with my family and eat at the seafood buffet.

Part of the reason that I love to camp is that it forces me to slow down. There isn’t much to do after we’ve put up the tent and blown up the air mattress. That’s how the weekend at the Rainbow Hotel was for me. We rested. We enjoyed each other. We drank some inexpensive alcohol. It was a great weekend.

That weekend, we drove down to Las Vegas to unwind and be casual. We didn’t have too many things on our agenda. All I wanted to do was shop at the Fashion Show Mall (I was looking for a watch, didn’t find one) and take some pictures. On the way to Vegas from Jean, we found the coolest spot to take pictures. It’s right off the Sloan Road exit, but I call the little area, Eats. After you see the pictures, you’ll understand why:

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If you are driving north on I-15 from Jean to Las Vegas, you’ll see these little cabins, but you might not be able to see where you should exit to get there. You need to exit on Sloan Road, and take the frontage road south to the cabins. Here’s a link to the aerial map on Google Maps:

• Google Local – Sloan Road, Nevada

These cabins are private property and you MUST stay off the private property. All these photos were taken by sticking my camera lens between the chain link fence. Mike, Stacey and Dan wouldn’t let me trespass and in retrospect, that was probably a good thing. You can’t take a picture of yourself standing in the doorway of these old abandoned cabins, but they do provide a wonderful photo opportunity if you are willing to stay on the legal side of the fence.

I love thinking about the people who used to visit these cabins. Were they unbearably hot or did the thick adobe walls keep out the Nevada sun? Did they used to be the favorite spot of people like me? Were they inexpensive and so close to the lights of Nevada that they were a “good deal”? Were they a tourist trap? Why did they close? Who are those people living in the trailer homes right next to them? Do they own these cabins and if they do, would they let me trespass?

I wonder if there is anyone out there who can answer these questions about these cabins. Until then, we’ll just have to romanticize them.

Update 01-06-06: We visited Vegas again and these cabins are GONE. They were so gone that we thought we might be looking in the wrong place. Then, Mike found the evidence…

• Starling Travel » Eats, Nevada is no more

Last time Mike and I stayed in Jean, Nevada, it was in September. We went there with my sister, Stacey and her husband, Dan. They are our best friends. We rode in their Hummer and they drove the whole way. I should feel guilty for that, but it was a new car and I was scared of scratching it. Plus, I’ve never driven anything bigger than a VW Beetle before, so I was doubly scared of driving that big thing. We paid for half the gas, so I guess I shouldn’t feel too guilty.

The trip to Jean was mostly spent in Vegas. We drove up and down the strip in their bright yellow Hummer and I stood up through the sunroof and took pictures. You can see those pictures here:

• Pick Me! » Weekend In Vegas – September 2005

In Jean, however, Mike and I spent the morning taking a nice walk around the hotel and clicking pictures. In the very last photo, you can see the Nevada Landing hotel in the background. I didn’t really get a good picture of the hotel while we were there, so you’ll have to be happy with this. You can see the pictures here:

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The walk started with a trip to the gas station near the hotel. Mike and I weren’t really in the mood to sit down at the cafe and the snack bar wasn’t open yet, so we took a walk to the convenience store. He had a Krispy Kreme donut and I got a pint of water. We walked back to the hotel via a little dirt road. We saw lizards, blackbirds and lots of dragonflies. I was only able to click a picture of the lizard, though.

The entire walk was less than a mile, but don’t underestimate the Nevada sun. It can get REALLY hot there, so if you’re going to do this walk, do it in the morning or late evening so you don’t get burned to a crisp. You can see the route we took here:

• Gmaps Pedometer – A Nice Walk Around Nevada Landing

Another note about Nevada Landing. There isn’t a hotel gym where you can exercise. There is a tiny pool where you can swim. I’ve never tried it out, so I can’t tell you if it’s good or not. I have, however, jogged around the parking lot along the edges. It’s a pretty easy run because it’s very flat. There are usually big semi-trucks parked along those edges (you can see them on the map below), so you’ll have to dodge them. Other than that, I’ve enjoyed the runs around the parking lot. One trip around is .65 miles, so you can plan your workout accordingly. Here’s a map of where I run when I stay at Nevada Landing:

• Gmaps Pedometer – Jogging Path Around Nevada Landing – .65 miles

That day at Nevada Landing, I ran around the parking lot for free (that was my workout). Mike and I took a walk to the convenience store, which was $5 for donuts and drinks. The walk around the wild, deserty areas was free. The photo ops were free. The stay at the hotel was $50 because it was a weekend. We had a lot of fun for pretty cheap and that only brings us to that morning. That afternoon, we found another great place to take pictures.

Tune in tomorrow to see the photos from the rest of the day.