Starling Travel

Every summer Mike and I make sure that we go up to Snowbird Ski Resort. We don’t ski and we hate crowds, so Snowbird at this time of the year is unpleasant, crowded and expensive. It’s not expensive for a ski resort, but for someone who isn’t planning on skiing, the hotel rooms are too much for me to spend.

In the summer, however, the hotel rooms can go as low as $75 a night. There are a lot less people there and the wildlife deign to visit sometimes. Mike and I went to Snowbird last August and here is the collection of pictures we took while we were there.

While we were there, we ate at the pizza joint at the lodge. For the evening, we ate at Aerial restaurant, which is a place that you probably want to dress up for a little bit. It was our anniversary, so we were already dressed up. By the way, the goat cheese tower isn’t nearly as tall as we expected when we ordered it. We expected something similar to the tower of onion rings that they will serve at those restaurants where they have junk nailed to the walls. Instead of ten inches of goat cheese, we were served an inch and a half of goat cheese and beets. It tasted really good, but it didn’t really live up to its name.

Truly, the best part of Snowbird in the summer is the privacy and the beautiful mountains. There are hiking trails to explore. You can take the tram up to the top of the mountain and hike down or just ride the tram back down. The pot guts (ground squirrels) in the area are very shy and it takes a lot of patience to get them to take Cheese Nips from your hand. Don’t buy the low fat Cheese Nips. They won’t even go near them. We made that mistake once.

There have been many times when we have seen deer at Snowbird in the summer. Since there are so few people there, the deer are less timid. They will run away quickly if you encounter them, but at least you’ll get a chance to see them.

This time of year at Snowbird, it’s an active and busy place. The ski lifts are running non-stop and excited skiers fill the place with energy. In the summer, it is much more quiet and relaxed. The restaurants have shorter hours and the shops are abandoned. The ski lifts are dismantled and the lift chairs are stacked behind the buildings. I love Snowbird in the summer and I’m eagerly awaiting the season when things calm down up there.

Snowbird Ski Resort 1-800-232-9542

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