As it turns out, Dan and I have had quite alot of similarities lately. Let me put that into picture. Dan and myself both have:
1) We left Australia to live and work in London.
2) We're both working in IT on relatively similar wages, both working for U.S. based companies and both working near Bank tube station.
3) We both 'Dossed' (used the couch at) Julie's place on arrival.
4) We both had a trip to U.S.A for work purposes..
5) We both visited Vegas and got there in hire cars (although coming from different directions)
6) We both gambeled (although Dan lost money, I won money. :) )
6) We both bought snowboards over in North America (Dan bought his in Canada, mine was bought in U.S.A)
and the list continues but you get the picture.
Knowing this is how things are, I totally ripped off Dan's blog summary at the bottom of these posts. Thanks mate ! (Dan's blog is at danvito.blogspot.com, if you care to check that out - it makes a good read.)
I touched down in Salt Lake around 8 at night, so I had the joy of getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road at nighttime not having a clue where I was going. I had a pretty 'fat ass' car though so that was sweet. (Toyota Avalon, plenty of luxury.)
I was staying at the Provo Marriot. Provo, Orem and Lindon are all cities that run together so this is why I was working in Lindon but staying in Provo. Most people have some sort of situation like this, where they live in a different city but its all one and the same really. These three cities and Salt Lake City all form the 'Wasatch Front'. The beauty about this was needing to get on I15 (Interstate 15) to get to work, which was my daily drive for the time I was here.
Streets are numbered in Utah. Not like 42nd, 43rd etc.. they are named '300 South' or similar. This example means, south of the center of the town/city, and further away from the center than 200. This means you can find your way without a map. This does however still become a learning experience as I found out. Note, If you get told to drive to '4 South' in Salt Lake City when you trying to find a shopping mall, go to 400 South. 4 South does not exist and is a shortcut name for 400 South. Please also note: Because the cities run together, be wary. You may find out that the street you are in has two names, ie: 400 South (Lindon) / 300 North (Provo). This can cause last minute changes of direction when driving by tourists.. IE: ME.
The first night I was there I had dinner with Brent Ring, a colleague from work. Brent cooks up a mean Chicken BBQ so that was lovely and very nice to meet his family. People in Lindon are typically of the Church of Latter Day Saints also known as Mormons and contrary to what rumour you hear live a very pleasant everyday lifestyle. I found them all to be extremely warm and generous.
Training went well in the first week, but I had to spend the night working on the material for the next day. As a result I was stuck in my hotel room or at work so didnt have much of an outlet and was starting to go stir crazy by the end of that week. Luckily I had a 'game room' in the hotel that was on my floor, and snuck out every so often to play a pinball game.
For those people who aren't aware, modern day pinball machines give you a chance at getting a free credit at the end of the game. It displays a number such as 00,10,20,30,40 etc up to 90 and does some little animation like blowing a box up and the number that is revealed, if it equals the one shown, you get a free credit. Strangely enough, the pinball I played "Theatre of Magic" was constantly coughing up free credits !! Not only did it do this, but hardly anyone was playing it and the free credit score limit was set low aswell.. Sometimes I would play with one quarter and get 10 free games out of it !! Needless to say, this gave me some entertainment in that first week and I ended up smashing the record on that pinball and breaking a billion points! :)
Bars in utah are rare as Hens Teeth. Good bars are even rarer. I found one great one though, called AtchaFalaya and it just so happened to be stumbling distance from my Hotel. Utah has some odd laws about drinking though, and you have to get membership of a bar ($3.50 or so) just to be able to drink there. Apart from that, in the U.S.A, get this, they can choose to pour you a non-alcoholic drink at their own discretion if your wasted. This means you ask for a beer, and they give you something beer-like that isnt alcoholic. I thought this was a really interesting way of handling people who are too drunk.
At the bar I met some interesting people from all over the U.S. and have some funny conversations. Being an Aussie is just the best thing in U.S.A. All you need to do is drop a 'G'Day mate' and your an instant celebrity!! So there I was - "the aussie" .. I met a few friends that I hung out with over the remaining time and this helped make the stay in Utah very enjoyable.
One of my missions while in U.S.A was to get snowboard gear. I did some research on the net before I went to buy a board. I started with the Burton website and pretty much didnt go much further than there. After getting a good idea on what was what and what I wanted I checked a few board shops out. The first one I checked had an okay range and I wanted to have a look at some of the older (half price) stock. The stand of clearance stuff was full of crap but as I was sifting through I noticed this larger decent looking board up the back there.. I pull it out and its this Burton Baron '05 model, in blue. Absolutely gorgeous! I couldnt beleive my luck, I had found a top of the line Burton board that looked amazing and was reduced to less than half the retail price !! It also fit my height / weight category. I bought it, a bag (half price), Boots and bindings (Burton Cartels) for I couldnt beleive it! All up I got all my shit for 600 or so USD. The board alone back home is $930 and is still current. Ka-Ching !!!
Utah has some of the best outdoor activites you will find anywhere. Snow fields (Which get fantastic powder snow) are 15 minutes drive from people's homes. Rock-climbing, hiking, and so on are all highly rated on a global scale. I enjoyed some rock-climbing (thanks again Brent) and also got to see some ice hockey games. During autumn all the Aspen trees change colour to a very rich blood red and their leaves fall. At this time its tradition for schoolkids to go and pick leaves to give to their class teacher. I took a drive up with Brent and his family for some photos. It wasnt so easy because the roads were very busy, although everyone is going at a snail's pace for two reasons: to grab leaves, and also because the roads are not exactly wide and everyone here drives massive pickups (Dodge RAMs and DMC Suburbans).
Overall I had a really great time in Utah. This was due to alot of factors, but not limited to buying my board and buying some jeans that are actually made in my size at rock bottom prices, Brent's hospitality spending time showing me alot of what Utah has to offer, and just generally getting to see another part of the world I never knew anything about. A big thankyou to Brent and his family and all the nice people I met. Utah has alot going for it, this visit was a great experience.
Oh - I almost forgot to mention this: I got a great cocktail recipe while there as follows:
B.O.B.Y (Better off by yourself)
Vodka
Shambourg
Blue Curacao
with Lemonade over crushed ice.
PS: For those who wanted higher resolution pictures, you can click the photos to see larger versions !!
Utah Summary:
Days Spent: 21 (Go my marriot rewards points!)
Countries visited since leaving Australia: 2.
Best Thing: Buying stuff cheap. Utah outdoor activites.
Worst Thing: Leaving my armani sunnies somewhere.. Gone!!
Best Beer: Provo Girl (Local)
Most disgusting food: American cheese is terrible.
Next Destination: Vegas baby Vegas !
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