Likes and Dislikes: Utah Edition

I don't generally hide how much I LOVE where I live. I love my soft fuzzy green mountains and the sea of trees that surrounds my home. As a result, I tend to be picky when I travel other places. It's hard to find a place I like anywhere near as much as I like here. So what do I think of Utah? While it doesn't have quite as many trees, it does have some redeeming qualities. But first, what I didn't like about my trip:


Reptile Skin: So, people tell me that you adapt, that the moisture in your skin adjusts and you don't look like an expensive handbag forever. But good grief! The entire time I was visiting, my skin felt like parchment paper. I don't always appreciate the humidity in the South. Until I leave. Then I miss it like crazy.

Constant Thirst: Also caused by the dry air, I guess. I was always thirsty, and so was my baby. I realized in retrospect that she was nursing much more frequently than usual.

Boogers: Okay, so I know boogers are gross, but seriously. Is it the dry air? What is it about Utah that makes the inside of your nose turn into to a cavern of hard, humongous boogers? If it's the humidity of the south that keeps me from being able to feel them from the outside, I'll keep living here, thank you very much.

The Mormon question: When you live on the east coast, and you run into a Mormon that you don't already know, it's a little like meeting a celebrity. While vacationing in Charleston, SC over Christmas break, we saw a set of missionaries riding their bicycle down the street and I wanted to stop and cheer. I think I actually did roll down my window and yell, which probably only scared them. But it was exciting! Exciting because you just don't see very many signs of the church out here. In day to day life, it doesn't even occur to you to ask if someone is Mormon. If they were, you'd know. They'd be on your visiting teaching list.

I guess this isn't necessarily something that I don't like, just something I'm not used to. The idea that in any group of strangers that you encounter in Utah, near half, if not more are probably members is odd to me. Not bad, just odd. I wonder how long I would have to live there before I stopped wondering if every person I saw walking down the isles of Target was a Mormon, or not.

That's not too bad of a list, is it? And now for the things I like:

The Temples: Oh, how lovely it is to drive down the interstate and see temples - notice the 's' on the end. Temples! In plural! Here, to see a temple, you orchestrate all day babysitting for your kids, get in the car and drive a few hours. How lovely it would be to see them on a regular basis, even when out and about doing other things.

My hair: The one instance where a lack of humidity actually serves me well. My hair is SO much easier to manage than it is here at home.

Zupa's Mushroom Soup: I ate it twice while I was in Utah, and have thought about it so many times since then. I NEED Zupa's to be on the east coast. Can someone take care of that for me?

The Sweet Tooth Fairy Gourmet Bake Shop: You want the keys to my heart? Or at least my taste buds? Send me some Cake Bites from this bake shop. For all that is good and holy... I've never had anything quite so perfectly bite sized, so wonderfully delicious. I love them. I need them. They make me happy.

And finally,

My friends: Not everyone that I met this past weekend lives in Utah, but many of you do. You, and all my friends that live there that I didn't see this trip, make the state worth visiting all on your own. Even if my skin is dry and my boogers are crusty.