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| Good Friends in Park City |
The brief backstory: Kia recalled certain 2011 Optimas due
to machining errors that occurred during manufacturing, which can cause engines
to seize. And that’s exactly what happened to Jackson and his friends during their last summer trip before starting their senior year at Western Washington University.
They were driving down the freeway on their way to Salt Lake City, when Optima
Prime died. He just totally and completely died. Jackson had the car towed to a
Kia dealership in American Fork, Utah, and spent hours on the phone with Chad
making a plan for getting home. He ended up buying a car for himself (he’d already been in
the market for one), and the boys continued their road trip, leaving Optima
Prime at the dealership. Once the repairs were done, Chad and I would fly to Utah to get
our car and make a fun road trip out of it.
Fast forward to today. Our once-reliable Optima Prime’s engine
has been replaced (on Kia’s dime), and this morning Chad and I flew to Salt
Lake City to drive him home. We
picked up our rental car at the airport and drove
to Temple Square where the Mormon Tabernacle is located. When we arrived and realized neither of us were actually interested in it, we headed
for lunch instead. We sat on the patio of a cool little neighborhood spot
called The Park Café where we had a perfect view of Liberty Park and all the
locals walking their dogs. We didn’t stay long because we were both antsy to
get to our next destination—Park City.
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| A cool art installation in downtown SLC |
On the 40-minute drive to Park City, we “oood” and “ahhd” at
the bright orange and yellow leaves on the aspen and maple trees and commented
on the perfect 73-degree weather. We drove to Main Street, a historic street
in Park City packed with hundreds of shops, boutiques, galleries, and restaurants.
Main Street has something for everyone. You can buy yourself a cute little
sheared mink and Russian sable fur coat for a cool $24,000 (if the price seems
high, don’t worry, it’s reversible), and just a few shops down, for slightly
less than the fur coat, you can buy a pair of socks boasting Donald Trump’s face
with hair that sticks off the socks in an elegant side comb-over.
As we passed a shop called the Java Cow and glanced at the side of the building, we saw what appeared to be a work of art by the well-known (but still unknown) street artist Banksy. It turns out that when Banksy debuted his documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop at the Sundance Film Festival, he left some surprises around town, and this is one of the only pieces that still exists. It’s been protected by bullet-proof glass, but the glass has since been shattered by a vandal wielding a ball-peen hammer.
It was now almost 4:00 and we were finally able to check in to our hotel and begin the best part of our day—the whole reason we came to Park City in the first place. Amy, one of my oldest friends (we met 37 years ago in 1st grade) is the Spa Director at the Waldorf Astoria, and tonight we’re staying at her hotel. After check-in and leaving our car with valet, we found our room, a stunning 1-bedroom suite. Amy had left us a bagful of goodies on the dining room table and drinks in the fridge. While we wandered around the suite, we heard a knock at the door. Thinking it was Amy, I threw open the door to find a male hotel employee holding a bottle of champagne in a silver ice bucket and a plate of macarons. He welcomed us to the Waldorf and instead of hugging him like I wanted, I tipped him and we thanked him profusely.
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| Our beautiful room at the Waldorf Astoria |
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| Our beautiful patio |
We were meeting Amy and her parents, Ed and Kari, for dinner
at the hotel’s restaurant, Powder, at 5:00. Chad and I walked into the lobby
and there sat Ed and Kari, two people whom I have adored since I was a little
girl. In my youth they were like my second parents, and in my, uh, not-so-youth
they have been examples to me in marriage, parenting, and so much more. The four
of us hugged and Kari and I got a little teary-eyed. We met Amy as she was
coming out of the spa, and I laughed to myself as I hugged this beautiful, graceful,
successful woman because in my mind, I was hugging my best tomboy friend who
rode bikes with me, climbed trees with me, and ran for 5th grade
office with me (we both lost and I’m still mad about it).
We sat down together, took off our masks, and shared a 3-1/2-hour
dinner that I will remember for the rest of my life. We started off with artisan
bread, wagyu bavette tataki, and scallop crudo. When it was time to order our
entrees, I watched everyone else order the organic chicken or Alaskan halibut, and
when the waitress finally got to me, I ordered lobster agnolotti. Kari laughed and
said, “You ordered lobster in 4th grade when we were on vacation at
Cannon Beach!” And I cannot tell you how sweet it is that she remembers that. We
caught up, we talked about our lives, families, memories, & I could’ve sat
there all night. After dinner we shared crème brulee, and then wandered outside
to admire the gorgeous hotel and the night lights. We lingered in front of the
massive fireplace in the lobby and when it was time to say goodbye, Kari &
I teared up again. We may only be on day 1 of this road trip, but I’ll tell you
right now that this has been the absolute highlight.
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| Good night, Park City |
-Rachel
What a great day!! I am so glad that you have been able to get away. Safe travels. I love that you have given your car a name. Oh, and by the way, our Honda Pilot's name is Pontius
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