Sunday, February 18, 2018

Park City with Rak/Sim - February 2008

Dinner at Handle
 We missed the annual ski trip last year with Rak and Simran but resurrected this year.  This was our 3rd time to Park City in ~9 months after never having been there before!

Our flight was late out of Phoenix due to the runway work.  We arrived just as Rak and Sim's flight did, so ended up seeing each other at the Hertz rental.  We grabbed both cars, Simran joined us, and we drove out to the Whole Foods to get a few bites for the VRBO.  We walked out $350 poorer and with way more than we had planned.  Shawna and Simran went to the wine shop next door to stock up as well.

Hanging Out at the Bookstore
The VRBO was at 212 Daley - a 3 bedroom with garage, first floor kitchen/living/bedroom, and 2 bedrooms on the top floor.  The kitchen was good but the rest of the VRBO was less than optimal: the living room was not configured to be social, the beds were small, uncomfortable, the sheets polyester so had lots of static, and the pillows terrible.  Definitely once of our more disappointing VRBO experiences.

When we arrived to the condo, we had a quick late-night bite and then headed to bed.

High West Distillery
On Saturday morning, Rak, Keith and Ria stopped by Jans to rent our skis for 3 days and then drove the hour to Alta since none of us had been there before.  The resort is just stunning and the weather was just perfect that day.  The only downfall was that with very little snow recently the ski conditions were not A+.  Simran and Shawna went to the High West Distillery to do a tour and taste whiskey - we ended up eating lunch there as well sharing soup and a sandwich which was very good.  The tour was interesting but we did not have much of the tasting since Shawna is not a fan of whiskey.  After the tour, we walked around town.  Back at the condo, we had some cheese and beer/wine with the skiers and then went out to dinner at the Handle.  Shawna and Simran were on strike so this ski trip, they did not cook dinner.  We shared several dishes - kale salad, cauliflower, mushrooms, short ribs, and fried chicken - food was tasty!

Whiskey Tasting at the Distillery
On Sunday, Rak, Keith and Ria decided to go back to Alta for another day skiing as we had not covered the whole mountain.  Also, a winter storm was coming so we thought the conditions would get better.  Shawna and Simran went to the spa at the St Regis, eating lunch there first (salads and tuna tartare which was OK but not great) and then each getting a treatment (Shawna got a massage while Simran got a facial).  Back at the condo we had cheese and wine again before going to dinner at Yuki Yama Sushi.  We shared a few appetizers - edamame, gyoza, shishito peppers - and then split the  udon.

Ria and Keith Skiing
On Monday morning, we woke to 20+ inches of snow from the winter storm the night before - and the snow was still falling.  Keith and Ria shoveled the snow - with a bit of a debate re: the contribution of the 12-year-old!  But we got all the snow out so both cars could leave the house, and packed up.  Rak/Ria/Keith headed to Park City for a half day of skiing which was insanely hard because of the deep powder.  Shawna and Simran stayed at the condo until the maid showed up to clean and then went into Park City to hand out at a book store until we all met up.  It was a fun day - we skied until 1pm and then met Shawna and Sim at High West Saloon for lunch.  It was a terrific lunch - we shared several dishes again - popcorn, mac-n-cheese, cheese board and elk chili (which was delish but very heavy).

Ria and Keith Shoveling
After lunch, we all went back to Jans to drop off the skis.  Then after goodbye hugs, Rak and Ria drove off to Sun Valley while Shawna, Sim, and Keith drove to Park City airport for the flight back to Phoenix - where Simran was to spend the next week with us.

Saturday, February 10, 2018

Park City for Tom's 50th - February 2018

The Gang at No Name Saloon
 Kim texted us a few months ago and asked if we were free for a 50th birthday ski weekend with Tom.  Of course we will be!  Kim opted for Park City as none of us had skied there before.

Keith, Mark, Stuart, Tracy, Kerry, Kim and Tom
We were to get a 5:30 flight out of Phoenix, arriving at about 7:30.  At the last minute, Keith had a day trip to Vegas...which ended up wrapping early.  So, Keith texted Shawna, we both rallied, and got earlier flights to Salt Lake...each arriving about 5pm...which enabled us to join the rest of the crew for dinner!  It was only a 45 minute drive from the airport to Chimayo where Kim/Tom, Kerry/Stuart, and Mark/Tracy were already sitting at the table.  Kim's brother John joined us about 10 minutes after we arrived.  The restaurant was delicious - we shared the Carne Asada.  We then went for a nightcap at The Spur where we went to the back room and became groupies of the band Metal Dogs before heading back to the hotel. Kim had arranged a 4 bedroom condo in the Silver Baron Lodge.

Chimayo Restaurant
The others had arranged a ski valet to bring their gear the night before, so Keith dressed early and walked up to the Deer Valley base to get his skis and boots.  By the time he was ready, the others were at the base ready to hit the slopes.  Shawna is not a skier so used the day to spend a few hours catching up on work and also grabbing some food and beer at the store to stock the condo.  The snow had been quite poor lately - so many slopes were closed and the remaining were a bit icy at the start of the day.  But....we were still able to have fun!  There were a fair share of blues we could bomb down.  Lunch on the Saturday was at one of the lodges on the mountain - a few of us had a bowl of soup that was delicious.  Saturday night we started at Wasach Brew Pub where we had drinks at the bar, then sat for table for basic pub food.  Nightcaps after were at the No Name Saloon where we drank on the rooftop deck.

Tom, Mark, Keith, Tracy, Kerry, Kim, Stuart
Sunday, we started at the Canyons - the sister resort to Park City - and skied the whole area.  It was roughly the same conditions as the day before.  Lunch was near the base at Silver Star CafĂ© which was delicious.  Keith had the Braised Lentil Chili which was fantastic.  We might have had a couple of pitchers of beer to go with it.  Shawna caught up on a bit more work and then had an afternoon spa at Stein Eriksen Lodge.  It was Super Bowl Sunday so the slopes cleared a bit earlier than usual so the end of the day was fun.  We decided to watch the game in the condo so we didn't have to fight crowds - ordered in Thai and drank the beers that Shawna had bought.  The game was great - and then we all watched This is Us right after - an odd juxtaposition to the game!

Keith, Stuart, Kerry, Kim, Tom
Monday started with bad weather, but we opted to ski anyway at Park City.  It ended up being the best day of snow, although it started out icy.  Lunch was at High West Distillery - we all shared popcorn and fries to start and Keith had fantastic Elk Chili.  Shawna had not taken the day off, so was still cranking away at work when we returned to the condo.  Our flights left that night (Keith to Portland and Shawna home) so we left at 6pm as the others stayed one more night before leaving the next day.

Keith, Kim, Tom
It was a fun weekend and fantastic to spend time with Tom to celebrate his 50th!

Kim and Tom