Medford June 23
Electronic ticketing is pretty cool. I’m always amazed how things work when they work well. After I had cleared Security and they determined that I was not carrying any illegal weapons or 12 ounce bottles of water, I was fishing around in my pockets while waiting in the boarding area and discovered I had one of those snap-off knives. I promptly threw if away.
The flight from Medford to Salt Lake City was pretty uneventful. I sat next to Mary Horn, a kindergarten teacher at Bess Maxwell. After we got through the formalities of who and where and marveling at the aridness of Eastern Oregon and Idaho I had to regale her with the potential of electric cars. She was very patient.
The mountains were for the most part pretty barren and had little to no snow on them. As we came closer to Salt Lake City there were more and more cultivated fields that were round that very visible against the light tan color of the ground. Then just before we dropped down into Salt Lake City there was this huge open pit mine. I’m not sure if it was a gold mine or a copper mine, but it was BIG, and wide, and deep. Salt Lake City sits in a huge bowl. I really wonder what Joseph Smith was really thinking when he said that his troupe was going to stop. It’s in the middle of a desert! Maybe he just didn’t want to walk any farther. And it really is a huge lake. Salt Lake is supposed to be 6 times saltier than the ocean, which means even really skinny people can float. Besides the snow melt from the surrounding mountains (it really is in a bowl) there is only large creek / smaller river that flows into it. It’s called the Jordan River (duh) because it flows out of a lake and into a dead sea.
Anyway, as soon as we touched down with our hopes up them were dashed when we walked through the terminal. Our connecting flight was cancelled. So, after walking to Customer Service we found out that we couldn’t get to Boston that evening as planned, we could only get as far as Cincinnati, Ohio. Now, I don’t really know what Cincinnati is famous for except the old TV show WKRP in Cincinnati. Besides that, the flight would not even leave until about 4 in the afternoon. That meant that after we devoured the lunch purchased with the $7 meal ticket they gave us, there would be a looonng afternoon to waste.
I love Dave Clark’s Grill. It seems that celebrities do things like this when there popularity starts to wane. They open restaurants, or some type of business with their name on it. I love Dave Clark’s Grill. I went in and ordered a Philly Cheese Sandwich (no, they’re not better than yours, Bun) and a beer. Both were good, but not great. But, the best part is, that, they carded me. That hasn’t happened for 25 years. I love Dave Clark’s Grill! I’ve never been prouder to pull out my wallet and show my drivers license. It’s much better than pulling it out for a CHP.
Anyway, lunch took about 40 minutes, and that includes reading the USA Today from front to back, twice. I was left with a large portion of the afternoon. Now, I figured that this may be the last time that I visit so I better make the best of it. After all, the last time I consulted my top 1,000 places to visit before I die, this didn’t even make the top 10,000. As I was wandering around I asked a Security Guard how difficult it would be to get back in if I left and he said all I would need was a Boarding Pass. Heck, I had plenty of those; Medford, Salt Lake City, Cincinnati, maybe even a Boston one. I then asked him if he could recommend any interesting places to visit while I was here. He was waiting for that question. He told me of a Shuttle Van that was free and takes you into the city. To be honest it was the word 'free' that really got my attention. Of course it drops you off in front of the Mormon Tabernacle. What they heck, it was free. They have pickups and drop offs every ½ hour. Perfect. Anyway, the people in the van were able to elaborate more on it. It seems that young people in the church can do this as their mission. They serve as tour guides and as evangelists; they even slip in some information on the buildings, which are, I might add, amazing. Someone sure had a good vision.
No, I did not convert to Mormonism even though they offered to help me see the errot of my ways many, many times during the course of the afternoon. I think I was probably offered more literature here than any other place on the two-week trip.
Electronic ticketing is pretty cool. I’m always amazed how things work when they work well. After I had cleared Security and they determined that I was not carrying any illegal weapons or 12 ounce bottles of water, I was fishing around in my pockets while waiting in the boarding area and discovered I had one of those snap-off knives. I promptly threw if away.
The flight from Medford to Salt Lake City was pretty uneventful. I sat next to Mary Horn, a kindergarten teacher at Bess Maxwell. After we got through the formalities of who and where and marveling at the aridness of Eastern Oregon and Idaho I had to regale her with the potential of electric cars. She was very patient.
The mountains were for the most part pretty barren and had little to no snow on them. As we came closer to Salt Lake City there were more and more cultivated fields that were round that very visible against the light tan color of the ground. Then just before we dropped down into Salt Lake City there was this huge open pit mine. I’m not sure if it was a gold mine or a copper mine, but it was BIG, and wide, and deep. Salt Lake City sits in a huge bowl. I really wonder what Joseph Smith was really thinking when he said that his troupe was going to stop. It’s in the middle of a desert! Maybe he just didn’t want to walk any farther. And it really is a huge lake. Salt Lake is supposed to be 6 times saltier than the ocean, which means even really skinny people can float. Besides the snow melt from the surrounding mountains (it really is in a bowl) there is only large creek / smaller river that flows into it. It’s called the Jordan River (duh) because it flows out of a lake and into a dead sea.
Anyway, as soon as we touched down with our hopes up them were dashed when we walked through the terminal. Our connecting flight was cancelled. So, after walking to Customer Service we found out that we couldn’t get to Boston that evening as planned, we could only get as far as Cincinnati, Ohio. Now, I don’t really know what Cincinnati is famous for except the old TV show WKRP in Cincinnati. Besides that, the flight would not even leave until about 4 in the afternoon. That meant that after we devoured the lunch purchased with the $7 meal ticket they gave us, there would be a looonng afternoon to waste.
I love Dave Clark’s Grill. It seems that celebrities do things like this when there popularity starts to wane. They open restaurants, or some type of business with their name on it. I love Dave Clark’s Grill. I went in and ordered a Philly Cheese Sandwich (no, they’re not better than yours, Bun) and a beer. Both were good, but not great. But, the best part is, that, they carded me. That hasn’t happened for 25 years. I love Dave Clark’s Grill! I’ve never been prouder to pull out my wallet and show my drivers license. It’s much better than pulling it out for a CHP.
Anyway, lunch took about 40 minutes, and that includes reading the USA Today from front to back, twice. I was left with a large portion of the afternoon. Now, I figured that this may be the last time that I visit so I better make the best of it. After all, the last time I consulted my top 1,000 places to visit before I die, this didn’t even make the top 10,000. As I was wandering around I asked a Security Guard how difficult it would be to get back in if I left and he said all I would need was a Boarding Pass. Heck, I had plenty of those; Medford, Salt Lake City, Cincinnati, maybe even a Boston one. I then asked him if he could recommend any interesting places to visit while I was here. He was waiting for that question. He told me of a Shuttle Van that was free and takes you into the city. To be honest it was the word 'free' that really got my attention. Of course it drops you off in front of the Mormon Tabernacle. What they heck, it was free. They have pickups and drop offs every ½ hour. Perfect. Anyway, the people in the van were able to elaborate more on it. It seems that young people in the church can do this as their mission. They serve as tour guides and as evangelists; they even slip in some information on the buildings, which are, I might add, amazing. Someone sure had a good vision.
No, I did not convert to Mormonism even though they offered to help me see the errot of my ways many, many times during the course of the afternoon. I think I was probably offered more literature here than any other place on the two-week trip.
2 comments:
Hey Pap, did you mean "Dick Clark's Grille"?
My credo about traveling: Hope for the best. Expect the worst!
That is pretty cool about going to see the buildings in SLC. The Mormon's must have had some architects in those wagon trains heading out because those buildings look amazing.
You're an amazing writer! Bill Bryson, watch out! ;)
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