Everyone is going somewhere. Everyone is moving hundreds, or thousands of miles away from where they've been and are heading towards something different. They're going home, they're going on adventure, they're working for expanding companies, they're visiting family, they're exploring new cultures.
They're traveling.
And I think it's exciting.
I imagine train stations would be the same way, but I haven't been in enough of those to say one way or another.
Last Wednesday evening, Brian and I loaded our suitcases into our little green Honda Civic and soon enough found ourselves staring out a giant airport window at a beautiful view as we waited for the Southwest airline attendant to direct the B passengers to line up according to number.
This was notable, us waiting for the attendant to call the B passengers, because generally when we fly Southwest we don't hear it. We're already on board the airplane by that point, already wrestling with the children to sit calmly, already asking them to please not kick the seat in front of them, already burning through all the activities we brought along to keep the toddler entertained because families with young children get to board before the B passengers, you see.
But this time we weren't traveling as a family with young children. We were traveling as a couple (an adult couple, nonetheless), so we lost that privilege and instead had the different privilege of lining up with all the other B passengers, and all the subsequent privileges of flying without young children.
When we landed an hour and a half later in Salt Lake City, we realized that we had been a little negligent in planning ahead because, while we had spent the necessary amount of time packing and purchasing tickets to get to the Salt Lake City airport, we had not spent the necessary amount of time planning a way to leave the Salt Lake City airport. And, since the airport was not our final destination, this was a bit of a problem.
Thankfully Alamo came through and had plenty of cars for us to rent last minute, so it wasn't a problem for very long.
Soon we were buckled into a fancy Nissan Sentra (not really... but compared to our Honda Civic I suppose most things would be fancy to us) and on our way to the Chateaux at Deer Valley in Park City where Brian was to attend an ophthalmology conference, I was to attend a weekend of relaxation, and both of us were to attend to skiing.
You may have noticed above that Brian is wearing a Bolo around his neck. And you may not have noticed because, how would you know to look? And even if you had looked and you did notice, how would you know to call it a Bolo? And, in any case, by now I'm sure you're wondering why the Bolo is even significant at all.
Well, let me back up a little.
During Christmastime I reconnected with an old high school friend who happened to mention that he worked at Deer Valley.
"Oh," I said, "Brian and I are headed out there next month for an ophthalmology conference!"
"Really?! Well let me know where you're staying and the dates you're coming and maybe I can get you a lift ticket."
"Are you serious? That would be awesome." (Really awesome, I thought, since one lift ticket is $180 for the day, and we were each planning to ski for three.)
Fast forward to the present, one month and a couple of text conversations later, and we have now discovered that he is "basically the GM of the property" as he says, and his girlfriend of three years is the manager at the Chateaux where we are staying.
Which means that they are a pretty powerful couple when it comes to the Deer Valley experience.
And, let me tell you, they hooked us up.
Without us knowing, they upgraded our room to an absolutely beautiful luxury suite, added on a complimentary breakfast for all four mornings, and left a handwritten welcome card in our room with a platter of meats and cheeses and a bottle of Martinelli's sparkling cider. We were blown away when we walked into our suite (expecting the standard tight room with a queen sized bed and a small bathroom). There was classical music playing and a fire blazing in the fireplace and enough space that our whole family could have comfortably come along. And the windows... the windows in the living space are enough to make me want to live there forever and really deserve at least a paragraph of praise by themselves. But I'll talk more about the windows in the tomorrow* post. I have more pictures that need to be uploaded first and I'm way too lazy to do that tonight.
*Tomorrow doesn't actually mean tomorrow. It means I'll talk more about it whenever I write about Day 2
And if that wasn't enough, after I gushed my thank yous to this friend he replied, "Happy to do it. Call me when you come downstairs in the morning - I have ski tickets for you."
Which brings us back to the Bolo.
Because the Bolo, turns out, is a very elite piece of jewelry that basically acts as a transferable season pass. From what I understand, you can only get one in one of three ways. First, own some Deer Valley property (crrrrraaaaazy expensive), second, buy one for around 5K, or third, and lucky for us, know someone.
So my friend handed us the Bolo with very sober instructions to not lose it, and then (since that was good for only one of us) handed us another three full day passes.
I couldn't believe it.
We were so incredibly grateful.
The skiing on Thursday was lovely. Warm weather made for some pretty icy conditions, but at least it was warm weather. I felt so free on those skis and remembered, as I swished down the mountains, how much I do love to ski.
That night we went to a steakhouse with a bunch of the other doctors in Brian's practice. Again and again I try to like steak, but again and again it's a little meh for me. Which is not the way Brian feels about steak. So I usually try something new on the menu and Brian gets the steak. This time I got sea bass. Again and again I think I don't like fish (salmon and shrimp don't count), but again and again I try it and love it. Maybe I should change the story in my head about fish and just admit that I love it from the beginning.
After dinner Brian and I brought everyone back to our suite to chat and to feel pampered in the beauty of it for a while. Do you see what I mean about the windows?
And here's Brian showing off the Bolo one more time.
I love watching Brian around his co-workers. It's a space in his life that I don't get to see very often so when I do, I note its special nature. He loves these people. He's energized by them. And I love them too.
May I just say again how glad I am that you are writing again? I love your voice--your manner of telling. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you Myrna... I do love it here. And Nancy is such an inspiration on how to just do it, even when life feels as it does with many young children!
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