Last week I went to Utah to attend a conference. This is the fourth year that I have attended SSTC (Systems & Software Technology Conference,) and the second time I attended in Salt Lake. There are several conferences my team attends throughout the year, and while this isn't always the most applicable to my immediate job, I'm the only one who appreciates Utah, which is why I have been permanently assigned to this Conference, until it chooses to go somewhere exotic again (the first two were in Florida, and Las Vegas.)
Anyway, I just wanted to record some memories of the trip while everything is still more or less fresh in my mind.
Maria dropped me off at the airport Sunday afternoon on the 25th of April and I flew to Salt Lake. The car rental agency upgraded me to a silver Jeep SUV rather than the regular mid-size that I reserved. Not sure why, but it was fun to drive big for a week. I checked into the downtown Marriott and then made my way to my parent's home for a birthday dinner for myself and Mom.
We had a nice meal. I don't get to have my mom's meatloaf that often these days. Shauna's family was there as was Jeffrey and his family. I got to meet my niece Alyson for the first time, and enjoyed seeing a much more matured Parker. Here's Parker using my telescoping back scratcher on Shauna:
Sadly, my 2 1/2 year-old back scratcher died later in the week. I got it for Christmas when we were in Utah a few years ago. I guess it was waiting to go back to die. I'll miss that old fellow. We were good friends.
The Conference lasted from Monday through Thursday. I won't spend much time talking about that. It actually didn't start until Monday afternoon, so I invited Jeffrey to Creekside Park on Monday morning to play some disc golf in Murray. The park was surprisingly busy for a Monday morning on a non-Holiday. I understand it's a very, very popular park and one of the first disc golf parks in the world. We played about 10 holes of the 20 in the park and after getting a bit confused where to go on, we decided to call it quits. I was a bit tired after having worked out in the hotel's fitness center that morning and then walking a mile or two around downtown to find some place that was open for breakfast.
I treated Jeffrey to a Blimpie sandwich (which I still prefer to Subway, but isn't as available in Fort Worth any more for some reason) then went to my conference for the afternoon.
That evening Jeffrey and Melissa had me over to their home in Sandy where Jeffrey cooked me and my parents some Italian-style pizzas. Jeffrey is getting ready to start a catering business and was going that weekend to pick up a portable woodfire pizza oven on a trailer in California. Fearing he wouldn't be back in time to show me the pizzas from the oven, he made a batch in his kitchen instead. They were amazingly delicious and made me think he may have a hit on his hands if he can get his pizza into enough mouths. After dinner we played "Boom Blox Bash Party" where my dad kept winning.
Tuesday was spent at the conference again. At lunch break I met my college friend Christian for lunch. We went to a Brazilian place called "Braza Express" which was a new lunchtime only restaurant downtown. It was pretty good. Rather than the all-you-can-eat style of other churrascarias where they bring meat around to the table, this one had all the meats at a counter and you order a plate there. Still it was pretty good and it was great catching up with Christian for an hour.
That night I went to visit my cousin Curtis and his family. As he is the only other person I know from my family with an XBox, I've interacted with him a bit there and on Facebook and so I thought it would be nice to go say hi since I hadn't seen him since Jeffrey's wedding. He was nice enough to use his smoker to cook some chicken and ribs for dinner and along with Jeffrey's family, we had a great evening. I got to try a PS3 for the first time that night. There's only a few games I want on that platform which keeps me from getting one.
Wednesday I spent the day at the conference again. At lunch Jeffrey met me downtown while I skipped out on a Conference lunch to spend some time with him before he left to go find his oven in California. The night before they were talking about a restaurant that served "Waffles & Fries" that we decided to track down. We found this little place just North of Pioneer Park park downtown called "Bruges Waffles & Frites":
We both got what they called the "Machine Gun" sandwich: sausage in a baguette with andalouse sauce topped with fries. That was my favorite type of sandwich to get in France, and I'd never seen anyone serve a sandwich with fries in it since. It's the main recipe I make when people want a sample of French food. So I was happy with the discovery of Bruges. We also enjoyed a waffle for dessert. Afterward we went to an Italian food supply store for Jeffrey to create a wholesale account there and then we went to the Gateway to look into the Apple store. In the courtyard at the Gateway is a fountain play area. It was playing music while spurts of water shot out of the ground in time. The song finished and we hurried across the water area with Parker and midway through a burst of water shot up and hit me about as perfectly as you could for maximum impact. So was I was bit late getting back to the conference in the afternoon because I had to get back to my room and dry out a bit!
That night I visited with my longtime friends Chad and Melodee. We went out to "In-N-Out Burger" which has opened several stores in Utah. I had tried it once before in California and didn't really remember thinking it was all that exciting. Trying it again confirmed to me that I just don't get the hype. Afterward we returned home and again played "Boom Blox Bash Party" with Chad and his kids. After the kids finally went to bed, we enjoyed just chatting and sharing cool YouTube videos and other random topics for the rest of the evening.
Thursday was the last day of the conference. After checking out in the morning I attended the last of the courses and then the final meal and lecture. At the end of the last event every year they always have drawings for those who are still around and they usually give away some pretty nice stuff--though I never expect to win. This year I was not paying attention and ended up having my name called without knowing what I'd won. It turns out I won a free admission to next year's show, which is worth nearly $1000. (Although since I don't pay those fees, I'd rather have won the iPad they were also giving away. (: )
From there I moved into my parent's home for the remainder of the week.
Friday morning I spent preparing for a magic show at my mom's school. Last year I packed a little trick to entertain the nieces and nephews, and then my mom talked me into doing a show for her kids. So I had to improvise a lot of the show. This year I came prepared with some of my fancier tricks including my favorite monkey, Chico. Just after lunchtime, Mom had her class and the rest of the grade come into her room where I performed for about a half hour. I think it went over pretty good. There were a few moments where the entire room exploded reacting to elements of the show. Shauna and Dad were able to attend and watch as well.
After the show, I drove back to Shauna's home in Tooele and spent the afternoon there with her and her kids. I had a nice time interacting with each of them and even introducing them to a bit of Monty Python which is always a good thing, right? That evening I went back to Midvale with Shauna and met up with Marc and his brother Jeff and Jeff's wife for a dinner at the Training Table. I still don't get the idea of ordering food through a phone when you are already at the restaurant, but that's just me I guess. We had a nice meal and evening there and then I returned back to my parents' home.
Saturday we went out that afternoon with Shauna's family to see "How To Train Your Dragon." I was hoping to go see it at the Imax 3D theater, but sadly it was closed down for a week for some upgrades in preparation for "Iron Man 2" this week. Still, it was a fun movie having seen it twice now.
On Sunday I once again was asked by Dad, the music leader in Primary, to bring some of my magic tricks to perform there. So I brought Chico and did some tricks and gags and then had him lead "Popcorn Popping" and "Once There Was A Snowman" which were both appropriate since it was both spring and snowy all that week.
Monday morning was when I was leaving to return to Texas. I got up quite early to pack and get ready. While I was getting ready, Dad came and knocked on my door to say Jeffrey had called and he was nearby and would be bringing us breakfast. I thought that was really nice of him since he'd been traveling for the last few days picking up his oven. I got my stuff all ready and went to put it out in my car and saw Jeffrey outside with his brand new oven and food ingredients ready to cook for us all.
He had driven all night, dropped his family off at home and come out specifically so he could show me his new oven and sample some cooking from it before I had to catch my plane. He had breakfast ingredients: eggs, hashbrowns, and sausage. He was going to make us an experimental breakfast pizza since it was morning. It turned out quite interesting. It was definitely good to eat, but unusual as far as pizza toppings. I had enough time to have a slice before I had to leave to catch my plane.
Here's Jeffrey and I just before I had to leave. I forgot I was borrowing the coat and had to turn around and throw it out the window to my dad as I left!
The flight home was good and the kids were excited for souvenirs I'd brought home for them. I was happy to be back with my family again, but glad to see friends and family in Utah for a week. With the free pass to next year's conference, chances are good I'll be there again next May.
Anyway, I just wanted to record some memories of the trip while everything is still more or less fresh in my mind.
Maria dropped me off at the airport Sunday afternoon on the 25th of April and I flew to Salt Lake. The car rental agency upgraded me to a silver Jeep SUV rather than the regular mid-size that I reserved. Not sure why, but it was fun to drive big for a week. I checked into the downtown Marriott and then made my way to my parent's home for a birthday dinner for myself and Mom.
We had a nice meal. I don't get to have my mom's meatloaf that often these days. Shauna's family was there as was Jeffrey and his family. I got to meet my niece Alyson for the first time, and enjoyed seeing a much more matured Parker. Here's Parker using my telescoping back scratcher on Shauna:
Sadly, my 2 1/2 year-old back scratcher died later in the week. I got it for Christmas when we were in Utah a few years ago. I guess it was waiting to go back to die. I'll miss that old fellow. We were good friends.The Conference lasted from Monday through Thursday. I won't spend much time talking about that. It actually didn't start until Monday afternoon, so I invited Jeffrey to Creekside Park on Monday morning to play some disc golf in Murray. The park was surprisingly busy for a Monday morning on a non-Holiday. I understand it's a very, very popular park and one of the first disc golf parks in the world. We played about 10 holes of the 20 in the park and after getting a bit confused where to go on, we decided to call it quits. I was a bit tired after having worked out in the hotel's fitness center that morning and then walking a mile or two around downtown to find some place that was open for breakfast.
I treated Jeffrey to a Blimpie sandwich (which I still prefer to Subway, but isn't as available in Fort Worth any more for some reason) then went to my conference for the afternoon.
That evening Jeffrey and Melissa had me over to their home in Sandy where Jeffrey cooked me and my parents some Italian-style pizzas. Jeffrey is getting ready to start a catering business and was going that weekend to pick up a portable woodfire pizza oven on a trailer in California. Fearing he wouldn't be back in time to show me the pizzas from the oven, he made a batch in his kitchen instead. They were amazingly delicious and made me think he may have a hit on his hands if he can get his pizza into enough mouths. After dinner we played "Boom Blox Bash Party" where my dad kept winning.
Tuesday was spent at the conference again. At lunch break I met my college friend Christian for lunch. We went to a Brazilian place called "Braza Express" which was a new lunchtime only restaurant downtown. It was pretty good. Rather than the all-you-can-eat style of other churrascarias where they bring meat around to the table, this one had all the meats at a counter and you order a plate there. Still it was pretty good and it was great catching up with Christian for an hour.
That night I went to visit my cousin Curtis and his family. As he is the only other person I know from my family with an XBox, I've interacted with him a bit there and on Facebook and so I thought it would be nice to go say hi since I hadn't seen him since Jeffrey's wedding. He was nice enough to use his smoker to cook some chicken and ribs for dinner and along with Jeffrey's family, we had a great evening. I got to try a PS3 for the first time that night. There's only a few games I want on that platform which keeps me from getting one.
Wednesday I spent the day at the conference again. At lunch Jeffrey met me downtown while I skipped out on a Conference lunch to spend some time with him before he left to go find his oven in California. The night before they were talking about a restaurant that served "Waffles & Fries" that we decided to track down. We found this little place just North of Pioneer Park park downtown called "Bruges Waffles & Frites":
We both got what they called the "Machine Gun" sandwich: sausage in a baguette with andalouse sauce topped with fries. That was my favorite type of sandwich to get in France, and I'd never seen anyone serve a sandwich with fries in it since. It's the main recipe I make when people want a sample of French food. So I was happy with the discovery of Bruges. We also enjoyed a waffle for dessert. Afterward we went to an Italian food supply store for Jeffrey to create a wholesale account there and then we went to the Gateway to look into the Apple store. In the courtyard at the Gateway is a fountain play area. It was playing music while spurts of water shot out of the ground in time. The song finished and we hurried across the water area with Parker and midway through a burst of water shot up and hit me about as perfectly as you could for maximum impact. So was I was bit late getting back to the conference in the afternoon because I had to get back to my room and dry out a bit!
That night I visited with my longtime friends Chad and Melodee. We went out to "In-N-Out Burger" which has opened several stores in Utah. I had tried it once before in California and didn't really remember thinking it was all that exciting. Trying it again confirmed to me that I just don't get the hype. Afterward we returned home and again played "Boom Blox Bash Party" with Chad and his kids. After the kids finally went to bed, we enjoyed just chatting and sharing cool YouTube videos and other random topics for the rest of the evening.
Thursday was the last day of the conference. After checking out in the morning I attended the last of the courses and then the final meal and lecture. At the end of the last event every year they always have drawings for those who are still around and they usually give away some pretty nice stuff--though I never expect to win. This year I was not paying attention and ended up having my name called without knowing what I'd won. It turns out I won a free admission to next year's show, which is worth nearly $1000. (Although since I don't pay those fees, I'd rather have won the iPad they were also giving away. (: )
From there I moved into my parent's home for the remainder of the week.
Friday morning I spent preparing for a magic show at my mom's school. Last year I packed a little trick to entertain the nieces and nephews, and then my mom talked me into doing a show for her kids. So I had to improvise a lot of the show. This year I came prepared with some of my fancier tricks including my favorite monkey, Chico. Just after lunchtime, Mom had her class and the rest of the grade come into her room where I performed for about a half hour. I think it went over pretty good. There were a few moments where the entire room exploded reacting to elements of the show. Shauna and Dad were able to attend and watch as well.
After the show, I drove back to Shauna's home in Tooele and spent the afternoon there with her and her kids. I had a nice time interacting with each of them and even introducing them to a bit of Monty Python which is always a good thing, right? That evening I went back to Midvale with Shauna and met up with Marc and his brother Jeff and Jeff's wife for a dinner at the Training Table. I still don't get the idea of ordering food through a phone when you are already at the restaurant, but that's just me I guess. We had a nice meal and evening there and then I returned back to my parents' home.
Saturday we went out that afternoon with Shauna's family to see "How To Train Your Dragon." I was hoping to go see it at the Imax 3D theater, but sadly it was closed down for a week for some upgrades in preparation for "Iron Man 2" this week. Still, it was a fun movie having seen it twice now.
On Sunday I once again was asked by Dad, the music leader in Primary, to bring some of my magic tricks to perform there. So I brought Chico and did some tricks and gags and then had him lead "Popcorn Popping" and "Once There Was A Snowman" which were both appropriate since it was both spring and snowy all that week.
Monday morning was when I was leaving to return to Texas. I got up quite early to pack and get ready. While I was getting ready, Dad came and knocked on my door to say Jeffrey had called and he was nearby and would be bringing us breakfast. I thought that was really nice of him since he'd been traveling for the last few days picking up his oven. I got my stuff all ready and went to put it out in my car and saw Jeffrey outside with his brand new oven and food ingredients ready to cook for us all.
He had driven all night, dropped his family off at home and come out specifically so he could show me his new oven and sample some cooking from it before I had to catch my plane. He had breakfast ingredients: eggs, hashbrowns, and sausage. He was going to make us an experimental breakfast pizza since it was morning. It turned out quite interesting. It was definitely good to eat, but unusual as far as pizza toppings. I had enough time to have a slice before I had to leave to catch my plane.
Here's Jeffrey and I just before I had to leave. I forgot I was borrowing the coat and had to turn around and throw it out the window to my dad as I left!
The flight home was good and the kids were excited for souvenirs I'd brought home for them. I was happy to be back with my family again, but glad to see friends and family in Utah for a week. With the free pass to next year's conference, chances are good I'll be there again next May.
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