The Lap of Luxury

This week and last, Chris was lucky enough to have two conferences to attend for work. The first was in Layton on Thursday and Friday, and the second in Park City the following Tuesday and Wednesday. Since his office would be reimbursing us for the costs of travel and lodging and since the room costs the same amount with one person in it as with three, I took the liberty of joining him for both conferences, and we made a mini-vacation out of it, staying in northern Utah for the weekend also. We've had a lot of fun staying in nice, cushy hotels and visiting with friends. Of course, I've had to find exciting ways to entertain myself and Leah while Chris is conferencing and once hotel checkout occurs and I have hours to kill before Chris is done. But that's another story.

Our first hotel was the Hilton Garden Inn in Layton. We were pleased to find a mini-fridge and microwave, two of the softest queen beds I've ever laid my head on, wireless internet, and lots of open space in our room, not to mention the indoor pool and incredibly tempting hot-tub down the hall. Much to my dismay, the"continental breakfast" was $10--if I'd known, I would have gotten groceries the night before--but then again, we didn't have any silverware, either. It was a very nice experience, and I didn't mind living there for two days.

Now our hotel is the Sundial Lodge at the Canyons Resort in Park City. We decided to come to Park City a night early so that Leah and I wouldn't be in limbo all day Tuesday waiting for 5pm check-in, only to check out again 18 hours later. We'll have to pay for the extra night, but we decided it was a do-able cost for an entire week of vacationing in comfort. (Plus, if I had been homeless all day, I would have gone to the outlet mall and would have likely spent far more than the cost of an extra night in the hotel!) Here breakfast is $15 and wireless internet is $5 a night, but oh, is it luxurious! We again have a microwave and mini-fridge (now stocked with groceries, of course), and even dishes and silverware. But the real luxury is that we have a washer and dryer that we share with only one other room, a balcony, a double-headed shower, a jetted tub, and even heated bathroom tiles. If it were ski season, we could hop on a lift from the parking lot. What we got gypped on with the cost of slow wireless internet, we've made up for by consuming an insane amount of hot water!

But the true luxury was spending the weekend with friends John and Connie Lewis and their effervescent caboose, Mary-Celeste, who proves that it pays off to sing in the shower and that there is never a dull moment in a house with a seventeen year old girl. There we were delighted by fine dining, spacious facilities, abounding entertainment, pleasant company, and engaging conversation. We are truly grateful for their excellent hospitality at such a fantastic rate!

Alas, tomorrow afternoon we head home, where once again we will have to cook for ourselves (does EasyMac count?), clean up after ourselves, and return to the routine of productive days. Chris will once again have to do homework and attend class, I will have to answer the phone when it rings, and we can finish all those projects that were started once upon a time. Perhaps being away for a week helps us to better appreciate the prosaics of being at home.