Living it up in the big time

Last week, Natalie and I, went on a little getaway. We weren't able to get away for our anniversary, because of our work schedules, so we went a week early. Natalie had bought tickets to the play, The Drowsy Chaperone. So we just planned our getaway around the show. The show was at the Capitol Theater in Salt Lake, so that's where we went.

We wanted to stay somewhere cool, so we started looking at what Salt Lake had to offer. We have always wanted to stay at the Anniversary Inn. But, after reading a few reviews, we decided that it wasn't for us. I checked out a few options, and after some recommendations from my friend, Matt, we decided on the Little America Hotel. Matt used to work security for the hotel, and had pretty cool stories about how nice the hotel was, and what he used to do there. Reservations were made, and we started to save.

We started out with a trip to the Gateway Mall. We have never been. I know, I know, the Gateway has been around for a long time, since before the Olympics, and we have never been. So while some of you know the Gateway like the back of your hand, we have never been, and it was like being in a different world. We had a good time walking around, and checking out all the stuff we couldn't afford. We did pick up a few things off the clearance racks for the kids. So at least we looked cool walking around carrying those brand name bags that tell everyone where you just shopped. We shopped and browsed until check-in was available for the hotel. We had seen all the stores we wanted to, so we headed to the hotel.

We arrived at the Little America, Natalie waited in the car, and I walked into the lobby. I went and talked to the lady at the front desk to get our room key. She tells me that they have overbooked the hotel. So, for a second, I am freaked out. But then she tells me, "Sir, we have put you over in our other hotel, the Grand America, if you go over there you will get a room for the same price, they have you in their computer." I can't believe what I just heard! She gives me directions to the hotel and I walk out to the car. I give Natalie the thumbs up as I walk to the car and she looks questioningly at me. I hop in the car and tell her the news. Natalie has the same reaction as me, and then she is super excited.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Grand is much better than Little. We had looked at the Grand America when we were looking at hotels to stay in. We had looked at the room prices, laughed, and vowed to never visit their website again. What a neat surprise to be able to stay in one of the finest hotels in Utah! We make our way over to the Grand America, and head down into their private underground parking. Just the enormity of the parking lot has us baffled. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, but of course, there is red carpet leading from the parking lot to the hotel. That is something I have never seen before. We make our way into the elevator and up to the lobby. And this is what we walk into;

I can honestly say, that generally I don't feel out of place that often. But stepping out of the elevator, into this, I felt extremely out of place. Everything was absolutely magnificent. We go stand in line to check in. Apparently this is a strenuous activity. I say that because while we were in line, one of the employee's came up and started giving bottled water (Dasani) to everyone in line, us included.

Well, we make it to the gentleman at the front counter. I explain to him that we were supposed to be staying in the Little America, but that I had been sent over here to stay. I honestly expected him to look me up and down, snicker, tell the person that he was standing next too that we wanted to stay there, and bust up laughing. Much to my surprise he didn't. He asked for my name, plugged it into the computer, and tells me that they have a room for us at the same price as our reservation at the Little America. He swipes my debit card, tells me that the hotel is covering our parking fees and entry into the spa, and hands me a key.

Our room is on the 16th floor, so we go to the elevators, and punch in our floor. Apparently the rich can't wait, because we took off so fast that my stomach went into my feet. At the rate of a floor a second, we arrive at our floor. We found our room and walk in, this picture isn't of our room, but flip the room around, change the color of a few things and this is really close.

Well of course, the first thing we do is explore. It's a big room, about half the size of one floor of our house. We are blown away again. Bed, couches, desks, the works. And of course a giant window with a great view. The bathroom was all imported Italian marble. Gigantic bathtub, glass shower. The bathtub was huge. It was so big that halfway down there were arm rests for ultimate relaxation. About the only thing this bathroom was lacking was a bidet (thank goodness).

(Below) Here is the view from our room looking down into the courtyard;

The only thing that wasn't what we expected was the bed was only queen size. Not like we were about to complain though, we weren't gonna give them a chance to take away what we already had. We had lots of fun exploring the fully stocked fridge in the room, and laughing together at the prices of all the items in the fridge. As good as all that candy looked, we knew that it was all accounted for ,and we didn't want a $3.00 bag (regular size) of M&M's popping up on our bank statement. Well, we had plans on the agenda so we were off again.

We headed to Jordon Commons. The theaters there have become some of Natalie and my favorite places to spend special occasions at.

We saw, Get Smart. We loved the movie, but I already talked about that in another posting. After the movie we took the 100 yard walk to Ruby River. It has been a long time since Natalie and I have eaten then. And I felt it was my duty, now that I am a connoisseur of the prime rib, to give it another shot. The food was good. Unfortunately, I have to put there prime rib at the very bottom of my list. Prime rib is always good, but I have had better at all the other restaurants. Some of you might think were crazy, but Natalie and I started off watching a movie on our very first date, and it is one of our very favorite things to do. So, when dinner was over, we headed back to the theater for another show. We refer to this as a, "Double Header." Yes, we know, its a baseball term, but we use it for days where we see two movies on the same day. For our second movie of the day, we saw, The Incredible Hulk. We liked this movie as well. And again, read down on this blog and you will find a review for that one too.

When the movie was over, we headed back to our ritzy hotel again. To our surprise they let us back in. And I confess I indulged myself with an actual bath. I don't think I have had an effective bath since I was a teenager. Lets face it, I am not exactly a small person. Generally bathtubs laugh at me. It's usually accompanied with an insult like, "He He, you actually think your gonna fit all that, in here?" When I do attempt to take a bath, it usually ends up with me sitting there, legs bent as far as possible, my head between my knees, (cause that's the only way I fit) and me thinking, "This isn't nearly as relaxing as I had imagined it." Or, I let the water run till it looks like its perfect, forget the physics of water displacement, go to sit down in the tub, and then watch as the water overflows up over the edge, flooding the bathroom. So out of necessity I was converted to showers. Well the bathtub at the Grand America was up to the task. So it deserves kudos!

The next day we checked out of the hotel, it was sad, because we both knew that unless we were granted a second miracle, we would probably never make it back there. We spent the day shopping a bit more. And then, we went to see the Joseph Smith movie at Temple Square. We had not had a chance to see it yet. Yes, again we know, it has been out for a long time. The movie was fantastic. It is filmed with the same characters in it as the Emma Smith: My Story movie. And it kind of felt like the same movie. This movie had a few new scenes, and was missing a few scenes from the Emma Smith movie. This is just a tribute to how good the Emma Smith movie was. If you haven't seen it, take the chance because they are very similar. For dinner we reverted back to another Andy and Natalie favorite.

http://www.rodiziogrill.com/

Okay if your not a vegetarian, and you haven't been here. GO!! This is some of the best food on the planet. Natalie and I have always liked to come here when we are ready to splurge, and enjoy some great food. And with a bunch of people walking around with numerous kinds of meat on spits, that were roasted over a fire, you can't go wrong. This is the ultimate meat feast. Natalie and I love the turkey wrapped bacon. I love the salted sirloins, and Natalie's favorite is the roasted pineapple. If your a vegetarian, I excuse you from going, but think your missing out.

We finished our wonderful mini-vacation with a play at the Capitol Theater. Natalie had purchased the tickets many months before. The year before, we saw, Mamma Mia. And next year, Natalie is super excited because, Wicked, is coming. This year it was, The Drowsy Chaperone.

The standard was set high, because I absolutely loved Mamma Mia. I enjoyed this play and had a good time, but it just wasn't Mamma Mia. Despite all that, it was fun, here are some of my favorite characters.

(Below) This guy is, in my opinion, the main character. The whole play is based on him describing whats happening in a play, while he plays the music on his record player. As he does this, the play comes to life in his home. This dude is one funny guy. The guy in the picture is the actual actor in the play we saw.

(Below) The guy in this picture is, Adolpho. This is not the same Adolpho we saw. But, its a play they all say the same thing. He was my absolute favorite character in the entire play. He is seducing the Drowsy Chaperone in this picture. Man was this guy funny. Every time he was on the stage I was loving it.

We had such a good time. We have only been back for about a week from our mini-vacation, and we are ready for another date. It was so nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of life and just enjoy being with each other and doing the things we like to do together. And we will probably never, ever, forget this trip, after all, so far, its only once every 9 years, we get to live it up in the big time.