SLC

Tabernacle where I graduated from Seminary.

I'm hitting all the hotspots this summer.  This was a three day trip to Utah for some family history research.  Leaving at 8:00 put us in Brigham City at just about lunch time.  We drove through town so I could see the new temple on main street.  The open house starts in a couple weeks.  I'll wait and see the inside, but right now, I still think the tabernacle across the street is prettier.  It sure makes an impressive center of town.

Right across the street

The best part was that it was lunch time and we were down the street from Maddox's!  I had what I always have, turkey steak, salad, and fruit instead of a potato.  The rolls with raspberry butter cannot be beat.  I savored every bite and enjoyed the fresh well water.

It's been remodeled.  Just make sure you never pass up that Maddox reddish, orangish crown thing.

After lunch we drove straight to IKEA.  I hadn't ever been to the one in Salt Lake.  It was a pretty fun shopping experience.  I bought some little dishes, scrub brushes, a mirror, and the best cheese grater ever!  I never buy cheese already grated, so I really appreciated the whole clever thing.  The little bowl that you grate in is rubber and grabs the counter.  It has a lid so you can store it in the fridge.  I want to order more for all my favorite people.

 

 After the big shop we went to check out everything downtown.  We found the Family History Center and parking, wandered through Temple Square, did a walk through of the new City Creek Center, and grabbed a little bit to eat before checking into our hotel.  We were out by the airport because every place was full of Outdoor Recreation Convention goers.

The next morning we made it to the Family History Center by 8:00 and stayed until 6:30.  My friend who is going to Ireland next month wanted to check out her husband's Irish ancestors.  She doesn't want to be in a little village and not know that she should be taking a picture of the church.  We had great help from everyone.  If you don't know which way is up, there's at least four people ready to head you in the right direction.  

We found a lot of the information we were looking for, and a few surprises.  My friend found an ancestor on the New York 1930 census, and realized that he was in Sing Sing Prison (mob connection after coming over from southern Italy).  I found an entry about James Livingston joining Porter Rockwell in sabotaging Johnson's army as they entered Utah.  They did such a good job that Brigham Young changed his orders and told them to help the army with food and supplies so that they would be able to survive the winter.  We also found great pictures and images of documents like marriage certificates.  The whole day was fascinating and fun.

We loved City Creek and had enough time to do a little shopping and enjoy lunch there.  It happened to be Wednesday, when people were rallying to show support to Chic-fil-A.  We didn't know what was going on, but we didn't want to have anything to do with the long line that wound all around the food court.

Each evening we gathered Pepsi and some junk food to eat in bed while we watched the Olympics.  On Wednesday we had to stay up until almost 1:00 so that we could see coverage of Kristen Armstrong's gold medal ride.  We're proud of our Boise girl.

The ride home was fast and plenty entertaining.  After stopping at Maddox's on the way down, I had to share the Garden of Eden truck stop with my friend on our way back.  We didn't buy any souvenirs there, but did get one last Pepsi and a Krispy Kreme doughnut.  Now I need to get back into Weight Watchers mode.  It will be good to have Terry's healthy influence.