Travelling to Park City

April 8, 2009 Park City
Got to bed late last night at about midnight since we unpacked from Panama, and prepared for Park City in the one day we were home. Dylan was the first awake this morning at 0530, and promptly woke up his brother and sister. Although they were unhappy to have their slumber terminated, all were in good spirits anticipating today’s travels to Utah.
Our flight schedule was a 1025 departure from MCO to DEN, then sit for 2 hours then onto SLC on a short one hour flight. The kids were helpful getting the minivan loaded and out the door, it was unbelievably, an evolution proceeding ahead of schedule. They were also eager to get to the airport since they figured correctly they could enjoy a breakfast at McDonald’s.
Dropped off Reb and the Dylan curbside, and RY Rach and I proceeded to the employee parking lot. They really enjoy feeling like an airline employee and riding that employee bus on our trips.
I brought the kids down to the SWA pilot lounge where Sally gave them all a bunch of candy, however, Rachel is only stockpiling hers, since for Lent she gave up candy. She has been most diligent adhering to this sacrifice.
We were able to preboard, much to everyone’s pleasure. The MCO ops agent really hooked us up, and it was another clear example of the wonderful SWA employee culture.
The 4 hour flight to DEN was instantly transformed into 2 hours for me, as I was asleep before the wheels were in the well. When I awoke, both Rach and Ry were asking me where we were, and I was fortunate to look out, and see the Mississippi river, furthering the mystical, omniscient aura of the airline pilot, whether in the cockpit or cabin.
In DEN, the boys were hungry for hamburgers, and Dylan is on track to match his previous Park City record of eating a hamburger for every meal. Rebecca was very happy to have lunch at the Paradise Deli, and after lunch, it was time to board.
In SLC, the bags arrived very quickly, and all the kids were on the lookout for snow, having seen a fair amount in the Rockies around Denver, and in the Wasatch range in Salt Lake.
Got our rental car, and my apprehension was alleviated when all of our luggage, including snowboard fit into the midsize SUV, Kia. Humorously, we actually loaded the wrong one, and when we were ready to drive off realized the key did not work. We were in K-37, not K-35 where our designated rental was parked.
It was now time to head up the mountain, and the GPS did not fail us. Some rain had begun to fall, and we could see that the mountains in our direction of travel were obscured with fog and virga, so we counted the outside air temp down on the KIA’s thermometer, and when we observed a temperature drop from 56 to 37, we were exiting for Park City. To the excitement of all, the rain was now snow, and Rachel continued to proclaim she intended to dive head first into the snow, like a hedge hog.
We got gold ski lift passes from an old friend from the Delta Surf Dog days who is now the Chief Operating Officer for the US Olympic Ski/Snowboard team. Our lodging has also been provided by another dear friend from the same Delta Surf Dog era, Mark. When we pulled up to his vacation rental home, I was in shock at how nice the home was that he had so graciously offered us lodging at. I felt guilty even staying there.
The first order of business was to get into snow gear so the kids could go play. Ry and Dylan were the first out the door, and disappeared somewhere on Empire Ave. By the time Reb, Rach and I had caught up with them we had found a snow saucer on the road, and procured it for later use.
I observed the “town lift” at the end of Mark’s street, and upon gathering up the boys we headed up the hill in that direction with saucer in tow. It was a perfect little snow playground for them, with a great hill to sled down, snowballs to be rolled, and winter fun to be enjoyed.
Mark and his son Ben arrived, and we headed to dinner at one of Mark’s favorite kid friendly restaurants on Main Street. It was a great time, and Rachel enjoyed distracting Ben while Mark and I caught up on old times, it was a pleasure to hang with my old bud. Of course, Dylan was able to order another cheeseburger, and in short time realized he was not hungry, so stashed the burger in a to go box to ensure one of his meals tomorrow would be another burger. My son is Wimpy from Popeye!!
All of the 3 children were overly tired, and when we arrived back at the house, Rachel was upset and crying for no apparent reason, while the boys happily watched TV from their bunk bed furnished room.
A great day of travel to a fun destination. What a world of difference a few years of age makes for the kids to become expert travelers. We are all excited to hit the slopes of the Park City Resort tomorrow for the boy’s first day of snowboarding, and Rachel’s first day of skiing.