Coming Out of the Canyon

As luck would have it, I woke around 545am feeling sleepier than I had all week. I then played peek-a-boo with the clock until finally rolling out of bed at 630am. After brushing my teeth I started some coffee and readied for the gym. I packed up my laptop, chargers and cords into my carry-on back pack. I drank a small glass of OJ and a cup of coffee then left for the gym at 7am sharp.

I ran 3.1 miles on the treadmill in about 26 minutes. Started off a little sluggish but finished feeling really strong. Headed back to the condo near 730am taking notice of the moon sitting just above the mountain’s crest against a blue back drop. I took a photo or two with my smart phone. Just 90 more minutes at Solitude.  On one hand I was sad to be leaving such a beautiful place after an incredible week of skiing, but on the other hand, I was happy to be heading home to be with my wife.

Back at the condo Tommy and Glenn were both awake. I ate a chocolate muffin, poured a 2nd cup of coffee, then headed for a shower. Finished packing after shower and was ready by 820am. Tommy and I tidied up the condo, taking the recycling and trash to the parking garage bins. Meanwhile, Glenn poured most of the remaining booze into used water bottles for the trip home. What remained, I placed a note stating “enjoy’ to whom ever came to our condo to clean-up. Still a half bottle of Captain Morgan’s, some Rumpelminz, and a 6 pack of good beer.

Wasatch Crest Shuttle called at 855am to let us know he was just outside the resort. I asked that he meet us at the elevator in the underground parking garage. We wheeled our gear down the hall and elevator where we met Tim, our shuttle driver. After loading our gear, I headed to the office to formally check-out.  The shuttle along with Tommy & Glenn picked me up there.

The drive down Big Cottonwood Canyon was incredibly beautiful. Saw what I missed on the drive, which was late night and in a snow storm. Dad called my cell just as we exited the Canyon onto 215N. Asked if I had just tried calling him? I hadn’t, and at the time wondered if he just might’ve been lonely as he made idle chit-chat which isn’t something dad would normally do. We didn’t talk long.

As we zipped through town towards the airport I thought I heard our driver share that he needed to stop at home for something. Sure enough. He stopped at his house to pick-up his airport pass. The thought creeped me out a little. Made me think of Hannibal Lector. He lives in an older part of town that appeared a little beaten down economically. Soon enough we were back on the road to SLC. With the detour, the drive took 40 minutes. Still not bad. He dropped us curbside near the SW entrance at 950am.

The women at the SW counter gave me crap about my ski boot case. Said it needs to be a real ski boot case. Could charge me for extra baggage. Geesh! Had to drag our bags to the X-ray machine. Thinking back, I should’ve suggested that Glenn climb in and have his ribs looked at.  Turned out, our departure gates were side by side – B21 & B22. Cool. Was thinking that we might’ve been exchanging goodbyes right then. The security screening line was long and winding. Can’t remember the last time I had to wait in such a long line.

Aside from a rather lengthy line, we had no problems getting through security. We walked to our gates and then agreed to hit the nearby Wendy’s. All three of us were hungry. Glenn & Tommy order breakfast sandwiches. I ordered a single combo.

Tommy & I didn’t have too long a wait at all after our meal, maybe 25 minutes. However, Glenn’s flight wasn’t scheduled to depart SLC until 235pm local, or about the same time we were scheduled to land in Chicago. Our flight boarded a little late. I’m thinking that it was near 1140am. We didn’t take off until 1155am. It wasn’t a full flight. A middle seat remained open between Tommy & I. I’m pretty sure that we were in row 19.

Our flight took off to the south then circled around all the while gaining the necessary altitude to clear the Rockies just to our east. We flew near parallel to I-80 for quite a while. In a window seat, I observed the ground below for quite a while. Given my preference, I would’ve sat on the other side of the plane so I could see the canyons and the ski parks.

Once we cleared the Rockies, we hit solid cloud cover. I pulled my book from my pack and did some reading. I briefly dosed off a time or two, but read pretty much for the duration of the flight into Chicago. Couldn’t miss the Mississippi River. I knew we were getting close. Soon the pilot announced that we were 150 miles out of Midway. Seemed like a fast flight. Always seems to take forever to land in Chicago. Texted and called Mindy once we landed at Midway. We had almost 2 hours to kill before our CMH flight left Chicago. Our departing gate was just a short walk from our arriving gate. We walked from one end of the concourse to the other just for the exercise. Felt good. I asked Tommy to keep his eyes open for Gumballhead beer in any of the concourse bars. No joy.

Mindy sent another text asking if I wanted to go to North High brewing and then CBC after pick-up. Yep! Our flight boarded just a few minutes late. Again, not a full flight. Tommy and I shared a row with an open middle seat. It was just below freezing in Chicago and apparently colder over Ohio with snow. The pilot had our plane de-iced before take-off. That took an extra 10-15 minutes but not a big deal. Better safe than sorry.

The flight to CMH was largely above thick cloud cover. On a clear night one can see Chicago, Detroit, Toledo, and Cleveland at the same time. Once again, I read for the entire flight. Seemed like an up and down. Columbus was blanketed with clouds and snow as we landed from the east.

Mindy’s smiling face was waiting just the other side of the security check point. Always feels good to have someone waiting at the other end of a flight. We headed to baggage claim where our wait was relatively brief. All bags and skis accounted for. That always feels good. Parted ways with Tommy in baggage claim. Said he planned to stop by Sunday to settle up our travel expenses.

Mindy parked on the 4th level just outside the doors. We opted to skip North High Brewing and instead headed straight to CBC. It might’ve snowed just before we landed but it wasn’t during our drive. Arrived at CBC nearing 9pm. I was surprised to find the lot packed full. The only parking spots were handicapped and then a few in the back along the railroad and woods. I wasn’t willing to risk parking out back with all my personal electronics on board. I took one of the 4 handicapped spots.

The bar was jam packed – standing room only. Having dropped Mindy at the door, she had a Bodhi in hand and awaiting my entrance. We stood only for a short while before a few stools opened up. Kate and Emily were tending bar. Vince was managing the restaurant, apparently giving Jen an evening off.

We eventually ordered risotto balls, our all-time fave. We hung at CBC for a solid two hours. During our visit we talked with Kiki whom we hadn’t seen in more than a year. Has a new girlfriend. Former server, Mike stopped in too, only this time as a customer, and presumably to meet up with Emily. We invited to come sit with us. We chatted for a while. Just as I was paying our bill, Emily shared that another regular, Eugene, wanted to get our dinner tab in recognition of our anniversary. Thanks Eugene! We headed for home arriving just before Saturday Night Live began. I carried in all of my gear but unpacked nothing. We headed straight for bed.