Salt Lake City, UT

2018 was the year of road trips to explore different places in the states. Although we had stopped in Salt Lake City on our way to this duty station, we only spent the night and didn't do much exploring. So when Brandon had to be there for work and I had to be fingerprinted nearby, we took the opportunity to spend the weekend enjoying a bit of Salt Lake's magic. We visited the International Garden where we got to experience the magic of Japanese gardens again, announced our move to England to the Instagram world, and posed Luna with a mini Stonehenge. We ate delicious Korean Barbeque, Japanese sushi and ramen, and the best food truck burrito we've ever had. We will definitely hit that one up every single time we're in SLC. We spent the day wandering through the maze that is Ikea and the Natural History Museum of Utah which was a lot more impressive than I thought it would be. 

Before I left that Sunday, we decided we would take a hike to a waterfall. I'm not the most outdoorsy person nor in the best shape at the moment and wasn't prepared for a treacherous uphill hike that made me dusty, dirty, and grumpy. Until we finally got to the top and my soul felt calm and joyous at the sight of the waterfall and the cool shallow pool at its feet that made me feel alive again. Until we had to go back down. I understand so fully now why Cheryl Strayed calls hiking retroactive fun (or something like that. She mentioned it in Dear Sugars once) because you can't really enjoy the experience until you're past the grunt of it. That has to be one of the most truthful things I've ever heard. So a new pact was made with my husband, no more crazy hikes unless there is a waterfall at the end. It's just not worth it. 

So I'll end this with a quote from that amazing woman, Cheryl Strayed, "The best thing you can possibly do with your life is to tackle the motherfucking shit out of love."

That's the plan, Cheryl.