Shennanigans in Salt Lake City

I have been traveling like a fiend lately, and I mean all over the place. In the last four weeks, I've been to Vegas twice, Salt Lake City, Chicago, Philadelphia and... well, there are more, but you get the idea. So I thought I would share some of my travel experiences, as I've had some quintessentially Shauna moments.

So I will start with Salt Lake City. Funny enough, I had never really wanted to go to Salt Lake. I don't ski, I like a glass of wine with dinner periodically, and it just seemed like any other city.

I was so wrong! Salt Lake City is really amazing. From a landscape perspective, Salt Lake is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. I'm posting a picture from a gas station, yes a gas station, that shows what i mean. There are mountains everywhere!


But here the real story of my trip to Salt Lake-- how I managed to embarrass myself AND a nice young man who was just trying to bring me dinner.

I bought new pajamas before leaving for Salt Lake-- a white tee-shirt and sweats, my sleeping uniform. I arrived late at night, and went directly to my room and ordered room service. While waiting, I put on my new PJs and was busy checking email when it arrived.

The room service waiter looked very young, probably 19 or 20, and was very friendly and nice. He came in, asked me how my day was, set my tray down and turned around. At this point, his face turned bright red, he dropped his gaze to the floor, basically threw the receipt book at me and said he would wait in the hall for me to sign it. Massively confused, I signed the receipt book and opened the door. My young friend stared at the ceiling and thanked me. I wondered what THAT was all about as I closed the door and caught myself in the full length mirror.

One should always check new pajamas in a mirror before interacting with people, because, as it turns out, mine were completely see-through, which explains the red-faced young man. At least he was too polite to stare! Such a me move...

How to Rate a City

As promised a few weeks ago, I want to share some of my travel photos with you. Calling them "photos" is probably elevating these a bit much-- they are snapshots. Mostly when I am exploring a city and taking pictures, I am by myself, stealing a few moments away from a work trip. This doesn't leave a lot of time to really get to know a place, so I have a simple rating system that helps me separate the "I like this place" from "I don't ever want to go back." Here it is:

• The locals-- This category usually gets entirely judged by how nice the cab driver that takes me from the airport to the hotel is, though sometimes it is supplemented by servers, gift shop workers, and the odd pedestrian I ask for directions when I get lost. The food-- The biggest perk for me of travelling is getting to sample excellent local faire. So, do you have any?
• The scenery-- Is there anything to look at? I only get to judge this one when I stay in town, and not at a convention center or in a suburban Hampton Inn.
• The history/attractions-- I am a history nerd, so I love going places where something happened, or there is something great to see. .

• The weather-- This is big for me. I hate hot and muggy-- it isn't an automatic bad mark if a place is hot and muggy-- New Orleans is my FAVORITE city, but I would never go in the summer.

And so, here is a quick recap of my latest trip, and one that surprised me-- Memphis, Tennessee. I really liked Memphis, and I didn't expect to. For one, I was going south in July and expected hot (which it was), and other cities I have been to in Tennessee have been.... well, just fine. Memphis is different, though.

The people were friendly, and I stayed smack in the middle of downtown. Though the entire area felt a bit economically depressed, Main Street was beautiful and charming. Beale Street is a great attraction for music lovers or foodies. I got a crawfish po-boy. Anywhere that serves me a crawfish po-boy is a winner to me!

I didn't get to do Graceland, but still feel like I got the entire Elvis experience just by being in Memphis. I snapped a bunch of photos, and am attaching some, but if you're looking for a winter getaway... see Memphis.

California Dreaming

So yes, it has been nearly a month since I last blogged. But I have good reasons!

1. I just moved. My house is a maze of boxes. Every time I look at the computer and think about writing something, I remind myself that it would be far more fruitful in the near term to unpack.
2. With school, work, and moving, the moments I have to glance at the computer are limited.
3. Max and Menna comes out in two weeks. I am trying to spend whatever free time I do have catching up on promotions, and generally doing cartwheels of excitement.
4. I am travelling soooo much.

The problem is that not blogging isn't simply not blogging. Its indicative of a larger problem-- I have written maybe two pages in the last two months. Not only does this contribute to my general anxiety, since writing is a release, but it is also a piss poor way to approach becoming a full-time writer.

So, that is it. I need to recharge. I need to go somewhere new and see something beautiful-- that always gets the juices flowing. A high school classmate seems to be on a whirlwind tour of the world. Just looking at the pictures he is posting from exoctic locations like South Africa and UAE make me salivate. I want to go there. I want to see that in person. I want to be inspired (but I promise not to write Eat, Pray, Love II-- I don't want to be inspired and write about me).

Here is what I am thinking: When I got back from my Washington/Oregon/California trip in May, I was so psyched. I wrote like crazy. It was the perfect trip-- some city, some rural, lots of spectacle.

See, I am an anglophile and a bit of a snob about it. When I was in Ireland I was young and stupid and thought "nothing can be more beautiful than this" and it IS truly one of the most beautiful places on the planet; however, Oregon showed me that there are things in my own backyard that are that beautiful... things I haven't seen.

In January, I am cashing in my airline/hotel/credit card points and going somewhere new. I see the irony in this-- pointing to travel as a reason I am not writing, but for those of you who don't travel for work, let me assure you of this: when you travel for work you go lots of places, but you seldom see anything. This is why none of you should be offended when I say "I'm here" and you say "oh, I live there-- lets hang out." I usually get about 8 hours in a 24 hour span off, and I sleep and work out.

My leaning is towards cashing those points in on a trip to Jaimaica, but the likelihood is that this may turn out to be a lone vacation. January is not typically the time most people take off to travel. I am not sure Jaimaica is the kind of place I want to go alone. Jaimaica is the kind of place I want to go with one of the dreamy men...

Thus I thought perhaps I would visit one of the 21 U.S. states I have not yet been to. But I don't know where to go! I've eliminated several based on climate (I am NOT going colder), availability of flights, and availability of hotels within my point range. What I have is the list below. Tell me, dear readers, where to go on this list. Where can I find something beautiful near a kick ass city with a great restaurant scene. Where can I go to be inspired and jump start work on my now-stalled second novel?

Here are my options, unless Ryan Buell, Joseph Gordon Levitt, or Ben Barnes are free for a Jaimaica trip!

Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
Colorado
Indiania
Kansas
Mississippi
New Mexico
Oklahoma
Utah