Red Butte and Buca di Beppo

We started this weeks adventure by visiting Red Butte Gardens. By the time we arrived, we only had 30 minutes to explore before it was closed for the evening. Since we had made the drive, we decided we would power walk the gardens and see as much as possible in 30 minutes. One of the first plants that caught our eye was this foot cactus. Yes, we have determined, through science, that these are cactus feet with purple toes.
There were many awesome things about the gardens, such as dangerous snakes that were lurking about, ready to feed on humans.
Since the Red Butte is in the foothills of the mountains, often wildlife is seen in the garden area. This particular moose is trying to blend in with its surroundings by disguising itself as a shrub.
Then, shortly after, we came across a pack of gila monsters. Gypsy used to be a gila monster rodeo queen, but now she just rides for fun, rather than sport.The area that had the displays geared more toward children was super cool. All of the benches had giant bugs on them. They were quite darling and all different.While still visiting the area for children, we came upon this giant planter that had a tree growing out of it. Super cute! It also had a pole coming out of the side for children to slide down. As I was in flip-flops, a skirt, and untrained at sliding down poles, it was necessary for me to give it a whirl. Of course, just then, some other visitors of the gardens just happened to stroll by. I didn't injure my heel or anything, either!

It was incredible to see all of the different plants that are able to be grown in our environment. Never in my wildest dreams would I think Utah weather could produce such a tropical, and quite large, flowers. As you can clearly see, Gyspy is amazed, too!I could have been waiting for Guffman! Who knows?This place is full of beauty, and more wild animals. Look at this wooden fish. Just look at it! Thanks for looking!The sun was definitely setting on our evening power walk through Red Butte. Somehow, we got turned around and somewhat lost. We had to get out our map. The great adventurer's that we are, we quickly found our way back to the visitors building. All we had to do was make our own path through some brush, a little bit of mud, and ending up at a wedding.....yep, we crashed a wedding. It's totally our style. The bartenders looked very pleased to see us. They were not surprised at all to see two ladies crawling through the gardens at night. It was totally normal. I think we eventually made it back to the car after an hour of exploration.

With all of that exploring under our belts, we needed to recharge with some food. We chose the restaurant downtown called, Buca di Beppo. It is Italian food that is served family style. Neither one of us knew about the family style servings, but our server was kind enough to let us order individual portions.

I'm not sure what "theme" Buca is going for in their decor. Perhaps, it is supposed to be representative of the clutter one would find at their grandmother's house, while she is making you pasta.Every square inch of this place was covered in stuff. Even on my trip to the restroom, I found some photo opportunities that I couldn't pass up. These "shadow boxes" were hanging on either side of the sink vanity in the bathroom.And this is in case you have forgotten your undergarments from the 60's. How thoughtful.And of course, the picture that is hanging on the back of the bathroom door as you exit, to remind you to wash your hands......... It was a good time had by all. Even the pope loved it!The food was yummy, the gardens were beautiful, the adventure was grand!

Until our next adventure,
Lucia

9th and 9th

We took a lovely stroll down to the quaint 9^th and 9^th area. We decided we would take in a movie at the Tower. We saw “The Future”. The theater was as packed as one could expect on a Thursday night, watching an independent film—maybe 20 people were in the audience. The only synopsis we had going in to the movie was a young couple and something about a cat. What a wonderfully weird movie it was. The relationship between the two main characters was fun and quirky. The whole movie was full of metaphors, parallels, and huh? Overall, it was an enjoyable experience.

After leaving the tower, we explored the nearby gift shop, Cahoots. If a giant pink gorilla and human size chicken in the window weren’t enough to draw you in, what would? This shop is adorable. There are all sorts of random and fun gifts throughout. There was anything from “I think you just touched your genitals” hand sanitizer to pink flamingo lamps and Einstein magnetic dress up. Gypsy found her soul mate inside. I imagine his name to be Herbert. I also, found a long lost friend, Louie!

Next, we headed out for some grub. There were limited options as it was now after 9pm. We happened upon a Middle Eastern restaurant, Mazza. Gypsy was in heaven, as she was able to engage in a rendezvous with her long time lover, falafel. I chose something from the menu that I remotely recognized-Chicken Suwarma. Both meals were lovely, and more than what we could eat. The ambience of the restaurant was adorable—the lamps hanging from the ceiling, the inlaid wood hostess booth, the stabby, berry vine sitting in a vase behind us.

The night was still young, and pastries were nearby. In crossing the street, we noticed the crosswalk signs were very comforting. We love you, too!

Our last stop for the evening was at the Coffee Garden. Funny enough, neither of us drinks coffee. I ordered a slice of carrot cake, while Gypsy enjoyed hot cocoa and poppy seed bread. I wonder if someone had a bite before I did. This place was hoppin’. This gentleman decided to discuss the awesome buttons that adorn Gypsy’s bag. The crowd really varied on reason for being there. The environment served as a great place to discuss the movie we had just seen and get a game plan for our next adventure. At 11:00pm, the closing announcement came through, kicking us all out and inviting us to return another day.

Until our next adventure,

Lucia

Utah State Fair

For our third adventure, we saw it fitting to visit that Utah State Fair that was taking place. It was everything you would expect from a fair. There was art, rides, games, animals, and fried food. Our first experience upon entering the Fair was a building full of art entries for the fair. Some of the artwork was so intricate and interesting, while others, were, well sculptures made of butter. Super impressive!

We ventured over to the “trade show” area and checked out various wares. By the way, the best lotion on the market smells like a public restroom that has been cleansed or disinfected. Outside of the tradeshow area, we saw this awesome robot man. It was hard to tell if he was totally a robot, half man half robot, a man in a robot suit, or someone from the future. He had awesome dance moves.

Next, we were off to see some animals. We came across some kangaroos. How crazy are these guys? We even got to see a baby one. It was super adorable.

There was no time for lollygagging, so we grabbed our first sample of fair food. It was frozen bananas! Being the fans of “Arrested Development” that we are, there was no way we were going to pass these bad boys up! “Big yellow joint, a big yellow joint…..”

On our way to see some livestock, we ran into our fair “boyfriends” for the first time. It’s nice to know that young men in jazzy’s, who have “both legs that work,” are interested in the both of us. What a pickup line that was! It was hard to resist, but we moved on to visiting with farm animals instead.

We saw the craziest rabbits! One looked like a well-loved, matted, bunny slipper. I was amazed by the bunny slipper rabbits! We saw some large hogs, bees working the honeycomb, bulls that were not very neighborly, and our favorites, the goats! We searched and searched for the ones with the crazy, demon eyes, but alas, we could not find them. What we found instead was even more amazing……Jazzercise goats!

I’m sure we ran into the “Jazzy Boys” again at this point, wanting to give us a lift!

We shopped the vendor booths and enjoyed more fair food. We even got the real “carnie” experience walking by the game booths. Older men, who must have runaway to join the circus at a young age, now operate the game booths at the fair. We opted not to pay $1 to see the smallest woman in the world. We decided that we wouldn’t have many questions for her and that she would be like this surly woman who made fun of our average height. What would you say to her, knowing that she knows you just paid a dollar to come stare at her and ask her questions?

We enjoyed our fries and funnel cake with this breathtaking view of a cow.

The fair was a blast and well worth the discount tickets we picked up at Smith’s on the way!

Until our next adventure,

Lucia