UTAH

The Memorial Day Weekend turned out to be a kick ass vacation for me and my fellow family mates. ‘Finally VA meets UT’, like my cousin said! As the last week began, the excitement started to emerge. On Thursday night I had n number of things on my ‘Things to do list’. Laundry, packing, cleaning, etc. At the dawn of Friday I reached the airport to fly away to Utah Land. Twenty minutes before the arrival, the magnificent and absolutely gorgeous mountains of Utah made me say ‘Oh My God, Really?’

It was a complete bliss to view the surroundings during touchdown. As we walked out the airport, we anxiously awaited to meet our cousin and her beau. Hugged her tightly, picked up our rental… and then the party began! First stop was not something fancy, just driving around Salt Lake City was itself a special place to visit. It’s astonishing to see how the entire city is wrapped between trails of mountains. Everywhere we went; the scenic view was breath taking. The evening plan was to watch Hangover 2. Hilarious. Next morning driving to Moab, Utah was truly delightful. The entire four hour drive was encircled with all kinds of mountains. Every hill was different from other. The roads in particular reminded us of Hangover 1 and couple other Indian films. HA! The first stop was at Canyon Land and the view was again thrilling. The red colored mountains, the breeze, the blazing hot sun on top and the cameras clicking us away was superlative. We acted as typical Indians and wrote our names on the mountains. Our desi-ness comes out everywhere we go. Yeah, laugh it up! Next, we drove to Arches National Park. Another ajooba, if I may… To see those really odd looking mountains which mostly looked like bricks well shaped and crafted amused each one of us. The pattern of flowing water was clearly visible of all those rocks. Proved that the entire place was once beneath water. Mother Nature can literally shock you with its miracles.

We ended up viewing the entire sunset from the hills. Awesome view! Drove back to the city and encountered millions of stars in the sky. I doubt I have ever seen that many stars altogether. It looked magnificent. Although, it was kind of frightening to see no one on the road. It was about 1AM and we all were seriously sleep deprived. Next morning decided to stay local. Drove to hilltop, started a snow fight, clicked pictures, saw crowded hills covered with snow, clicked pictures, ate at Punjabi Dhaba, clicked pictures, stopped at Park City, got a glimpse of Olympics area, clicked pictures, updated FB status, discussed n number of activities, however did nothing and drove back home! Phew…

VA met UT and now it was time to fly back to the pavilion. Next morning we all had to catch our flights back home. However, how can one complete a trip to Utah without experiencing some snow showers? It was freezing cold the minute I step my foot outside. The mountains were covered with icy snow, weather looked hazy, clouds hovered upon me and the body kept shivering. That moment made me realize ‘Lord, do I miss home or what’? While Virginians were showing off legs and sweating in sultry weather, I was bundled up in layers. The overall trip was certainly a memorable expedition. Highly recommend the haseen vadiyan and khula aasman…