UTAH
Spring 2007
Each spring break, I picked a state I had never visited before and I booked a flight and a car and traveled without much of a game plan for five days and then I made my way back to the airport and come home. I loved these trips. They were so easy and really fed my urge to explore, unencumbered with a schedule.
I had my trip to Utah planned when my sister called me and asked if her daughter could join me this year. Patricia had just gone back to work and Lauren was in 9th grade and she didn't want Lauren alone for the week. When Patricia told Lauren that she would be joining me in Utah, Lauren asked, "What the hell are we going to do in Utah????
"Whatever Bridget wants, that's what." And off we went.
Lauren was a great travel companion. She got to pick the hotel each night as long as it met my criteria: free WIFI, a hot tub and a free breakfast. We had one rule: no rules. I found it difficult to answer her questions about what she could and couldn't eat, how many cokes she could consume in one day and could she spend all of her money on several pairs of earring. I told her this trip was going to be a lesson in adulthood. She had to decide these things on her own.
We took an all terrain vehicle up and down the rocks in Moab. That ride was thrilling. We snorkeled in a dark, deep cave. I drove 400 miles for us to see the salt flats which were still under water at this time. And we finished our trip with a tour of the Mormon community. Initially, I told Lauren not to give anyone her real name and address. She thought I was being judgmental. But by the end of the tour, she too, answered every personal question cautiously.
We traveled again the next spring break and then, the next year, she was too busy for me. While she may have outgrown me, I haven't outgrown her good company.
