Day 3 ~ Where will it be?

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Freedom: Utah vs. Louisiana
We'll be busy as bees in the Beehive State. Salt Lake City is really the best place to fly into and we could trek up the mountain to see my old stomping ground Park City and it is beautiful there. If Louisiana wins, then the only place I can even dream of is New Orleans! Here come the saints, bom, bom, bom, bom. Sing it with me. Here come the saints

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Independence: Washington vs. Michigan
Both are Northern states. One on the West Coast. One in the mid West. When you say Washington, all I can think of is Seattle! Space Needle. Pikes Market. Lots of yummy, fresh seafood. When you say Michigan, I think Detroit. When you say Detroit, I think cars. When you say cars, I think I want a new one. Who's going to win this round?

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Liberty: West Virginia vs. Minnesota
I've got music stuck in my head today... right now I hear John Denver singing, "West Virginia, Mountain Momma, take me home, country roads..." Thank goodness you don't have to HEAR ME singing that! Whew. And for Minnesota... no. Wait. No. I don't have a song for Minnesota but we could go to Minneapolis! Where do you want to go?

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Voting will be from 7:00 am to 6:00 am (CST) tomorrow.

Attention all Passengers!!!

All passengers from Utah, Indiana, Mississippi, North Dakota and Arkansas please report to your appointed decks and tell us what makes your state the Taste of USA!

We started our week out in one of my states, Utah where my friends Rich and Ginger said hello. And, our regular, Cassie P. told us about her grandfather live in Utah. Cassie, what city does he live in?

Then we visited Indiana where Heather's husband Bal is from. Heather, I think we are going to be great friends. I was a band geek (but in our small town everyone was a band geek). I played the french horn. Heather also filled us in on the "leaf watch" for spectacular fall foliage. And lastly, Santa Clause, Indiana home to Holiday World Theme Park. Sounds like fun. Cassie added, "GO COLTS!" and told us about Lincoln's boyhood home and the Strawberry Festival in Starlight. What exactly is Huber's again?



How was Jack Johnson, Cassie? Was John Mellencamp there?



We then cruised over to Mississippi where according to Heather, IT'S HOT! Pascagoula! I love the sound of that word.

And not one of our readers has been to Arkansas or North Dakota because if someone had been to either of those states surely they would have left a comment yesterday. ;)

I know what you're thinking... Darn, my state already passed! Don't worry. Stay tuned in for the make up day.

Welcome to the Beehive State

I am very excited to be taking you to Utah today. I lived in Park City from 1997-2006. As you well know by reading about the other states, I am a hot weather beach girl! My head would start spinning when the snow came down in May or June! But let's not dwell on that.

Utah is a beautiful state. If you are into skiing, hiking, camping, mountain bike riding. river rafting and the like... this state is for you. From the wintry mountains, to the city in the valley on southward to beautiful rock formations. Let's start there.

Arches National Park is nothing short of breathless. We went to the park in a 4 wheel drive jeep and it was crazy. Hiking back to see all the arches is incredible. There are over 2,000 natural sandstone arches in the park and the textures and coloring are something you have to see for yourself.

Other parks that are similar to the Arches are Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, and Capital Reef National Park. Check those out for your camping pleasure. I'm going to head north and stay in a hotel.

The major city in Utah is of course Salt Lake City discovered by Brigham Young in 1847. Everyone that came to see me was interested in seeing Temple Square. It is a beautiful area with flowing gardens and spectacular architecture and you can meander through and enjoy the grounds. My favorite restaurant in Salt Lake is Cafe Rio and I am so jealous that Park City is getting one! I can taste the fajita steak salad with the creamy tomatilla dressing right now! YUMMY!

Not far from the city are several ski resorts nestled in the Wasatch Mountains. On the west side are: Alta, Brighton, Solitude and Snowbird. I think I went to Solitude one year but not being the avid skier... I can't remember.

Let's forget the hotel and go to my favorite spot in Utah... Park City! Surely, I can find a friends house to stay at! My favorite place in Park City is Jess Reid Real Estate. I know it's a real estate company but it's not just any real estate company, I worked there for 6.5 years and I made some very good friends there. And I miss them dearly. Hi everyone at Jess Reid Real Estate. That's the Reid Building in the photo above. I have to give a shameless plug to my realtor, Rich Fine. If you're ever looking for a winter home in the mountains, call Rich. Not that the rest of the Realtors there aren't good because they are!! Most of the gang are pictured below.

Park City boast three ski resorts that can't be more than 10 or 15 miles apart and that may be too many miles. There's Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain Resort and The Canyon's. If I'm not mistaken, Park City had record amounts of snow this year and the skiing had to be awesome. But don't just go to Park City for your winter vacation. All of the resorts feature summer events as well. There are zip lines, alpine slides, mountain biking and lots of summer concerts. When you're in Park City, you have to go to Historic Main Street. It's kind of like stepping back in time but with all the modern conveniences. Okay, JRRE... stop laughing about my descriptions!

The last area I'm going to talk about is Sundance. No, not the film festival. The resort. I'm sure many of you would love the Film Festival though, you should check that out, too. I'm talking about the resort. I have been to Sundance in the fall and summer. It's more secluded and very natural while luxurious at the same time. The fall colors are so beautiful with the sounds of the wind whipping through the trees and water brooks. The air is heavenly there!

Utah's fun facts are: The state flower is the sego lily and the state bird is the Californian Gull.

Oh my heck! All you Utahn's meet us on the Snow Deck on Friday, June 13th to tell us what makes Utah the Taste of USA!

I'd also like to say happy birthday to Darci. She's not from Utah but I love her just the same and today is her birthday!