We got the rig ready to move, and proceeded to take it to D&D Automotive for the long-anticipated body work. We spent more than an hour there, discussing the project.
We finally headed North on I-15 at 2:00 PM. The immediate destination was Cedar City, 60 miles away, where we had a reservation for the night at the Abbey Inn. The object of stopping in Cedar City was simply to make the Saturday run to Park City an hour shorter. After only 20 miles, the information panel on the dashboard informed us that the battery was no longer charging. That had very ominous implications until we quickly realized that the air conditioner was pushing out warm air and the power steering no longer worked. That could only mean that our fan belt had gone away. That was good news since a fan belt is usually an easy fix. Since our truck runs on diesel, it does not need electricity to fire the cylinders, and we could keep going without the alternator providing juice. We continued on to Cedar City and stopped at The Tire Company, which had been recommended by the guy at the NAPA Auto Parts store across the street.
The guys got on the job immediately, as we had explained our time situation, and determined that the problem was slightly larger than just a fan belt: A pulley had disappeared along with the belt. In any event, we would certainly be on our way early Saturday morning. We loaded our stuff in their truck and they dropped us off at the Abbey Inn.
Ten minutes later, Heath, our service rep, called to say they found an additional problem that required a GM part, and he would call us back as soon as he determined the availability of the part. Shortly, he called back to say the local GM dealer was out of that part and would not be able to get another for six days, but Heath assured us he would investigate further. We immediately started looking for a rental car, with no success. Heath called back a few minutes later and said they had reconsidered everything and determined that we did not need that GM part after all, and we would still be able to leave early Saturday. Whew! We celebrated by taking a taxi to the Depot Grill, the highest-rated restaurant in Cedar City, where I dove into its delicious Prime Rib special while Becky had a nice Sea Bass. Of course, the entrees were accompanied by appropriate libations. The Executive Chef, Guy, personally asked how we enjoyed our dinner.
Saturday morning, Becky picked up the truck while on her way back from a post-breakfast walk, and we headed for Park City---230 miles away---right on time. That trip went without a single hitch, so we got to really enjoy the beautiful scenery of that part of Utah. We arrived at the office of the Circle J Club at 2:00 PM, two hours before the official check-in time, but they processed us anyway. We reserved a week in one of the condos there. Our place is only ¾ of a mile from Donna and David’s house, in an area called Jeremy Ranch. We (really Becky) lugged all our stuff up the stairs to the living room level of the three-story unit, and we proceeded to get settled. At 6:00, we went to Donna’s and had cocktails and dinner.
The whole gang was there; we hadn’t seen them for quite a while and had fun catching up. Meghan and Emily had made a video for Donna and David while D&D were on a 25th anniversary trip to Spain. The video, with contributions from a few family and friends, focused on D&D’s wedding. It was a lot of fun to watch.
Sunday morning we slept in. In due course, naturally, Becky had to keep active so she rode her bike to the nearby mall (and beyond) and did some shopping as well. The scenery in Park City is so beautiful this time of year---blooming wild flowers and green meadows.
I napped and read while she was gone. At 4:00 PM we headed back to D&D’s for cocktails and dinner. We still had a few words left in us after the previous night of non-stop talking.
Monday was devoted to relaxing, a little shopping, a hike with D&D's dogs, Norman and Coconut, and Chinese takeout at our place. Emily did not join us for dinner since she was attending a class on what she will be doing this summer---working at a local day camp, After dinner, we watched Bad Country, with Willem Dafoe, from the redbox. It was awful.
Tuesday we gave the Bernsteins the day off from entertaining us. I spent the day relaxing. Becky went to Salt Lake City to have lunch with Faye Keller, an old high school buddy who lives in SLC these days. We had sushi from the local Smith's market for dinner.
Wednesday, we returned to the Bernsteins for fun and frivolity. David's parents arrived from LA about 5 o'clock and Donna's aunt Donna Phebus (known for convenience as "Big Donna") arrived shortly thereafter. We all celebrated with a family dinner.
Thursday was the day for Emily's graduation. It took place at _____ Hall, a huge concert hall in downtown Salt Lake City---the same place where Meghan graduated three years ago. The ceremony was very nice. The big surprise was that Emily received the History Department Award for excellence. Congratulations to Emily. After the ceremony, we all went to Waterford School for a post-graduation lawn reception. Then we all went to Café Trio for a delicious (late) lunch (which turned out to be our dinner, as well).
I returned to the Bernsteins for a brief post-mortem on the exciting day, while Becky took a nap. Since we were leaving Park City early Friday morning to return to St. George to pick up our (repaired) rig, bedtime came early.
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