August Ladies Trip

I squeezed in one last ladies trip of the summer in August right before my school started. After we got home from our family camping trip to Twin Lakes in Montana, I drove to Mud Lake the next day for our school's Back-to-School Registration night. I left as soon as it was done at 6:00 that evening, and drove to Ogden for my first destination: to visit Amanda and Ryan at their home. Amanda fed me a late dinner when I got there, and then cut and colored my hair for me. I stayed at their house on Monday night, and they were kind to share their bed with me!

I loved this moonrise along my drive as I passed by Tremonton.

On Tuesday morning, I began my drive to St. George. I stopped in South Salt Lake and ate a Chik-fil-A lunch with my high school friend Heather at her home. It was the first time I'd seen her home--it was nice! We had a great chat, and it helped break up the drive for me.

I've wanted to go to the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City for many years, since I hadn't been since I was a sophomore in high school! That same summer in high school, I watched a play at the outdoor Tuacahn theater in St. George (which happened to be the first year it opened), and I haven't been there since then, either. Since I was turning 40 in August, I decided about a month beforehand that this would be the year to finally go again to both places, and I was determined to make it happen! The best time for me was between Monday and Wednesday of my birthday week, but I couldn't find anyone local that could go with me, and due to a bus training, Josh couldn't join me either. I thought about asking longtime friends that lived in the southern Utah vicinity, and that ended up working out fantastically!

My childhood best friend Heather lives in Henderson, Nevada, and she said she could go to the Tuacahn showing of The Little Mermaid with me on Tuesday night, and that we could stay in her condo in St. George afterwards. I was so excited because I hadn't seen her for six years (we visited her when Josh and I went to Las Vegas), and I knew she would appreciate the theater showing just as I would! I met up with her for dinner at Benja's Thai Garden restaurant in St. George that evening. We ate a yummy meal, then we drove to the condo and dropped off our luggage before heading to the theater to see the play. Funny note: when we were checking into the condo, the parents of our previous high school drama director Mr. Bahr (who now directs the Shakespeare Festival at SUU) were checking in as well. Heather recognized them and introduced ourselves, and they said they had been in Cedar City watching plays at the Festival, but had come to St. George for the night to see the production at Tuacahan--just like we were!). I'd never seen the theater version of The Little Mermaid, which is slightly different than the movie, with different songs added, and a few tweaks in the story line. It was well done, and I enjoyed it immensely!

Yikes! It was ultra hot--this is what my car's

thermometer read when I arrived in St. George!

I love the natural red rock cliffs as the stage's backdrop!

On Wednesday morning, I woke up as a 40 year old!!! I'd been working on a list of 40 things to do when I'm 40 for a couple of months, and I made it public that morning, as I laid in the comfortable condo that Heather has a time share in.

The view from the condo deck

This is my bed head as a 40 year old!

We ate breakfast together at the condo, and then we went to the St. George temple to do some initiatories. I've wanted to go to the St. George temple ever since I got married, but every time we've stopped by on our way through town, it was closed for cleaning! Since the St. George was scheduled to close in November for major renovations, I knew I needed to make time to attend it on this trip, and Heather was kind enough to go with me before she had to head back to Henderson to get her kids from school. The temple was super busy, and it took us a while to find a parking spot! However, when we walked to the temple grounds to take a photo before we went inside, a nice gentleman came out of the visitor's center and gladly took photos of us, and kindly walked us to the front of the temple as well. He was sweet and funny and that was a pleasant way to start our temple experience! We ate lunch in the temple cafeteria, after our service, which was nice. I had such a great time with my longtime friend!

After I said goodbye to Heather, I drove to Josh's cousin Brittany's house in St. George and met her infant daughter. I took a tour of their house, and had a nice visit with her for about an hour before leaving to head to Cedar City.

I haven't seen the Cedar City temple since it was completed in 2017 (we saw it mid-construction on our way through to Disneyland in November of 2016), so that was my next stop.  I did a session there by myself, which felt a little lonely, and I found myself pondering the reasoning I had made previously as to why I would choose to vacation alone on my birthday! However, at the end of my session, my temple helper was Fred Adams, which was such a fun surprise for me, and I felt loved and ascertained after all that I was in the right place doing the right thing. It truly brightened my day that he was the one who helped me! He is so famous on the SUU campus (my previous alma mater) as the founder of the Shakespeare Festival, and I hadn't seen him since my college days! As soon as I saw him, I happily (and awkwardly) exclaimed: "I know you!". To which he replied, "I know you do!", which totally made me giggle. It was a fun moment for me.

I have now been to every LDS temple in Utah except 2:

Monticello and Vernal (they're in my plans for next summer!)

I drove around Cedar for a bit, seeing how it had changed since my college days over 20 years ago. I loved attending this school, and although the town has grown considerably, it still speaks to me. I love Cedar City! I walked around campus as I waited for the green show to begin prior to the play I was planning to see. I loved the addition of the Shakespeare gardens! Mr. Bahr's daughter directed and wrote the greenshows this year. There were 3 different shows that rotated daily, representing different countries. I happened to be there on the "Russia" night. It was a lively performance with a great mix of song, dance, storytelling, and humor!

There's Fred Adams, who I'd just had a personal encounter

with earlier in the day at the temple!

There were a few plays I wanted to watch during this year's season, but I was limited to what was playing on Wednesday because that's what worked out with my vacation schedule. .I chose to go see the Shakespearean play "Twelfth Night" because I'd never seen it before, and I prefer his comedies over tragedies. I asked my high school friend Sara, who lives in Cedar City, if she'd be interested in going to the production with me. Thankfully, she agreed! She and her husband Cevin volunteer as ushers for the Festival, so they got free tickets and shared one with me to watch the play together. I was so grateful! It was so fun seeing her, albeit how brief our visit was. I've always loved spending time with her: she was my best friend during my junior year of high school. She's so funny and real, and I love how open and honest she is. I feel like my soul knows hers! The play was good, and the company was excellent, and I was glad I'd been able to go!

I said goodbye to Sara and Cevin after the play ended, and started my drive back to Idaho. I hadn't reserved a hotel room for the night, because the next day (Thursday the 15th) was a teacher work day at my school district, and I had mandatory training meetings I had to attend. So, I decided to drive as far as I possibly could that night, and sleep in my car, and then finish the drive on Thursday morning in order to make it to school by 11:30am (I took the morning off work). I drove as far as Centerville before I started feeling super tired, and by the time I stopped, it was 3:30am. I had made a makeshift bed in the back before I started the vacation, by folding down the backseat, putting a foam pad down, and covering it with pillows and blankets. I slept in the Home Depot parking lot, in a little area with trees, that was dark and wasn't visible from the freeway. It wasn't the most comfortable, but it worked out good. However, I'm not sure I would do it again!

I woke up the next morning, and hit the road by 7:30am, and made it to Mud Lake in time to take a shower before heading in to work at school! My birthday ladies trip was a whirlwind, but was so fulfilling as well! I liked getting to do some of the things I've wanted to do for a long time, and being able to see so many of my friends was a bonus, too!