Labor Day Weekend - Day 1

Labor Day Weekend 2012

The Girls Getaway to the Beautiful Arches National Park, Utah 

It all started in July when a good friend mentioned that she was planning a vacation with a couple of her friends, and asked if I would be willing to join her, leaving the kids and husband at home for a few days. Did I need a moment to think about it or discuss with my husband?  No way, I jumped at the invite, I had no clue who the other women were but I knew this was my one chance to "be free", well for 3 days really.

So after a lot of emails and deliberation, myself and three lovely ladies chose Moab, Utah as our vacation destination. This trip was a real eye opener in terms of realizing just how much life has changed in such a short span of time.

I was flying out early Saturday morning, and I began packing my bags on Wednesday, I completely over estimated the amount of time it would take for me to pack for a 3 day vacation. When we visit friends in the bay, it typically takes 2 days to pack with an intense scramble at the end before we are set to load the kids and their paraphernalia into the van. All that effort for for just a one night stay. It's such an ordeal with the family, packing lunches and snacks, a cooler, wash the bottles, warm water, clothes for the warm weather, clothes in case it gets cold at night, estimate the number of diapers I need and the list goes on (and on and on...). I was pleasantly surprised when I was done packing within a few hours. Huh, fancy that!

Day 1: We spent the day literally unwinding from our hectic lives, it was like unfurling our bodies and minds from our work, familial duties and the unavoidable stresses of life. Was I nervous about leaving the kids and hubby back home? Sure, but what was worrying about it going to solve. 

This day was all about breaking the ice and getting to know one another (except for one girl, none of us knew each other). We ate  lunch at the Red Iguana, a Mexican restaurant in Salt Lake City. It seemed to be a popular joint, judging by the line of people waiting to be seated. It's tag line was "Killer Mexican Food", well, the tacos were typically what you would expect, the Mole, being an acquired taste wasn't such a hit for us, but the chimichangas were definitely "killer" if you like a lot of cheese. 

After that, we headed out to the Church of Latter Day Saints, two Sisters guided us around the temple, it was an interesting place to visit, the architecture was phenomenal and the discussion around history and religion was a nice way to spend the afternoon. 

My favorite part of the day was when we stopped at a Carl's Junior for coffee and sweet potato fries. What was supposed to be a quick stop on the way to Moab ended up being a 45 minute pow pow with the girls. It felt so nice to be able to sit at a table and not have to argue with a 3 year old on why he can't drink soda or have to deal with a one year old screaming her lungs out because she want's to climb on the table and knock off all the cups and plates. It was good old fashioned conversation without the trimmings of parenthood. 

Mind you, it's not like my family back home had decided to do with out me, oh no, thanks to whatsapp and its free texting services my phone was continuously pinging the whole weekend with messages from my husband, providing a complete running commentary on their lives back home without me, along with photos. Truth be told, I wouldn't have it any other way, it was nice to know that I was being missed by my husband!

Our dinner in Moab was at the Peace Tree Juice Cafe, they had a great vegetarian lasagna and other italian items too. This was such a great find and definitely deserved a second visit.

Tired from the early morning flight, and long drive, we headed back to the hotel room for a good night's sleep. It would be the first time in about 2 years without waking up to a foot hitting my face while having to sleep on my shoulder in a sliver of space on the left side of my bed, while a toddler sprawls himself in the middle.

Watch out for Day 2!