Brother's Birthday, Part Two: St. George

Whenever I am asked if it was hell growing up in Utah I generally reply with: “not really”. Salt Lake might have been dullsville after I turned fourteen, but that doesn’t mean that Utah is not without its perks, namely in the Southern region. I prefer Cedar City to St. George, but it’s just as beautiful—with mason-smoothed painted red rock hills and small town charm, it’s hard not to fall in love with it. Also, it’s very religious. And full of drug users. But after Las Vegas it’s a tame animal to view at the zoo of the south-western United States.

Sara and I checked into our lovely Super 8 room and got set making my brother’s birthday (they day we arrived was his 14th, on the dot) a happy occasion after a two-hour car ride that was just enough before we all broke each other’s sense of humor and kindness. Sam wanted laser tag. He got laser tag. Sam wanted go-karts. He got go-karts. Sam wanted to sit in his room and play PS2 all night long. Instead, he got Outback Steakhouse (which is wonderful, don’t knock it) and then got grumpy. He wasn’t grumpy after Sara won the go-kart race, nor was he the least bit peeved when I won both games of laser tag, including the second one which only had me, Sam, and Sara playing and my two loved ones forming an alliance against me. No, Sam got worn down after having too much of a good time. He knew it was coming to an end and my brother has never been good at saying good-bye.



We got up the next morning, saw him and my mother off to Salt Lake, then headed out to Zion National Park. The whole time Sara was having a hard time compromising which natural wonder to gaze at: Zion, Bryce Canyon, or the big one, the one thing I had seen in the world and she had not, world traveler that she is, the Grand Canyon. I was able to talk her down to enjoying the sites of Zion only for the day because it has so much to see and you get pretty run-down. That happened early on, after hiking back to the river bend around the rock and then doing the four mile round trip hike up to see all 3 emerald pools. We were muddy, tired, and happy by the time we returned to our Super 8 base camp and had dinner with my father at Chili’s (it’s okay, but knock it if you must).



It was now time to plan our trip back. Sara stared up at me with puppy dog eyes, pleading with me to dip down into Arizona and do the Grand Canyon. I indulged her and we road tripped it out to the no country terrain of Arizona. It was great because it fulfilled a boyhood fantasy of mine to take a trip through the red rocks with a beautiful girl, hitting the open road and not stopping to look back. We made it. And it was a sight to see. The last time I was there was with my father ten years ago and now to be with Sara overlooking the gorge…was speech defying. I love the Grand Canyon.



We plowed our way home, making it back to San Diego at 2:00 in the morning, and zonked out for nearly ten hours. It was our first official vacation as a couple, our first real break in 2009, and by the end, I can say that we came, we saw, we conquered.