We had a great time revisiting Salt Lake City. The little big city has a special place in my heart because of my daughter’s four years living there for college. It’s filled with memories from our many visits. Plus, we saw my husband’s best friend from fourth grade through high school and his wife. We wish we had many more hours talking and laughing together! Every second was full. Our friend showed us a paper he wrote in fourth grade where he referenced my husband. Then he gave us a joint project they wrote together! Priceless!
Oh yes, Matteo’s restaurant owned by a former international student from Italy and swim teammate of my daughter’s at the “U” was amazing! The food and service was incredible. You can look at Matteo’s menu HERE. (Matteo is the handsome guy in the middle row photos that I linked for the menu.)
Here are a few views from our getaway in Salt Lake City:
No trip to Utah (in my opinion) is complete without a Freshie’s lobster roll. We’ve been to their Park City location, but now they have a Salt Lake City restaurant a mile from the hotel we stay at — the Little America. If you’re wondering how lobster rolls could be a thing in Utah, read this archived article “Utah restaurant stomps coastal competition, takes home ‘World’s Best Lobster Roll’ award.” Every bite of lobster was a major chunk from claws to hunks of tail meat. There was no sketchy filler. The roll was drizzled with warm butter, garnished with perhaps parsley in a grilled bun. Oh my!
Photo of the Little America tower I took during a morning walk. The Little America has two-story buildings surrounding the tower with garden and courtside rooms. (FYI, The Little America was founded by Stephen Mack Covey, grandfather to Stephen Covey of “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” who in turn is grandfather to Britain Covey of the Philadelphia Eagles.
An example of the two-story buildings surrounding the tower that I borrowed from their website.
View of the Wasatch mountains from our 12th floor room. The apartment buildings below did not exist last time we visited Salt Lake City.
We walked to City Creek Center from the hotel. It was about a mile away. It’s an indoor-outdoor shopping center downtown and fills two city blocks. To get from one side to another you can cross the street, or use their skybridge. (We were on a mission to get new earbuds for my husband’s iphone at the Apple Store there. A story for another day!)
View from the skybridge walking from one City Creek Center building to another. Notice the train tracks lined with yellow? That’s TRAX, the light rail system that makes getting around SLC so easy and convenient. It’s free downtown.
Our daughter said she took TRAX from campus to football games, to downtown or wherever — all free as a student. She’d swipe her student ID. How convenient would that be going to a football game at the Rice Eccles stadium that seats more than 50,000 people and is sold out for every game? Or for everyday life? We used TRAX this past weekend.
City lights from our hotel room with the pool and garden and courtside rooms below.
The view of the Grand America from our deck. That’s the grander sister hotel across the street.
Thanks for coming along for highlights of my weekend.
Where you live, do you have a light rail system like TRAX? I wish we had that in Scottsdale!
Do you have any favorite go to places where you live or visit — like Freshie’s that I visit in SLC?
Thanks for the glimpses of SLC. Free transit around the downtown area is always a bonus! Glad you had a good time and got to reminisce a bit 🙂
Thanks! Yes, I loved the free transit. I can’t stand the freeways where I live and wish we had some sort of transit. There’s always people driving over a hundred miles an hour and accidents out here.
That looks like a good city and the home of one of my favorite authors, Victor Methos! The lobster roll looks delicious.
It’s a great town. It’s clean, easy to get around and the mountains are spectacular. I heard that 10 years ago the food wasn’t great, but that’s all changed. Freshie’s lobster rolls are amazing.
I remember years ago attending a teacher training in Hattiesburg, Ms. and for the month I was there-I met teacher from SLC who loved the area. They had relocated from the Northeast.
I’m surprised my daughter left! It’s so beautiful. She liked the natural beauty and friendly people. That’s why she chose to go to school there, plus the scholarship 😊
Maybe she will return.
Many of her friends and teammates stayed. But she accepted her fist job offer out of college and left.
Amazing photos Elizabeth. I enjoyed seeing the city through your camera lens. I’m glad it was a great trip.
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed my photos. I took so many, it was hard to narrow it down!
You’re welcome ☺️❤️
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Thanks for sharing – looks like you had a fabulous time! And I had no idea about the Covey family history! Fun trivia for this Stephen Covey fan. xo! 🥰
We did have a fabulous time. It was exactly what we both needed after being cooped up because of 100 degree plus weather. I’m so impressed with the Coveys!
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I’ve been to Salt Lake City twice before. It’s a beautiful city. I love City Creek, too. That lobster roll looks amazing.
It’s a great city. They do have homeless sleeping on the sidewalk, but not as much as many other places. I wish we could get lobster rolls like that here. A new lobster roll restaurant opened and my husband and I went in June. What a disappointment in comparison.
Looks like a fun time! Another place out west I would love you to visit on day. Glad you had fun Elizabeth!
It’s a great place to visit. Also, Park City is a cute town for walking around. The ski slopes are hiking and biking trails in the summer. It’s about 45 minutes away from SLC.
What an amazing trip! Glad you had a good time with your friends, and got get out of the heat (maybe?).
It was a great trip! What a nice break from our heat. It was hot there, but mornings were high 60s! Plus, first walks I’ve had since I broke my toes!!
Amazing, all around!!
It is amazing to see my husband and his best friend from childhood laugh and share memories. Then I absolutely love his wife. What could be better? Adding to a beautiful location with memories.
I used the TRAX on one of my SLC trips and stayed at a nice Best Western in Sandy. Very convenient and inexpensive.
Our friend’s parents lived in Sandy. We rented a car this trip and put less than 5 miles on it. We won’t make that mistake next time!
Looks like a delicious and delightful trip, Elizabeth! I wouldn’t have thought of lobster rolls in Utah. The Wasatch mountains are beautiful!
It was a wonderful time with friends in one of our favorite spots. The couple who own Freshies came from New England and fly in fresh lobster daily! It’s amazing.
It looks like you had fantastic weather for your trip, double treat! And thanks for sharing where Covey was originally from, didn’t know that.
The weather was perfect compared to the heat we have in the Sonoran Desert. The Covey who built the hotels was trapped in a snowstorm in Wyoming outside and he thought about having a place to keep warm and safe. I think his first Little America was in Wyoming. They have them in San Diego, Flagstaff and Salt Lake City.
No light rail around here. I’d love it, but it has yet to happen. SLC is a neat place.
I would love to have light rail in Scottsdale. The drivers are insane and everything is a trek.
I love Salt Lake City, my son-in-law is from there, and his dad still lives there! Beautiful pics. Hugs, C
I wish my daughter would have stayed there quite frankly. But she moved to Berkeley and works at the UC there.