For the past four days I have been enjoying a trip to Utah with my girlfriend Amy to visit my mother, my 3 kids, and some friends. It was so great to visit with friends and family but also get to show Amy around a place she had never visited. We did so much in 4 days including lunch at my favorite Mexican mole spot The Red Iguana,haunted house fun, Park City, Brews and Blues festival at Snow Basin to see my friends and Andy Frasco, dinner with friends, a hike in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Not only was it the first time Amy had seen Northern Utah, but it was the first time meeting my mother, my kids, and some of my friends. It went went very well but I think everyone likes her better than me.

I took some Portland Oregon treats to my kids including 3 pints of the famous Salt & Straw Ice cream (Carmel Sea Salt, Blue Cheese and Pear, and Bitter Orange and Olive Oil), a box of VooDoo Doughnuts, Stumptown Coffee Cold Brew, and some Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA. I was really concerned transporting ice cream on the flight but researched that you can use 2 pounds or less of dry ice in a labeled container as long as it was frozen solid and your airline was cool with it (pardon the pun.)

Some photos:

Yesterday morning Amy and I went up Little Cottonwood Canyon to Alta Ski Resort area to enjoy the fresh air and enjoy the amazing fall foliage which was coming to an end.

More photos on my Instagram feed

It was so very good to see my kids who are now 14, 21, and 24. One thing I learned, don’t leave your phone alone around your teenage daughter as they will take selfies when you are not looking. The bonus is I have some great photos of my daughter.

It was nice getting back to my Hood which is Mount Hood in Oregon. I love the welcome view of Mount Hood on the flight home.