Pioneer Day - An Honorable Mention

My ultimate summer favorites!

I was reading my friend Jill's blog entry about Pioneer Day. I was visiting teaching when someone mentioned that it was Pioneer Day. We lamented that no one here in VA got the day off and there were no parades. My friend's blog got me thinking about Utah and Virginia. I will give a top 5 list of things I love about each state. Before I get to that I must say that both places have something vital in common, both places have wonderful people. There are family and friends in both Utah and Virginia that I love dearly. With that said here is my list:

Things I love about Utah-

1. Great restaurants. I love Cafe Rio, Yanni's Greek, Citris Grill Leatherby's, and many many more. I always have to go to some of my favorite restaurants when I go to Utah. I miss them. There are some good food places in Virginia but there are fewer and not as many innovative places.

2. Beautiful canyons and great skiing. I have heard that the skiing here in VA is icy and I think I would just be dissapointed so I have not gone here. The canyons in Utah are amazing! I loved being only a 20 to 30 minute drive away from them. Beautiful mountains in the North and amazing desserts in the South.

3. Innovation. For some reasons there is a lot of innovation in Utah. They are always on the cusp of fashion trends too. Some of the companies that specialize in modest clothing are awesome too. I will say that some of the innovation goes awry in the trendy homes though.

4. The presence of the church and the proximity of the temples. I love being able to go to a different temple each time I visit. If one is closed we just go to another. I also love Temple Square. It is one of my favorite places. I hope some day that my kids will enjoy seeing the lights on temple square as much as I do.

5. Mostly I love the fun I have with the people there. Going to the spa with my Mom and Sis. Catching up with friends. Jeep adventures with Dad. You can't replace the fun you have with people you love.


Things I love about Virginia-

1. Green. What can I say, it really is so green here. As my mother in-law aptly said, my back yard looks like the sacred grove. Trees really are so beautiful.

2. The proximity to so many cool places. I live one hour from Monticello, Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktowne, and Jamestown. I live two hours from Washington DC, Virginia Beach, and North Carolina. I live a day's drive from Philly, New York, Balitmore, Florida, Georgia, and so many other interesting places. The flight time to theses places is even shorter. I have many traveling dreams. When we lived in Northern Virginia we only had a 6 hour flight to London. Love it.

3. The diversity of people. There is quite a divserse population in the East. When I was in school I really enjoyed how diverse George Mason University was. I met so many people that were different from me and yet we were so much more alike than we were different.

4. I have come to love and appreciate Richmond, or the South. Richmond is quite different from Northern Virginia. I was kind of a culture shock to move here. Now I have come to love the friendliness, lack of traffic, and sense of community and preservation of tradition.

5. When I was a kid I always wanted to travel and live in different places. I never thought I would meet my husband in the East but I am glad I did. Leaving what is familiar is challenging, but the challenges have made me a stronger person. I realize that some of my dreams have come true in unexpected ways and things that I never thought would happen have happened. Somehow the things that are challenging or hard to endure turn out to be blessings in disguise.

Honorable mention: Fireflies (or lightning bugs)! I love watching them light up on a summer evening.