How far back can you go . . .

Well, it's an interesting place, Salt Lake City is. First of all, it seems like everything's free. All the museums and sites downtown are free and they will give tours for free too. Except for parking, unless you find a spot without a meter and good luck with that. Maybe that's how they pay for everything around here. But I must say, the people are so friendly it's mind-boggling. And yes, they all look and act just like Donny and Marie Osmond. Clean cut and happy.

We saw a few girls in wedding dresses one day, so I asked someone about it and we were told that last Saturday alone there were 70 weddings in the temple. In one day! Talk about your assembly line ceremonies. "I do. I do. You're done. NEXT!"

We toured the Visitor's Center, which wasn't your typical visitor's center, where you get brochures for all the local attractions, restaurants and events. (we never did find that one) No, this was all about the LDS church. But, it was so interesting. Really. There were beautiful paintings on the walls, displays of various happenings in the Bible, and of course, the skinny on Mormanism. We learned a lot. And one very cool thing was that they had a guide for every language group on the planet. You come in for a tour from Croatia, they'll have someone there to show you around that speaks Croatian. You from the Congo? Ukraine? Nepal? I swear they'd have someone there who'd speak the language and would give you a tour with a smile. This happened everywhere. Totally amazing. We have heard more foreign languages on this trip than I would imagine for still being in the United States. Really cool.


We drove out to the Great Salt Lake and everyone went -well - floating. Well, I didn't. I just had no desire to, but the rest did. There were bugs swarming everywhere, little shrimp swimming around, and the water stung the skin. But, it was really an incredible thing to just sit in the water, without any effort and just float there - I guess. You'll have to hear it from those who actually experienced it. Maybe India will tell the tale herself. I did wade in a bit though, and that was enough for me. It is true you do come out layered in salt. It's pretty strange. But there were showers, so no one ended up like Mrs. Lot.


We also went to this place where you can search for your ancestry. And again, it's free and there are tons of people that are there to help. Gary was able to go back to the early 1800's to Germany, and one of his ancestor's last name was Marx!! We are so hoping there's no relation to Karl. :) India was able to go back to 1500 on my dad's side!!! I was in shock. First of all, because I had always been told we knew nothing about our family history earlier than about 1860 and that we were 100 percent German. Well, come to find out - we're SWISS!!! There was about 200 years there where my relatives were born, married, lived and died in Switzerland. Then they moved to Germany for a short while, to Odessa Russia for an even shorter while and then to America. So all this time I have been saying I was a 'full-blooded German' I have to now admit there's a little more to the gene pool than I thought. And this is only on my dad's side. Who knows what one will find if they search all the wives of all these guys. It could shock your brain cells not to mention it would probably take weeks to try to look for it all. Hey, maybe then we'd find out where India got her red hair from!! Anyway, it was so fun to keep going back and back in time. 1500. Wow. MMM - Let's see. Switzerland. Land of the alps, Heidi, yodeling, Rolex watches, and - chocolate! Okay, I guess I can live with that.



We went to the Farmer's Market here and it was HUGE. I could really get used to buying fresh from the garden produce every week. And like any bigger city, there is so much in the way of culture, arts, and of course - FOOD. The restaurants have been fantastic. You know, I could like it in this area, except for the fact that the allergies have followed me here. Too bad, cause there is so much to see and do here, we feel like we've only scratched the surface. But, like all good toursits, we must be moving on. More to see, more to do. We're on to Idaho, land of the potato. Like people from Wisconsin are called 'cheese heads', what do they call people from Idaho - 'spud heads'?? Or just Mr. Potato Heads?

And with that lame joke, I better get to sleep. It's been a long, hot, 102 degree day. And so, I bid you - oh, how do you say good-bye in Switzerland? I've got a lot to learn . . .

Blessings,
jill and all