May Day, May Day…

It’s May Day… I cannot even believe it’s May already.  NOT possible.  What happened to February through April?  I must have been unconscious through all of March and most of April… zombie chic or something.  I can’t even remember what I did during those months… either I must have taken the grizzly bear practice of hibernating my way through them or else I’m displaying signs of Alzheimer’s disease in my early 30s.  Yogi totes approves!  Either way, rain, shine, sleet, hell hail, snow, or all of the above, I need to do something in May… yessiree Juan!

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Part 2 of the Thanksgiving Point adventure included lunch at the cutest/fanciest/quaintest cafe at the “Point.”  They called it the Trellis Cafe and it sat overlooking a portion of the bee-uuuteeful gardens we had just perused through.  It was too cold to sit out on the deck, so we hibernated inside where they had goblets with stems to drink from and real tablecloths and napkins.  Much different than eating at my regular Subway or Grist Mill haunts back home where they set up plastic lawn chairs when they run out of booth space.  The hostess said our waitress would be the DELIGHTFUL and BUBBLY Josephine (I made that name up since I don’t want the real girl to come across this post some day down the line and learn that her coworker found her BUBBLY).  I’m not sure where the bubbles were but she was nice… more shy and reserved than bubbly… but maybe she was plain out of bubbles that day.

Madre and I trying not to look too wind blown.  Lindsay spent most of the time whilst taking this picture trying to get a good angle on the fake flowers in the jar.  Obviously they were the stars of the show… and if there had been room in her purse, I’m sure Madre would have stuffed them in next to her stolen pansies.

The menus was unlike anything I’d seen before at a sit-down restaurant.  There were not really any fried foods or foods laden with fatty sauces.  Instead it looked like a dagnabbed garden.  Fresh fruits and vegetables and just… fresh!  Of course, anything is going to have fat and calories, but I was mighty impressed that it looked like this place didn’t just open up a package, throw the contents into the fryer, and then serve it to you with a pile of napkins!  There was the option of sweet potato fries with the sandwiches, but even then I think those may have been baked and not fried.  We rarely start with the appetizers, but we couldn’t resist getting the fresh fruit and cheese plate to share.

Lindsay commented that it looked like a squirrel puked up it’s stash… but it was tastee!  I had to skip most of the cheese since I’m not a fan of things that taste like raunchy feet…

The BUBBLY Josephine then brought out our entrees… Lindsay and Madre opted for the salads…

Lindsay’s Greek Chicken salad, that accidentally came out with red onions even when she requested NO red onions.  Such is the life of an onion hater!

Madre’s Trellis Salad with brie, fresh berries, and raspberry vinagrette dressing.

What did I go for?  The Quarter Pounder with cheese!  NOT!!!!!!  Stop it.  Having discovered my new found love of veggie burgers, I ordered that just to see if the first one I had tried a month or so back was a fluke or not.

The veggie burger on a whole what bun with veggies galore… no cheese, and the sauce?  Why it’s a healthy lime-cucumber-yogurt dressing.  I’d give it 2 thumbs up… and on the side I had a glorious grape tomater, cucumber, onion, and basil salad tossed with a light dressing.

You couldn’t get fresher if your gramma slapped you upside the head space!  I tell you what!  We were too fulled up for dessert, but they had some delicious looking delicacies on that menu too!  All just as fresh, I’m sure!  Trellis Cafe… you done good.  I’d totally come back for more!

Question of the Day:  Are you a fan of smelly cheeses?  What is your favorite soft and hard cheese?

Flower Power…

Dang… now I have that annoying Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle theme song running circles through my brain-ium… don’t tell me you don’t know which song I’m talking about… Heroes in a half shell… Turtle Power!  I thought so.  If I go insane by the end of this post, you will know what to tell the officers… I done been braniumed to death by Turtle Power!!

Because I worked Saturday and Sunday last weekend, I had a day to take off this past week.  I chose Fridee since that’s the day both Madre and sister Lindsay have off every week… y’all, for seriously feel bad for them and their perma 3-day weekends… for seriously!  I have wanted to go to Salt Lake City to see the tulip festival for years now, but I’d never been able to make it, so now that I’m supposed to be all vibrant and life-like, I made it a point to get there this year!  No matter that we had a cold front pour in on Thursdee night and snow on Fridee morning… no matter that there was wind chill going on and Dorothy and Toto’s house almost dropped from the sky clear from Kansas… no matter… I was going!  Come helium balloons or high water!

The tulip festival is held at a place called Thanksgiving Point… which if you asked Lindsay is the point where the Pilgrims and the Indians meet each year to eat bird bones and pumpkin pie.  I think she was most shocked that there was not one giant dude dressed like a turkey walking around the Thanksgiving Point place.  Maybe next time, Lindser… maybe next time (ps… anyone have a turkey suit I could rent?).  We’ve all lived in Utah for many moons, but heck if we’d ever been to the Point before.  We prefer to live in our ignorance.  Turns out Thanksgiving Point has pretty much nothing to do with Thanksgiving or yams and much more to do with stuff that’s not that.  I still am not sure what the helium balloon the point is all about, but I do know they have some fabulous looking, manicured grounds and gardens.

I almost wore these to take the tour… I totes would have if they’d had the million dollars they said they’d give me if I wore them.  At the entrance to the gardens, you had the option of driving a golf cart around to view the stuff… it’s a long butt walk.  Lindsay was all gung ho for the golf cart… mostly because I’m sure she wanted to see if she could drive it into a waterway… sink or float?  200 plus pounds ago, that would have been my only option… that or sit in the car.  We decided against it and went for the walk, which was totally the way to do it… or you could have been like that one chick who nearly ran us over when she rented segways she didn’t know how to operate downhill.

Lindser chillin’ by some flower power…

Madre and her favorite lilacs!  I had to restrain her from stealing these things… and I missed her when she picked 2 pansies… because they would “die” soon.  Seriously y’all… for serious!

There were waterfalls…

There were flowers and vegetation pretty much everywhere you looked… and it totes looked good enough to eat, said the polka dotted-eared bunny rabbit!  Although, next time I am going earlier in the season.  We went the day before the last day and a lot of the tulips were either dead, blown off from the wind and rain the previous night, or rough looking… there was still a lot to look at, though!

There were approximately 8 bajillion kids wearing red shirts… obviously some sort of school field trip.  Either that or field trip day at the juvenile detention center!  They obviously also did not get the memo that it was frigid… no coats and shirt sleeves?  When Madre was wearing 2 shirts, a cardigan, and 2 winter coats?  Sacrilege!?!?!  :P  They acted like they’d never been out of doors before, running around and causing ruckus amongst the tulip people.

Madre and Lindsay at the entrance to the vine-covered walkway.

I need to go back to these gardens when it’s warmer… I’d totally spend more time sitting on benches and taking in the beauty rather than trying to rush through it to get to the warmth.  I’m not sure that Lindsay and Madre enjoyed it as much as I did, but a day in the beauty of nature is always at the top of my list… always!

Part 2 of 3:  Lunch at the Trellis Cafe in tomorrow’s post!

Question of the Day:  What is your favorite flower?  Utahans/Idahoans… have you ever been to the tulip festival?