For those of you not familiar with the Tony Award winning musical, Book Of Mormon, the title of this blog is in reference to that. I thought it was only appropriate for the title of my blog about Salt-uh-lake-uh-see-tee!!!!!!!!!!!1
After a bit of drama and a pretty quick flight, we arrived in Salt Lake to find a drastically different temperature. Having left Portland, OR that morning at 8 AM with rain and 50 degree weather, landing in Salt Lake to find it to be 80 degrees....it was a welcome change.
Because we got in so early, we weren't able to check into our hotel right away. A bunch of us went across the street to get some food, and most of us crashed afterwards, having been able to move into our rooms shortly after 2.
Later that evening, Austin and I went out to walk around and see the sights a bit. What a gorgeous city. Surrounded by Arizona-esque red rocks on one side, and snow capped mountains on the other. I layed pretty low after that. It was actually nice to just sit in my room and do nothing, which I usually hate.
The next day I went back to the Gateway Mall to see the boys do a promo. It was a great outdoor location, surrounded by some high end retail and TONS of media representatives everywhere. And, as always, the boys put on a hell of a show.
In my travels in the next few days, I discovered the Heavy Metal store, an institution in Salt Lake since the early 80's. Got me some pins, a patch and some Motorhead records. What could be better?
Then, I made the trek to the Mormon Mecca: The Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Temple, The Mormon Tabernacle, Temple Square, etc. (see pictures above). What a beautiful area. And everyone was amazingly friendly. I'm not sure I've ever had that many strangers say hello to me in the span of 10 minutes.
On Thursday, the boys and m'am did an exclusive VIP performance at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse right next to our hotel. Again, they nailed it. Austin and I were able to watch from the back, and though it was in a small room, and an exclusive crowd, they rocked it out as usual. Man, I love this show.
On Friday, Austin, David Lober, David Sonneborn, Krug and I got an amazing tour. David Lober, our stage manager, had a friend in town that is a production manager for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and other events on the "campus", so she was able to give us a "backstage" tour! (See more pictures above). First, we were able to walk onto the stage of the Tabernacle and see the organ, pipes and pulpit up close. We also got to go into the basement where we were able to see their broadcast booths, rehearsal space, music library, and a whole lot more. It really was cool. I'm sure some people may think that that type of thing wouldn't be exciting for someone who is a performer....they'd be WRONG.
After that, we went to the JCLDS Conference Center. A massive complex, holding at least two theatres (both of which we saw). The first, a small, pretty basic theatre. The 2nd, a MASSIVE 22,000 seat house. Yes, you read that right. TWENTY TWO THOUSAND SEATS. An organ with about 6,000 more pipes that the one in the Tabernacle (this one had about 18,000 pipes. Still, only the 2nd most in the world. The first, we learned, is at Wannamaker's department store in Philadelphia. That one has close to 30,000 pipes.....). Technologically advanced and just massive. What an experience.
The weekend calmed down as the heat started to climb. Because of the high elevation and the heat, we were all moving pretty slowly by the weekend. But, it was only a hint of the weather to come.
Now we're in Tempe, AZ, where the average daily temp is 101. Yowza. But, more about that next week.
Also, coming soon, I will have some very exciting news to report. However, as they say, until the ink is on the paper, I won't be spilling the beans. I hope everyone is well, and stay tuned for news from the desert!!!!!!!1
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