April 2019

My first solo trip in the States!

Hi everyone, I’m going to do something different and not tell you what I did day by day, like my other blog posts. I am going to tell you what I did/saw & experience. I’ve bolded each location, below.

SLC is such a chill and small city. Everything is super close to one another. I stayed near Liberty Park & the airport is literally a 15 minute drive into downtown and about 45 minutes away from ski resorts. I loved that everything was easy and close to get to. The roads are wide and spacious, just like Denver, Colorado. I’ve traveled solo internationally and this was my first time traveling alone in the States. Isn’t that crazy?

Anyway, stop #1 was the Utah State Capitol Building. IMPRESSIVE! You can see it from miles away going up the hill, I was shocked at how beautiful it was from afar – it was just as beautiful up close. I was in more shocked when I saw tons of cherry blossoms as I got closer!!! It was absolutely gorgeous. I stopped here a few times during my trip, because it was just that beautiful. There are tons of FREE parking all around the State Capitol Building and it was free to go inside and explore. I felt like I was in a museum. I was surprised that we didn’t need to go through any security check, but there were police cars nearby. There were a ton of prom photoshoots and a few wedding photoshoots. There were people having picnics and exercising around the State Capitol Building.  I met a few workers here walking around during their lunchtime. There’s also a cute gift shop across the street. This place is really nice with an awesome view.

View from the top of the State Capitol Building.

The inside was so clean and beautiful. I felt like I was entering a palace.

One of my highlights is Fifth Water Hot Springs – and it was my first hot springs. It was about an hour and a half away from downtown SLC. Not going to lie, I was nervous going by myself, because it was snowing a little bit in the morning and the road just never ended. There weren’t any clear signs that says “Fifth Water Hot Springs”, it was just “Diamond Fork”. There were only signs for campsites and I saw two cars parked, so I parked my car and waited for about three minutes, and a boy scout group came out, and I asked where it was. The leader told me I needed to go 2 more miles down and I’ll reach it.
If you go, keep going alllll the way in and the road will end. You’ll pass by 6-8 camping parking lots. The rocks and mountains were so beautiful, but I was afraid that some rocks were going to fall on me because it was that close. The roads are a bit curvy too.

The hike is about 2.5 miles in before you reach the hot springs. You’ll cross over a bridge and keep going. As you get closer, you will start smelling the sulfur. There are a few hot springs circles and most were crowded. I would recommend going super early in the morning or on a weekday.

Luckily, since I traveled alone, I was able to join any hot spring circle and not be squished. On my hike there, I met so many kind people. I met a guy who ran with his dog, a boy scouts team and their two leaders, a group of friends from Hawaii, Taiwan, Canada, and Utah, and 2 girl friends from Orange County & LA. I hung out with the group of friends and the two girl friends for a bit. The waterfall was cool and super cold. Then there were hot springs circles that were SUPER hot, but after a while it feels good. It still fascinates me how mother nature works. It was alllll natural. Yes, the photos here of the water looks gross, but trust me, it wasn’t. It was definitely a rewarding hike after some cold weather or if your body is sore – what a way to relax! The hot springs water closer to the waterfall were the hottest and when you get further away from the waterfall, it gets cooler like a hot tub temperature.

Want to go to a nice view spot? It is Ensign Peak. 

This place is a short hike and shows the view of Salt Lake City. I still can’t believe how close the mountains are to the city. You’ll past the State Capitol Building, drive through residential areas, and you’re there. There are tons of free street parking in front. For all my Bay Area folks, this place reminded me of Communication Hills in San Jose, CA but times five.

Another one of my highlight is the Utah Olympic Park. This was about a 30min drive from where I stayed and wow… I felt like I was going to a mini amusement park. There were huge slides, obstacle courses, museums, etc. I paid $12 for a 45-50 minute tour and learned about the history of the olympics. Did you know, Utah hosted the 2002 Olympics?! I didn’t know that until I got there. Hoped you learn something new on my blog 😉

We toured the slides that the olympians practices on, took a bus up to the top to see the bobsleds – and wow those slides are straight down, pretty scary haha. They even lay down on their backs too – how can they see where they’re going?! Takes a lot of practice. The view above was breathtaking. During the summertime, they have a lot of events that you can participate in with a fee. Of course it was winter, so everything was closed. If I come back here for the summer, I would definitely check this place out. Before and after the tour, I walked around the museum and explored the exhibit. They had a lot of interactive activities there.

During the olympics, people would meet each other and trade pins. So cool.

Can you believe that used to be a ski/snowboarding lift? So crazy!

After the Utah Olympic Park, I stopped by Park City, which is a 15 minute drive away. There are a lot of restaurants, bars, and shops. It was empty because it was a Friday afternoon and their snow season just ended the previous weekend (04/07/19). I can definitely see this place being an area to hang out and party after a long day of snowboarding/skiing, but it can also be very crowded with tons of traffic too. Luckily, it was the opposite for me. It snowed towards the end too!!

I had to stop by to visit an institution: University of Utah. It was about a 10-15 minute drive from my stay.
When I was driving up to the campus, my jaw dropped because you can see the football stadium, it was HUGE. I drove around the campus because it was humongous and wow, their health center and hospital is right next/on campus. It was impressive. Their law building was nice as well. Ofcourse, I had to find the infamous “U” and took a picture there. It was next to their student union & the library, all so pretty.

Now let’s head on over to downtown. The Mormon Temple & City Creek Shopping Center are all right next to each other. The mall reminded me of the mall in Oahu, Hawaii with the gardens on the bottom and the sky rooftops. It was all pretty.

and the Mormon Temple had more cherry blossoms too!! So pretty!

City Creek Shopping Center has parking garages underneath the ground and it is free the first 2 hours and then it will cost $2 after each hour.

The food court is at one end – opposite from Nordstrom.

Another mini shopping area is Trolley Square. They had the biggest Whole Foods, I’ve ever seen in my life so far. There is a free parking garage with 3 floors and on the top, you can see the view of downtown and the mountains on the other side. They also had mini stores inside and outside & restaurants. It was like a mini outlet. It was a cute area.

Salt Lake City Library is also in downtown. The interior design reminded me of Vancouver, Canada’s library. The elevators are clear. I wanted to go to the rooftop so you can see all of downtown, but it was closed due to the rain.

Want another calm place to relax? Liberty Park . This was about a 5 minute walk from my Airbnb stay. There’s a ton of free parking around the park, it’s in an oval shape. So peaceful.

Lastly, of course I had to go skiing. I went to Brighton Ski Resort and wow, there was so much parking spots. Maybe because it was the 2nd to last weekend of their ski season. You’ll be driving through the mountains and keep going to the end. You’ll past by Solitude Resort. The tickets were so cheap, it was only $65 and I rented my equipment for $35 at a nearby Christy’s Sports. Everyone was really friendly there and the snow was so soft.

Those are the main things I did in Salt Lake City, Utah, but I’m not finished yet. I have some random things I want to let you know about Utah.

1. Most of their streets are numbers. For example, it is not “Vivian’s Avenue, Vivian St.” It’s “800S, 200N, 700 E, 900W” for North, South, West, East. I liked it because if I was on block, 200N and I needed to get to 500N, I know that I’m only 3 more blocks away.
2. The places I went to had free parking, but there was one time where I needed to pay for parking and I noticed that they don’t have meters. They have a an app where you need to download it, in order to pay for parking. Some parking areas had the machine right there but some didn’t. I don’t like this, because what if people don’t have the data or space to download and open up the app to pay for their parking spot? Maybe I’m old fashion, ha.

3. What about the foods, Vivian?! What did you eat there? Well, if you know me or read my SOLO post, you know that I’m not into foods. I rather spend my money on views and activities than food. There were tons of high rating foods out here, but I didn’t want to spend money on it and also, I was traveling alone. I want to experience it with someone. Most of my time here, I went to drive thrus or if I did eat at a restaurant, I ate facing the bar or the window.

I ate sushi twice at Kyoto Japanese Restaurant & Hamachi Bar & Grill. I liked the Kyoto’s atmosphere more because they had mini booths that you can sit in on pillows and the surroundings were those Japanese windows. I’m not sure what the correct term is. Their parking lot is small though. I liked Hamachi’s sushi more (which is the picture above).

I also ate at Pretty Bird, which is exactly the same as “The Bird” here in the Bay. Their spice is a different type of spice. It was also more expensive than the one in the Bay too. The restaurant was pretty small, only about 10 seats and long lines. I prefer “The Bird” in the Bay more haha.

4. This brewery was not Epic LOL. It was super small. They had 2 high top tables, 1 square table, and a bar seating area. They also have 4 fridges for you to buy beer from. This place is more for a really small gathering of 2-4 people, you’re at the bar by yourself, or you wanted to grab beer and go. There was no background music, but there is a TV. and board games. This is my 2nd time going to a brewery by myself and again, I was a little nervous in the beginning. I sat at the bar and met this guy from Texas. We chatted a little bit about travels and work. He paid for my beers. Thank you!

P.S. Utah has strict alcohol rules – which is a good thing. I came here asking for a flight, but they’re only allow two small tasting cups at a time. If you don’t finish your glass, they can’t hand you the next beer/drink. Also, they do not sell alcohol in stores, like Target, etc. You have to go to an actual liquor store to purchase your hard alcohol.

Random photos 🙂

That is all for Salt Lake City! I would go back here with friends and do more outdoorsy activities. I want to go back to South Utah to see all of the amazing national parks. #viviansventures

As always, thank you for visiting Vivian’s Ventures. Have you been to Salt Lake City? If so, tell me in the comments/reply section of your experience. What should I do there if I go back? If you haven’t been, tell me what you are planning to do there. Any questions or comments, let me know.

P.S. Let me know if you like this new “format” better of what I did instead of telling what I did day by day.