Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Planes and a City of White People

I went to Salt Lake City this week (I am writing this on Sunday after returning, but let's all pretend that I actually wrote last week.)

My four flights featured a 450-pound man in a seat next to me, a missed connection, a couple smelly 17 year-olds who were taking their first ever plane trip to a Megadeth concert, and a red-eye spent next to the only person on the flight with his light on. The plane trips were not ideal. They really made me miss the days when I was a frequent flier and could hang out in the Red Carpet Club and get lots of free upgrades.

Salt Lake City is probably a great place for anyone who is Mormon or who is out there to ski or hike. I am not Mormon and only wish I had the time to ski or hike, so the city is not much fun for me. It's a clean city with lots of views of beautiful mountains, but it lacks anything I normally associate with a city. There is little diversity. No interesting neighborhoods. No regional food or non-religious culture to speak of. No interesting architecture. Maybe I missed it all, but downtown Salt Lake City isn't much.

It's a visually lovely setting and the hotel was amazing, but it really made me miss the days when I used to take business trips to San Francisco and New York City.

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