happy camper take 2

After getting home from Bryce, Chris happily went to making the fire while I got things ready for breakfast the next morning. 

We bought some more fire wood on the way back, but it wouldn’t be enough for a night and a morning fire, so we decided to make breakfast that night and just have leftovers from the mondo chicken pot pie we made the night before.  Leftovers are the best! 

Chris loves making fires!  It’s like his manly duty or something.  Me man, me make fire haha  We also had some more s’mores of course!

The next morning we huddled in our tent until the sun started to peek out with its enveloping warmth since we didn’t have a fire.  I just wrapped the breakfast burritos in foil with some mozzarella cheese and placed them on the propane stove (I know this is cheating, but shhh!)  It was really great and easy since the eggs were already made!

After breakfast we packed up all our gear (not fun) and headed to Cedar Breaks National Monument.  Another breathtaking view!  Nature is just absolutely amazing to me, how something so beautiful can exist in this world. 

Doesn’t it look like a fake background almost??

 

There were beautiful wild flowers everywhere, although one of the camp hosts told us that the best season for them is the first 3 weeks in July when they’re really in bloom.  For lunch we went towards Brian Head and grabbed a quick turkey and avocado sandwich at a deli there, but the guy wasn’t very nice at all and the sandwich wasn’t anything special. 

We drove up to a point called Brian Head Peak.  Boy, this was amazing too!  You could see everything from up there.  It was really scary because there were sheer drop offs from all sides.  Crazy!

Our last 2-mi hike was called Spectra Point.  Again, more drop-offs!  No pets are allowed on this one, and I can see why, yikes!  Looking over heights like that makes my stomach drop.

 

Then it was off to the B&B!  Woo-hoo!  I can’t tell you how I was looking forward to getting a nice shower and being able to actually sleep through the night on a cushy bed.

It was just as we had remembered!  We got the Oceanside room this time, and it was really nice.  We had dinner reservations at a place right across the street called Garden House that we also went to last time.

They have a cute little gazebo in the back, and Chris and I were kind of thinking this would be great for a wedding?  I think they can fit 100 people in the back too.  On the right is the inside the dining room.  Everything is mission style, very rustic and cozy.

  

When we were just about to head over another couple who was going to eat there said the restaurant had lost their liquor license or something and we couldn’t have wine with dinner . . . what?!  Blasphemy!! 

So they offered some of their La Crema Chard to share  with us at the B&B before dinner.  Wow!  This is a good one, very balanced, buttery and not too oaky.  I don’t like heavy, oaky chards that hide the fruit.  I like the butta baby and this one was great!  I was so sad to not have wine with dinner, but the company and food definitely made up for it :)

For an appetizer we had the baked brie with fruit and cranberry compote.  Wow!  Cranberries and brie is such a great combo! 

We devoured this dish.  I am going to have to try to recreate this one!

 

I decided on the mustard-dill glazed salmon and Chris had the Chicken Marsala.  Oh I love salmon!  I always try to get this at restaurants if I can because I can’t really buy it that often.  It was absolute perfection!  It also came with a side salad.  The veggies on the side were good as well, but the salmon stole the show.  I also had a few bites of Chris’ dish, but it was very rich with just a little heavy cream.

We decided to hold off on dessert because our pants were about to explode and Nan, the innkeeper, had some chocolate cake waiting for us hehe We just walked across the street after dinner and sat out on the back porch and watched the sun go down.

 

The temperature was absolutely perfect, not to hot and not too cold.  The chocolate cake was not the absolute best I’ve had, but yummy.  I could only eat about 3/4ths of mine, along with another small glass of chardonnay :) As the temperature got a little cooler we had some decaf mint green tea and went back to the room and watched Hairspray.  I just love that movie!  Although I did fall asleep halfway through it.  I can’t watch movies in bed because I just zonk out no matter what. 

The next morning breakfast was ready for us at 8:30am.  It was just like being at home, so quaint and cozy, although there are a bunch of people that you don’t know around :) But very nice I might add.   We started with yummy smoothies in a martini-type glass, along with fresh fruit (I had 1/2), a sausage patty (I had 1/2) and this amazing frittata type thing she called feather bed eggs.  The egg thingie was my favorite.  It was so moist with a thin layer of some kind of bread, eggs and sun-dried tomatoes mixed in with oregano on top.  Yum!  I also had a slice of a pumpkin cream cheese roll.  Chris was in love with this from the last time so he had about 3 slices!

 

We didn’t want to leave!  We just walked around Cedar City for a little while and perused the little shops.  After checking out we packed up and headed home to reality.  Such a wonderful trip all in all I must say :) Where did the summer go?

What’s your favorite trip on a budget?  Any frugal vacation ideas just to get away?