 |
| Me with Derek Parra (2002 1500 m gold medal winner for speed skating) and two buxom "maids" |
My husband and I attended a charity dinner held by the Sandy Chamber of Commerce which was held at a wonderful and well-known restaurant called "La Caille" in Sandy - not far from Salt Lake City. The theme was a "ski" night so guests were invited to wear their ski gear and be very relaxed for a night of raffles, auctions and speeches.
Upon arriving, our car was parked by one of the seven valets, and we were then led into a very rustic room complete with fireplace and sandstone, where they were serving hors d'oeuvres and....yes, wait for it.....lemonade or water!
I became a little panic stricken at the prospect of this being a "dry" do, so, I asked the waiter holding the tray of lemonade and water if there was any wine. "Yes, ma'am, there's a bar out the back". At $100 a head for the tickets, I was stunned when I made my way "out the back" and had to pay $8 for a glass of Australian red (and not a good one at that).
And that's not the end of it! After photos with ski professionals and buxom German "maids", we were ushered into the "dining room" which was very prettily decorated, but more shock and horror - there was not a wine glass in site on the tables, and when the waiter came to our table, he asked: "Lemonade or water"? Not even a coke, which for those of you who don't know, Mormons are not allowed to drink tea, coffee, alcohol or coke! No wonder the Mormons are the biggest users of anti-depression medication. Anyway, I digress.
Now I know for a fact that if a Chamber of Commerce in Australia held a charity dinner without booze, there would be rioting in the streets, it would make front page news of The Australian and the organisation would find themselves without members pretty fast!
So, after they said "prayers" - yes, "prayers", we got to enjoy a lovely meal and the company of two other "non-Mormons" who actually went out the back to get a glass of wine - for $8!
During the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control relaxed enforcement of Utah's alcohol laws. This helped lead to less restrictive laws that came into effect in May 2003. This came after complaints, particularly after an incident in which an International Olympic Committee official complained. Good for him!
But still, Utah has some very strange alcohol laws, for instance, if you are at a restaurant, the waiter cannot give you another drink or glass of wine, until the first one is finished and while I am not a spirits drinker, I believe you can only ever get a single shot of same - and a small one at that. Also, I believe the beer is of a lesser strength than what you can buy in other parts of the country.
Bottle shops (or liquor stores) cannot trade on Sundays and just when you thought that Utah was becoming more "with it", they just changed the law to say that you cannot buy alcohol before 11am instead of 10am - or mid-day at restaurants.
Salt Lake City, apparently, has more Catholics than Mormons (phew!), but elsewhere in the State, and particularly places like Bountiful and St. George, it is definitely Mormonland.
We are now living in Park City, and Brian and I love it here. I work one day a week as a Lift Line Coordinator at Park City Mountain Resort and have met some wonderful people, most of whom have moved here from somewhere else to enjoy the wonderful lifestyle Park City has to offer.
Utah truly is a beautiful State and while the Mormons are a little strange for us "other" folk, they do make good neighbours and Utah, I would say, is one of the nicest places to live in the US - it's just a little odd at times!
