wedding road trip

Day 5: Rockin’ the Red Robin

Hypocrisy abounds on Wedding Road Trip. We’ve dedicated ourselves to eating locally, yet… somehow we found ourselves mowing down on french fries at Red Robin in Layton, Utah.

I know! I KNOW! First the Pizza Factory in Dunsmuir, now this. But Chris and I just couldn’t bear to explain to my cousin and her family that they needed to find a local restaurant in a town that seems to only support The Man. Plus, we were two hours later than planned and the four children in the Adams family were very, very hungry when we showed up at their front door.

Upon our arrival at the RR, we found out that the Adams family (hehehehe. That makes me laugh every time I write it. Yes, I am six.) has their own table. Both Chris and I thought that was pretty cool, as most of the restaurant owners in San Francisco refer to us as “that couple who made their reservation using OpenTable.com.”

Lynn and Mike have been married for almost twenty years. Four kids and one grandkid later, they’re living in a gorgeous home in Layton contemplating their next move. As non-Mormons, they’re not exactly enjoying the 95% LDS-populated Layton, where their kids have had trouble making friends who don’t wear special underwear. But the work is steady, home prices are low, and White Christmases make them feel like part of a Rockwell painting. I totally get it- their neighborhood is beautiful and the nearby mountains neatly bookend the town. But yes, it’s still Utah, and when you’re from California, that tends to always feel like second place.

Lynn is my first cousin and while we grew up in the same town, we rarely hung out. She was exponentially cooler than me and pretty much untouchable. Mike was her best friend, which makes the ending to the story pretty sweet. Stacy, their first child, came along as a nineteenth birthday present for Lynn, with Tracy, Michael, and Jenny soon to follow. Lynn swears that her marriage to Mike and her faith in God are the only things that have kept her sane. They are incredibly patient with each other and have a synergy that is palpable.

Hanging out with Mike and Lynn totally blew my stereotypes about people who get married young. Over the past twenty years, they have both changed tremendously, yet they’ve still managed to foster and deepen their relationship. They also have done something that I completely envy: they’ve had a gang of kids, lived to tell the tale, and are now ready to party it up- at the age of 39. And they definitely do plan to party. Mike has already earmarked a trip to Maui while Lynn is contemplating any destination that requires a margarita in one hand and a glass of wine in the other.

I hope they send us a few postcards.

Tags: day 5 layton utah, layton road trip, whats the right age to get married