Cider, sans donuts

The question of the day in class was, "If you could travel anywhere in the United States, where would it be?" (Next time we'll do anywhere in the world.) There was wide variety in the responses: vacation spots like Hawaii and Disneyland, scenic destinations like Maine, cultural-historical destinations like New York or Boston or D.C., and a few hometowns and missions. As for myself, there are many, many U.S. destinations I'd like to visit or re-visit, but because I had just been in the process of planning a late-October trip to Michigan to tie up some loose ends with my dissertation (like getting it bound and discussing future publication options with my advisor, both of which I didn't get around to doing before I left), and of course to visit friends, I said Michigan.

I feel like a bit of a broken record talking about Michigan. The truth is that there are many things I actually don't miss about Michigan (recent Facebook pictures show my Michigan friends all in sweaters looking a little shivery, while I'm out here taking my dog on long afternoon walks in short sleeves and shorts and 87-degree weather), and there are many things I like about Utah, like the lack of humidity, and the running routes, and having a real job and a real paycheck. But I did have a wonderful experience in Michigan that I won't forget anytime soon.

I bring this up partly because this Saturday I went to a cider mill in Sandy. I looked it up for the express purpose of introducing an out-of-town friend to the cider mill experience, but it just wasn't the same. I didn't expect it to be so I wasn't really disappointed. But still. It lacked donuts, and trees, and fields, and fall. It was surrounded on all sides by a subdivision. But on the plus side, the cider was delicious. Real apple cider tastes like you're drinking liquid apple, and that's exactly what we got. I even told one of the owners, who proudly declared that they have the best apple cider in Utah, that the cider was totally on par with Michigan cider. As soon as I said this I wondered if my statement might be interpreted as a jab at Utah (which it was not meant to be). But she actually seemed quite genuinely pleased at the compliment.

Anyway, I'm not complaining about the summer sunshine out here, and I'm going to soak it up as long as I can. I like fall, but it's always followed by winter and I don't mind not thinking about winter for a little while.

And I don't have a good way to end this one, so I'll put in a nice plug for two new books on my book blog: Thunderstruck by Erik Larson, and The Likeness by Tana French. Interestingly (and unintentionally) they both involve murder and mystery (neither of which are usually my genre), and both bear comparison to other books I have read by the same authors. They're quite different, though. Thunderstruck is historical nonfiction and is kind of about how wireless telegraphy ushered in a new era of round-the-clock media (though it takes it's time getting there), and The Likeness is just a detective novel. Okay, I realize I'm not reviewing them here so I'll stop now and let you read the reviews yourself if you'd like.