SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- I'm just about to leave SLC after spending the night at my Uyeda grandparents' place. It's been four years since I've visited my family in Utah and I'm just amazed about how much has changed while some stuff remains the same.

These changes include family, as well as other landmarks. Grandma and Grandpa look pretty good although we're all older than when we were last together. At the same time, the family is growing up and times change. People are getting married, having children or passing on. Still, talking with my grandparents for an extended period was interesting. Yes, we talked about politics for a spell, but I liked talking about the family, the family's history and Utah sports (and the 2002 Olympics) a lot more.

I'm at th Kinko's at the corner of 700 East and 2300 South, which is just a few blocks from my grandparents' old home. The traffic seems a lot crazier than I remember it and everything is just so built up. Many of the old landmarks are gone or merely tranfigured into something new. Old stores and buildings are gone or surrounded by new buildings. Some of the landmarks looks the same -- there's an old mansion-style building across from the Nibley Park Golf Course that looks the same.

Driving along 2100 South, I noticed the old, bunker-esque Mountain Bell building (the beige, window-less monolith that it is) has been transformed into a Qwest building. I guess it makes sense -- there's only so much they could do with a switching station.

Anywho, I wish I could spend a lot more time in SLC, but I've got to press on towards California.