Park City - A Month Back In The Mountains - Final Week

I has been a blur.  Getting the house together and rented again has been a task much larger than Ashley or I ever expected.  We figure for every year we were not here to maintain the house it resulted in a week's worth of work this summer to set it right again.  This house was a fixer upper when we bought it 14 years ago and it certainly is still that now.  We cannot walk away from this place for 6 or 7 years at a time and hope it holds up.  Yes, having tenants who will occasionally knock down weeds, cut the grass, trim a few limbs, or tighten a loose screw would be a big help but 7 years is too long to not do some real maintenance on the place.

Our home in the mountains.  Love this place...and hate it.

The question is always if we are going to sell it.  Selling would certainly make things simpler for us. We have been gone for a long time now. With a consistent renter in here and the current rental market we would finally might make a few dollars(just a few) to put back into the house or pay for improvements/maintenance.  We have replaced and fixed so many items this summer that we hope the house holds together for a few more years so we can wait to make a decision about selling it a while down the road.  The next time we come to PC and have to put this kind of work into this house means we are selling it or we are really remodeling it so it is ours for the long haul.  The lowest end of the market in Park City for a single family home is currently about $600,000. That is in our neighborhood and down the street from us.  A 3000+ square foot home with cheap builder finishes can begin around $800,000.  WTF?! We are around 2200 square feet so we are not looking at really BIG money for our place but should the day come there is room for actually improving the house or getting a decent return if we put the place up for sale.  Capital gains would hurt for sure so that is something to consider too.

Trace out early again on the trail.  Our backyard in Park City.

So, what has been going on?  Well, I hate to say it but more house stuff.  We got the new granite kitchen countertops installed and replaced the upstairs sink.  The granite countertops look great and with the addition of a new sink and fixture it is certainly an improvement over the cracking, rotting, crappy countertop that was in there for 10 years.  We actually liked the sink that was in the old kitchen so much during that time that we are taking it to Mexico with us to reinstall in our new kitchen.  It's bomber!

Trace will miss the bathtub.  Trace testing out his new mask.

As with the carpet, the granite installers were Mexican.  Out of habit I said something in Spanish.  As soon as I did that and they knew we actually lived in Nayarit the lead installer and his helper were quickly amigos.  They smiled, laughed, wanted to talk to the kids and asked lots of questions about how it was for us to be back in the USA, US prices, beer/tequila and things we liked about Mexico.  Just being able to field questions in Spanish about the install and their other questions made me feel pretty good about my language capabilities. We also made sure they found a 12-pack of Modelos in their truck when they left.

Girls chillin' in the neighborhood.

I was able to catch up with some ski buddies from "back in the day" for guys only dinner.  Beers, fish on the grill and of course a little tequila.  Lots of fun catching up with these guys who I have known since the mid 90's.  Older and maybe a bit wiser but pretty much the same guys.

The deck work and enclosure is wrapped up, windows cleaned and Ashley has been hauling chipped bark left by the fire department chipping service up from the street to cover the remaining parts of our yard. Looks good and only cost us some sweat. The grandparents have left and their contributions to the house clean up were so appreciated. Their efforts saved us so much time and energy. Thanks Gram-O and Gramp-O!

This is what I remember living in a neighborhood looks like.

We have had some interest in the house and have shown it to some folks but as I write this I can honestly say we are frustrated.  For 6 weeks we have busted ass everyday/all day, spent lots of money and really have not given the kids the summer of experiences we had hoped to.  They have not had the needed important time with us or seen things we had hoped to show them so they understand a bit better how cool where they were born can be.  All the energy, time, frustration and money and no one wants to rent the house...or even see the house for that matter.  Ashley and I sit at then end of the day totally spent from another full day and feel like we have nothing to show for it.  Is it worth it or should we just unload this place and not have to worry about it anymore.  Our highly anticipated summer in the mountains just did not turn out the way we hoped.  This is not to say that the kids did not have a good time being kids biking, hiking, swimming etc.  It is just that we had hoped to do a lot more things together and we will have to make up for it somehow.

The kids finally got to see their moose!

I think we are all ready to go back to our lives in Mexico.  Trace certainly is but absolutely has had a good time riding bikes everyday, hiking and hitting the pools.  Alex might be just fine staying a little while longer since her friends in town won't be around until school starts in another 2 weeks or so.  Ashley and I are ready for some new scenery and she is remembering just how bad her allergies get here.  I check the internet surf/beach cam in the morning and I get butterflies even if there are no waves.  So, yes, I think it is time for us to head home.

So it was the day of departure and we were exhausted.  We were up late continuing to fix items and up early doing the same.  In total, we left with 14 bags and paid big fees for overweight luggage.  The heaviest bag was 77 pounds!  Our little rented Subaru was packed.  So much so the kids had to share a seat and I rode with my knees up around my ears.

Barely room for the kids.

Packed!

 We checked the baggage and the family sat in first class with me in an empty row in Economy Comfort and over the 3 hour flight we prepared ourselves for customs.  In Puerto Vallarta there is a random bag checking process and we passed through with no need for inspection!  We grabbed a bag porter and he promptly delivered us to a transportation company who hooked us up with an air-conditioned private van to deliver us to Sayulita.  So happy to see the jungle!

Final leg of the return trip.  Stoked!!!!

Before and afters:

House then.

House today.

Then

Now

Then

Kitchen now.

Deck and backyard then.

Deck and backyard now.

Deck and backyard then.

Deck and backyard now.

Side deck then.

Side deck now.

Side deck and yard then.

Side deck and yard now.

Backyard then.

Backyard now.

Side deck and storage then.

Side deck and storage now. Bark in progress.

Trace's room then.

Trace's room now.

Alex' room then.

Living room now.

So that wraps up things in PC.  An endless 6 weeks of house work trying to erase 7 years of house neglect and lack of maintenance.  So did anything good come out of the summer in the mountains?  Absolutely!  First and foremost we were all together everyday since the middle of June...and we still like each other.  Ashley being able to fly out of Salt Lake City made this possible and it worked out great. The kids became hikers and bikers.  Everyday they rode bikes just like we did as kids and played with the kids on the street.  Trace especially loved the hiking.  About every other day Trace and I were out on the trail early.  He loved being in the woods and exploring the trails I knew so well from when we lived here.  He also loved the cross training it provided for his SUP racing and surfing back home.

Reflections:
-We know for sure that coming back to Park City would not be a reality.  Sayulita is home and there really was no doubt.  "You can never go home again" right?  PC has changed so much in what feels like a short time and is just not our place anymore.  It is a great place and we still have great friends there.  It is easy to see why it is growing but it is just not home anymore.
-Our neighbors are still awesome!
-I should never drink margaritas...ever!
-When Ashley and I team up we GET SHIT DONE!
-We forgot how cold it gets up here in the mountains when the sun goes down.
-Trace and I get excited watching the Sayulita beach cams.  Time to go home.