Study Abroad 1 May 15th Ogden, New York City

May 15, 2015 Ogden

Friday, May 15th was a long day for Catherine. All the previous week she had to be in Provo (about 90 min away) to be at a "study abroad boot camp." She came back Thursday night to say goodbye to the cats

 and double check her packing. Friday, very early Dave took her to back to Provo for the last day of boot camp. I finished work early and took the train to Salt Lake. They met me there. We had lots of time to kill, so we went to the Gateway, played at the planetarium and stopped at our favorite retro-style clothing store (whose name I can never remember) and then also U-rivals which was going out of business so everything was 75% off PLUS buy one get one free. We got four very expensive BYU sweatshirts for $30 total. Then we went to Tocano's buffet. After that we decided to go to temple square and see if we could find her mission name tag on display. We did and found out that the missionary at the display was from Catherine's mission. It's a very nice exhibit with great stories.

From there, we went to see if the Disney store was still open--no. Still having time to kill, we went back to gateway thinking Barnes and Noble would be open till 11. Nope. The slackers closed at 10 I've worked at THREE Barnes and they all closed at 11!). But we had fun for a little bit and Catherine found the Lego Bible on clearance that she's been wanting for ages. From there we thought we might as well go hang out at the airport. It was a good decision. She had time to leisurely re-adjust her stuff,

and then it took forever, but they did manage to check her backpack all the way through to Milan. The plane left a little after midnight heading to her first stop at New York City.

May16, 2015 NEW YORK CITY

Overnight flight to NYC. She arrived about 7:00 a,m. New York Time, which was 5:00 a.m. Ogden time.  But she wouldn't have been able to sleep much more anyway. The window shade was broken by her seat. The flight to Milan didn't leave until 8:00 p.m. so she had a nice long layover and she made the most of it! She went straight to the time's square area, stopping to look at Grand Central Station which we missed when we were there last year.

Downtown she revisited both M&M world and the Hershey's store and naturally, Build a Bear. But the most impressive thing was the New York City Library. This is what a library should look like!

The lions outside the library are justifiably famous, but I like this lego version too.

In fact, NYC just has a thing for legos in general.

 She was allowed to take a picture of a Guttenberg Bible, which I was not allowed to do when we were in Washington.

She also got to see some of the original stuffed animals from Winnie the Pooh.

The library had a great gift shop and it's greatly to her credit that she got out of there with her wallet intact.

She also went to the Met museum and bought a William the Hippo (the Met mascot) keychain.

And saw more legos

Somewhere along the line she came across a religious demonstration. 

The sandwich at wichcraft was disappointing, but the market at Grand Central--which she stopped at again on the way back to the airport, was not.

 Back at the airport she discovered for herself just how horrific airport prices are. But she got on the right flight, did her best to sleep and arrived in Milan at 10:00 a.m. Milan time WITH her backpack. Good job SLC airport for routing that the right way for our girl!

AWAY SHE GOES!!!

Okay, you know those pathetic parents who have no lives of their own and so have to live through their children? I'm joining their ranks for the summer, because my daughter, Catherine is going to have the summer of a lifetime!

First, she goes for a six week study abroad all over Europe with a group from BYU. This trip ends in Poland, where by happy miracle, Dave has a conference! We will meet her in Poland, take a quick trip to Berlin and then WE have to go back home, but she is going to stay on in Europe on her own until the end of August---unless her health and or money break down first.

So what I'll be posting here over the summer is a combination of real travel and imagination. I'll be traveling with Catherine in my mind and looking up the places she visits on the internet. I'll be posting pics and facts off of Google mixed with real pictures that she takes and real stories that she shares.

It's going to be a great summer!!

Wayfarer's Chapel

BEST church I've ever seen, my own church and European cathedrals not excepted!  This is in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.

Potato Chip Rock

Potato Chip rock. On Mr. Woodson in San Diego.

Coronado Beach

Obviously, I have to spend time on a virtual beach. Coronado Beach is sounding like the best.

Voted the #1 beach in America by Dr. Beach.

“Coronado Beach in San Diego is a 1.5 mile long, wide sandy beach set against the backdrop of the iconic Hotel del Coronado with its peaked red roof and classic Victorian architecture, according to Leatherman. “The beach is popular for swimmers, surfers, sunbathers and beachcombers. The beach is very flat, making it great for skim boarding and walking, and the sand has a silvery sheen because of the presence of mica. Families arrive in the morning, toting umbrellas, beach towels and picnic coolers for an all-day stay. A great team of lifeguards stands watch.”

Runs along Ocean Boulevard with a back drop of fine homes and mansions. Restrooms and shower facilities. Lifeguards on duty. Tidepools, fishing in front of the Hotel del Coronado. Fire rings, dog run at north end. Free parking on Ocean Boulevard.

This is a picture of the official resort which looks perfect to me for my friend who is planning her honeymoon. 

Death Valley

Death Valley is famously crazy-hot. But people are even crazier. There is an ultra-marathon race called the Badwater ultra-marathon, that starts in, you guessed it, Badwater which is in death valley. The course is 135 miles and ends at Mt. Whitney. Typically, the race takes about 24 hours to complete and it's important to make good time in the beginning, before the rubber melts off of your shoes.

I count myself amongst the nutters, because even though I physically could not do this, I think it's a great idea. If I didn't know that walking a half marathon on a flat surface in perfect weather nearly kills me, I'd be first to sign up.

San Francisco Dungeon

I went back to the virtual Fisherman's Wharf despite the fact that I'm still grieving about the Giradelli chocolate factory, and despite the fact that I don't really like fish. I DO like shell fish and clam chowder so I don't think I'll starve. It sounds like a wonderfully fun, touristy kind of place. You can explore historic ships, see sea lions, go to the aquarium, Madame Tussauds and Ripley's museum. Also a must do is to see Alcatraz. I loved the movie, "Escape from Alcatraz" and I also have a book called Over the Edge about a guy who does all kinds of crazy things among them the Alcatraz triathalon. You have to swim from Alcatraz to the shore before you either die of hypothermia or get eaten by sharks. Since sharks pick off straglers, it's best not to fall behind. 

However, the most fun sounding thing yet is the San Francisco Dungeon. This makes me want to take the first flight out!

THE DUNGEON

The San Francisco Dungeon brings to life the authentic tales of the Bay Area’s dark history, through theatrical actors, special effects, gripping storytelling and 360º sets. The hysterically horrible engaging stories will take you through 9 live actor-led shows as you experience reenacted scenes from the colorful Gold Rush era to authentic tales about the Barbary Coast criminal gangs, Alcatraz, the Shanghai Kelly boat ride, and more. It's the ultimate live action expedition! See, hear, touch, smell and feel the experience of early San Francisco as you move from show to show, guided by our professional actors. It’s hilarious fun – and sometimes a little scary!