Georgia On My Mind

After my quick trip to Utah (made even quicker by the fact that I had to work for half of it), I flew to Atlanta, Georgia to meet my friend Kristie, who had spring break from medical school in Nashville.

Kristie picked me up Tuesday night, we had a quick dinner at California Pizza Kitchen, then saw the 'Valentine's Day' movie. Funny side note... we parked in the underground lot under the mall with an entrance that had several glass doors around the escalators. When we tried to go in the door was locked, so we had to go around to the other one. When we left and tried the same door, it was locked, so we had to go around again to the other door. I'm convinced the security guard in the booth nearby totally locked us out/in, because I saw him looking at us and laughing. The movie theater was weird, on one level to buy tickets, then another to go in. We totally got lost in the parking lot, but it was okay, because of Kristie's mad Nascar skills.

Wednesday, we started off right by working out (Kristie is training for a half marathon) polished off with omelettes. It was a rainy, rainy day, so we headed to the aquarium. When we walked in, the man insisted that there were no maps... so we asked him where to find everything.

We pet sharks and rays and anemones. The otters were hiding both times we tried to see them but the beluga whales did come out to say hi.

I loved these little eels that reminded me of Ursula's garden in The Little Mermaid.

One of the highlights was the ginormous tank that held tons of fish, sharks, whales and rays. Our favorite was the manta ray named Tula who likes acrobatics and swimming upside-down.

We visited an amazing Shark Attack! display, but unfortunately no pictures allowed there. A couple of tidbits that I learned... sharks have seven senses and there are some sharks that eat their brothers and sisters in utero. Crazy.

We had dinner at a lucky Italian find called Brio: Tuscan Grille. The food was amazing and the place was empty because of how early we got there. This made the waiter very attentive... almost to the point of spying on us... he heard everything we said. ;)

On Thursday we visited the Martin Luther King Jr. National Park. We started in Freedom Hall where I learned that Ghandi was one of Dr. King's inspirations. (Side note... while looking at a document in this room about Ghandi, a boy asked me if I was looking at the Emancipation Proclamation. What?! Do you think it was a bad pick-up line or ignorance?)

We also explored rooms about Rosa Parks, and MLK and Coretta. Outside we saw their tomb, the eternal flame, the church where MLK preached, and a Kunte Kinte statue, then saw a movie in the visitors center.

Next we walked past the shotgun houses to a tour of the King home, joined by a group of college students from Penn State. Our tour guide was mostly blind... I think I heard him speak at a Fourth event in Boston three years ago. He did a little bit of weird acting out of things the children would have said. Oh and earlier at the visitors center he was sitting at a desk, and I walked up looking for a map. He said nothing and I walked away complaining to Kristie that he didn't help me when I was obviously looking for something. Oh wait... he's blind. ;)Kristie somehow got bird poop on her ticket, but thought she was in luck. The tour guide took our tickets at the beginning but said he would give them back to us at the end of the tour. Unfortunately, she got the same ticket back. :)

We made a quick stop at the Jimmy Carter library/presidential center...

...before driving to Hilton Head to spend the rest of the week. Funnies: Kristie saying "ew!" about a banana peel. I got a little or maybe a lot scared by a spider in the car and Kristie may have had to exit to try to kill it. We ate dinner at a Cracker Barrel and played a peg game on the table with napkins 'cause it was pretty nasty dirty. We saw a million police cars on the drive before finally arriving at the resort. Kristie stepped on a frog on the way in, but we washed off in the swimming pool and hot tub.

On Friday, we had breakfast at a diner on the island. The french toast was made with giant bread and we sang jukebox songs. Next we drove into historic Savannah and hopped onto a trolley tour. It loop-de-looped around the different squares in the city, showing us the beautiful homes. The bluish-gray color of this one is called "haint," which Kristie realized is the color of her eyes.

Many of the squares contain a fountain in the middle. The water of said fountains was dyed green for the "second" largest St. Patrick's Day festival in the country.

We loved this half taxi/half police car. Would you hail it down for a ride? How do you make sure which half you're riding in?

After the tour we walked back around the city to get a closer look at things. This was a dugout used during the Battle of Savannah of the Revolutionary War. I never realized that war stretched so far South.

This was Juliette Gordon Lowe's house at the time she founded Girl Scouting.

We also walked through some churches...

...and a cemetery. The headstones were displaced during the Civil War, so if they were unable to figure out where they go, they were placed around the wall here.

This is the balcony where the Marquis de LaFayette addressed the people in 1825.

Spring was a little late this year, so we didn't get the full splendor of the gardens in the squares. There were a few trees in bloom though.

As we were walking, we had to pass through a mob of policemen and couldn't figure out why they were out in mass. Then we came upon a 5K at City Market. People in Savannah really get into the holiday.

We enjoyed a little gelatto, were denied entrance to Paula Dean's restaurant (apparently you need reservations), then watched the adorable kid's run.

We ate at the Italian Restaurant, and watched Sherlock Holmes on pay-per-view at the hotel. It was a long day, so we were ready to relax the next day.

Saturday, we spent at the resort... walked on the beach... ...saw tons of sand dollars... ...took a little nap, then went to a spa for mani/pedis and massages. Bliss.

We came back and ate Frosty's on the hammock.

We ended our last evening with running/workout, dinner, and more hot tub/pool time. A movie called 'Daddy's Little Girls' was on tv, which coincidentally is set in Atlanta.

Sunday, Kristie drove me back to Atlanta and she headed back to Nashville.

We did remember that it was Pi(e) Day, so we had found these little pies at the grocery store to celebrate with. Go 3.14!

Thanks Kristie for a fantastic Spring Break. Love and miss you!

Legacy

I was able to go home to Utah for my grandmothers ninetieth birthday party. She has lived an incredibly full life and left quite the legacy.

Here are five of her six children with spouses...


...half of her twenty-six grandchildren...

...and about half of her more than twenty-five great-grandchildren.

My dad's side of the family is spread out across the country, so I don't get to see them very often. It was wonderful to catch up. I also hadn't been to Richfield in years. I have so many memories of playing there as a child. It is crazy how much things have changed. It's not such a small town anymore. I'm so grateful that I was able to be there.

Hakuna Matata

My friend Dmitriy went home to Russia on Saturday. We had one last sushi fest on Newbury Street and a walk through the Public Gardens. It has been fun (and challenging) trying to remember my Russian. It is also different trying to have conversations about things other than religion. ;) Dmitriy works very hard and dreams big. He will do great things in his life. Good luck!
Saturday night, I was able to go see The Lion King with my friend Dave. Disney does incredible things. The costumes and scenery were unbelievable. The music is so much fun too.

Also this weekend, my friend Becca, who is getting married, asked me to come try some hairstyles for her daughter Madeline. I think it turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself.

Carnaval

As if we weren't cold enough in Boston, a group of us decided to make a little weekend trip to Quebec City in Canada. It was Carnaval time and Valentine's Day weekend, so perfect timing. We left Friday night, stopping at the Methuen Family Restaurant for dinner. Yeah, enough said. The random comment award was for, on seeing a road sign, "I hate driving through moose." :)

Our first stop on Saturday morning was at the Hotel de Glace, which was celebrating their 10 year anniverary. Can I just say amazing! The only other ice hotel is in Sweden, with this one being the largest igloo in North America. The rate to actually stay the night is $300 - 400 for a plain room or $600 for a suite, with the most expensive room being $1000, but you get a private sauna. Before you go to bed for the night, you first get yourself really hot in the sauna, then crawl into the sleeping bags rated for -30 degrees C. The temperature does stay at -4 or -5 degrees C inside, regardless of outside temperature. You need to sleep in synthetics (or naked... I hope they're cleaned) to keep the air inside the bag warm.

Charlotte, Mollie, Leah, Rachel, Alison, Sarah, Camber - We asked this older gentleman who spoke French to take the picture... it took a few tries to figure out where the button on my camera is, then discovered it was on the video setting. Oops!

All those people are gathered around a SLIDE! which yes, we all tried out. Snow clothes are actually quite slippery and we zoomed down quite quickly.
The ice they use doesn't come from the river or lake, but is made in a factory and shipped to the site. For the decorative ice, osmosis is used to remove all the impurities from the water and make the ice clear. It is then shipped in big blocks that are used to make furniture like this.

This is the beautiful chapel in which they have around 35 weddings each year. Because the building melts every year and is not permanent, they can only have government officiaters, not religious. This means that most of the weddings are gay weddings.

There is even a nightclub at the ice hotel, serving drinks in what else but shot glasses made of ice. At least you know your drink will be cold.

The lights used are LED lights so they don't give off heat. Some of the rooms have fireplaces. Great to keep you warm, right? Wrong... they would melt the building, so they are double insulated to not give off heat. Just for ambience. Many of the rooms were decorated with different themes and were so fun. This one was my favorite, with ocean animals sculpted into the walls and underwater looking lights to complete the feel.
Next, we headed to the actual Carnaval. A lot of people were there braving the freezing temperatures and there were actually long lines for everything. We did see some fun ice sculptures, then went on rafting... you know, like sledding but in a giant raft.

I love this picture of us waiting for the raft. Mollie's hair was caught by the frigid wind just at the right second. It was cold on top of that hill!

This is an ice castle. Cool, but not so exciting after the ice hotel.

Parking was scarce and traffic was pretty heavy, so we ended up getting separated from the other car and had lunch on our own. (Just as a side note, portion size in Canada is so much better. My meal was actually the right size for one person and it cost less. It took a second to not feel cheated when the food looks so much smaller on your plate, then common sense settled in and it was fine.) We ended up finding eachother at the carnaval, but they had already done the carnaval, so we split up again deciding to meet later. Darn expensive international cell phone rates! It is times like this that I wonder what I ever did without a cell phone. I can't believe I went all the way through college, being very socially active in a sorority, without the ability to call anyone away from home. So crazy! Anyway, we were freezing very soon and were ready to leave, but had to wait to meet up with the group. Brrr!

For dinner that night, we decided to try poutine, which is a specialty in Quebec. We found a place called Ashtons and headed over to try it out. My Canadian friend told me that it is the ultimate comfort food. Little did I know that she thinks its gross. French fries and cheese curds covered in gravy. Would you try it? I actually didn't think it was bad. ;)After dinner, we made a pit stop at the local grocery store, Loblaw. I'm pretty sure the owner's name is Bob. Arrested Development anyone?

The next day we walked around Quebec City. It was seriously so charming, with a European feel. I loved all the cobblestone roads and stone walls and bridges.
We had delicious crepes for lunch. We needed another French treat before heading back to Boston. I didn't realize how many people in Quebec only speak French. There was a little bit of a communication gap there.
Thanks to my friend Rachel for planning this trip for us!

The drive home was pretty exciting. My right front tire kept losing air, so we had to stop several times to fill it up. Slightly worrisome. Also, when we drove up to Canada, it was well into the evening and slightly snowy, so there weren't really any police on the road. On the way home, it was early evening, but felt later because it gets dark so early in the winter. I got pulled over, but was hopeful that Mollie's skills would be able to talk us out of it. She is usually able to, unless it is a female cop. Guess who came to the window? Yep. Bad news for me.

Refinement of Polished Societies

Thanks to Winston, who, although recently married, still organizes a Pride and Prejudice ball for the singles wards. Costumes optional, but we had a good group show up.

Someone who attends MIT secured this lovely hall for us to dance the night away. Although not technically the right time period, I pulled out my Elizabeth Swan dress. Close enough, right? Keira Knightly played Elizabeth in both Pirates and P&P.

I was out of town the last time there was a dress-up ball (for which they actually had a live band). So glad I was able to enjoy this one!

Communication Error

A few weeks ago, I met a Russian boy at church. He is here studying English for four months. One night, he asked his Chilean roommate to help figure out why the wifi on his laptop wouldn't work. This roommate is very good with computers. Unfortunately, both of their English skills are limited, but luckily I happen to know a little Spanish and Russian. Can I just say it was a little bit confusing for my brain? Translating Spanish to Russian and vice versa was not easy... especially about computers when the computer's operating system is in Russian. Not something that really comes up in any of my casual conversations. There were several points when I was speaking the wrong language to the wrong person and got nothing but blank stares from the person I was talking to and laughs from the person I wasn't talking to. It reminded me of trying to talk to my Bolivian abuela in Spanish when I got home from my mission. Words would come out in Russian and she would just look at me funny. When I studied German in college, before I knew Russian, words would come out in Spanish. I think my brain only switches between English and Foreign Language... which is why they all get jumbled up.

We tried several different things to fix the computer with no luck. In the end, there was like an on/off switch on the bottom that needed to be switched. It was that easy. Go figure!