Utah - Salt Lake City and Ogden

I have been planning to visit Kelsey and Josh's home in Ogden, Utah for years now, but just haven't been able to find the time or a good excuse. When Kelsey sent out a note inviting me to her baby shower at the same time I found a killer plane ticket deal to SLC, I was in like flint.

Friday, Feb. 20 -
Flying in over the salt lakes looking at the beautiful snow capped mountains I was captivated by the beauty of the terrain. At the same time I was quite surprised at how small the "downtown" area was for such a big city. There weren't very many skyscrapers, but you could definitely see the Mormon temple even upon landing. Perhaps that's the way the "pioneers" designed it to be.... it wouldn't surprise me. Anyhow, Carolynn picked me up from the airport and we decided to head to "Temple Square" and check it out. When in Rome, right? The weather was surprisingly warm (about 45 degrees) and the sun was out, it was a great day for walking around the acres of Mormon land.

After the tour guides instantly knew we weren't Mormons (was it our heathen jeans and tennis shoes?) we spent about the next 4 hours checking out the grounds and getting the hard sell to join the church. We got to take pictures with "Our lord and savior Jesus Christ" (always the full description, not just Jesus), and learn about the history of the church and it's prophets. I noticed how all the tour guides were very careful in how they chose their words, such as "families taking care of other families in need" to explain polygamy, and "any blessed mormon can do this or that" to refer to those in good standing (AKA paid their tithings), not just any mormon. I found the whole experience fascinating.

During our tours we must have gotten asked 5 times to fill out comment cards with our personal information to have missionaries sent to our house, which I really didn't have a problem with since we had come to their church headquarters. However, I did feel uncomfortable when at one point we were even cornered in Brigham Young's house (called the Bee House) and asked to make a promise to kneel in front of our beds every night and pray to "our God". A tad presumptuous, eh? After that awkward ordeal, we decided we needed a little break and stopped at the Lion House for lunch where I had some of the best Sarsaparilla (Brigham's favorite, after all) and roll I've ever had. It was a nice break from the intensity of all the people trying to "help".

After lunch we decided to head over to the Church Records building where there was an observatory on top of the building where we could look out on the whole Salt Lake Valley. We were told the building was closed to non church members, except for the observatory which we could be escorted up to. Upon walking in the building we were escorted everywhere, including with a special elevator key that only allowed the elevator to go to the top of the building! I did understand, but it sure made you feel unwelcome and as if we were going to rob the place! I also had to laugh when we were in the elevator with an obviously gay guy, wondering how he must feel even more uncomfortable than we did! The views from the top were incredible, we were able to see the State capitol building, the temple (with several brides taking photos in front), the "U" on the mountain, and even where Brigham Young's grave was.

Since we had been informed earlier that getting married in the temple vs. the church meant the difference between a bond sealed through eternity vs. one just sealed for a lifetime, we knew that it must be a popular place to get married. We learned that there are multiple "bride rooms" in the temple so multiple weddings could occur simultaneously, and that Monday-Friday was much more crowded than the weekends! Who knew? Personally I would hate having to share my church and wedding location with someone else at the same time, but I guess that's the price you pay for eternity.

When we took as many pictures as we wanted and were saturated with Mormon lore, we got back into Josh's car and headed North to Ogden. We finally got to see the Simmons' cute little home (and adorable nursery) and chat for a bit. Shortly after Josh got home from work we all piled in a car to go pick up our sorority sister Sara, and her boyfriend from the SLC airport. We had a fun dinner at a a nice Italian restaurant and then headed back to Ogden once again. Despite the fact that it was about 35 degrees outside we decided to stop for some Baskin Robbins before heading back to the house. With a serious sugar high the California girls decided to indulge our fascination with the snow and tried to play in it and have a snowball fight. Sadly the snow was much to icy to do anything with, but it was fun anyway.

Traveling the Globe...

For as long as I can remember I have always felt the desire to travel around the world. I have also always been a thrill seeker. Don't get me wrong, I'm terrified to do most of the crazy things I desire to do, but I am so stubborn and intrigued I have to do them anyway. Perhaps this comes from my parents - who have lived and traveled all over the world, and their many stories. Nevertheless it is something that drives and excites me, and I really hope that someday I will find a spouse that feels the same way. I'm just not sure I'm gutsy enough to do it alone...

Anyhow, this blog is sort of random, but I just got thinking because I discovered the greatest (or perhaps worst - in terms of temptation) website ever. If you feel any inkling of the wanderlust that I do, you'll enjoy it too!

http://www.divinecaroline.com/browse/travel/single/adventures

Trapped by snow in Long Beach!

A last minute work trip came up and I was to go down to Long Beach on Tuesday night and return on Wednesday. Crazily enough a huge storm front came in and snowed out the Antelope Valley closing all freeways and entrances to the area, so I was unable to come home until Thursday. It turned out we were able to get a bunch of work done, which was great, but we got soaked to the bone (there was only rain by the coast) and had to extend everything for a night. This wasn't so bad since work paid for everything, but just sad that I couldn't get home to Brad and Mooshu!

Anyway, I did get to stay another night in my hotel. This would normally be of no particular interest except I was so impressed by this little place (as opposed to the ghetto version I stayed in on my trip to Pittsburgh) that I had to comment. I stayed in Marriott's Residence Inn - and it was everything I could have asked for (and more) -- with a full mini kitchen (including stove), and the ideal ammenities (24 hour gym, wake up call, pool and hot tub), it also a free breakfast (a pretty nice one too, not just continental) and even a fireplace in the room -- for only $139 a night! Now that is how an inn should be done! My only minor complaint was that the water wasn't very hot and the beds were a lot harder than I generally like, but those are all items of personal preference so I can't complain. I totally recommend it and would stay there again!

My rental car and experience with Enterprise on the other hand...

NYC - what is it about you?

Ooh, now another offer for next summer - a possible trip to NYC with some girlfriends! I love that idea too! Though I am thinking that one might have to wait. If I do get into Carnegie Mellon for grad. school, then Pittsburgh is only about a 6 hour drive to NYC -- perfect for a weekend getaway or whatnot. I am really hoping I get in so I have the chance to visit all the fun places on the other side of the country (Chicago, NYC, DC, Nashville, etc.)!

Summer 2009 Travel

So I am starting to plan what my vacation will be for 2009. So far I have 2 options, which really is at least 1 more than I can afford or take time off for. Not to mention that'll be right before I head off to Grad. School, so who knows if I'll even have any money at all? Why oh why is there never enough time or money to do all the things I want to do? Perhaps one of these days I may seriously contemplate going to work for the Travel Channel or something like that so I can have my cake and eat it too.

Anyhow, Tyler and Sue are FINALLY getting married next summer in Playa del Carmen, Mexico (near Cancun). They want everyone to stay with them at an all-inclusive 18+ resort for a few days. Good news, there is great diving and lots to see in the Cancun area. Bad news, if paying for an all-inclusive, why would I want to pay extra to go do other things? I suppose it depends what type of traveler you are, but I am not the type that likes to just lie around and sunbathe (for starters because I don't tan, at all) for days at a time unless I am scuba diving. I would rather spend my time exploring a place there is a good chance I may never return to again. Thus, I am contemplating just getting a separate hotel nearby and save all the over the top expenses added onto an all-inclusive. On the other hand, my parents swear that all-inclusives are the way to go, so we'll see.

On another note, my "2nd parents" invited me to join them on a dive boat for a week in Jamaica next year. I've always wanted to do one of those as they are the best way to improve your scuba skills. After all you are diving 4-5 times a day for a week straight. Not to mention no need for cooking, making your bed, etc. Plus plenty of time in between dives to TRY to get a tan. OTOH, there is really no sightseeing to do.

So I'm torn... really wishing I could do both.

Pittsburgh, PA - I love it!

About a month ago I found out that I'd gotten an interview for the Tepper Business School at Carnegie Mellon, so I would need to plan a trip to visit and interview. I had planned to fly out on a Sunday and fly back on Tuesday, but it turns out that it the difference in airfare for flying out on Saturday equaled the amount of another night in a hotel. So, I decided to fly out on Saturday and have an extra day to get the chance to check out the city! Boy am I glad I did.


After arriving on Saturday night, I drove to the hotel that I'd booked. I had specifically picked a place that was a suite (AKA has a kitchen) so I wouldn't have to eat out every meal. Since I didn't have any clue of where to get a hotel, I just looked online for a reasonable compromise between distance to the school and price. Thus, I ended up at the Extended Stay America in Carnegie, PA. . It wasn't in a very good neighborhood (not an LA bad neighborhood, but just that weird creppy feeling like you need to get out of there ASAP), didn't have daily room cleanings, a gym, wake-up calls, free internet, no dish soap or an oven. Not to mention my room was right across from the front desk so it was super loud from about 4-10am AKA Danielle NOT happy. I did get to change rooms for the next two nights and it did work for my needs, but let's suffice it to say, I would not stay there again.

Here's a picture I took of the pretty trees from the hotel parking lot:


So once I checked in, I went off to pick up some groceries, then headed down to South Side Works for dinner/drinks and to check out the scene. It's a an area with a whole bunch of restaurants, bars, etc. right on the water. The scene seemed a little young for me (probably the college crowd), but it was really fun with the live bands and everyone seemed to be having a really good time. One place I went into was 2 bars combined into 1 - country bar + hip hop club -- which is great minus the fact that there was 1 restroom. Yay long line of drunk pushy girls. Oh, and smoking is allowed (cough, cough) - the rule is if the place serves mostly food there is no smoking allowed, if it's mostly a bar then smoking is allowed. I supose that's fair, but it was still hard to get used to. I only stayed long enough to do a few line dances and have a beer but it was fun.

Sunday I met up with Christy (a friend from Lancaster who is a freshman at University of Pittsburgh) at her dorm. It is an interesting campus because it is spread throughout the city (much like schools in SF), not all together like most schools. It has such pretty buildings, such as these (Left: Pitt, Right: CMU):

Christy and I spent the day checking out the 2 schools (which are practically right next to each other), different neighborhoods in the area, shopping places, and just enjoying the nature.


The cute homes of Squirrel Hill:


The day was a bit overcast and chilly for a Cali girl, but it is so beautiful I didn't care. It was nice to see the pretty leaves and get to wear some of my fun fall clothes! That night we went to dinner and a movie (Rachel Gets Married - it's weird, ask if you really care) then called it a night.




I spent Monday at CMU - the morning at the Business school and the evening at the School of Computer Science -- LONG DAY! I attended 2 classes, had an information session, tour, interview, and a meeting with an admissions officer... it was thoroughly exhausting, but really exciting. My interview went pretty well -- the gal recommended that I re-take my GMAT to inprove my score (for scholarship purposes only), which is a bummer, but doable. Anyway, I can't wait until I go there -- that is if I get in of course. Oh, and they give me a scholarship b/c it's SUPER expensive!

The next day I headed back to Cali, sad to be leaving, but always glad to go home.

Thailand Trip - part 1

Monday, Aug. 4
In July Thai Air had decided to cancel all flights on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays due to in July, but had never bothered to tell us until I got an email the day before we were supposed to leave. After hours of frustrating phone calls (and losing all respect for Thai Air) we decided to switch our flights to EVA Air, where we were able to get Elite class (something between Coach and business) for virtually the same cost as our previous tickets. Unfortunately, it did mean we would have a stop in Taipei and I would have to take an extra day off work, but it was the best option we had.

Tuesday, Aug. 5
Since I wasn’t able to go to work on Tuesday, I got to sleep in and have lunch with my Mom before leaving. Brita’s mom picked us up and drove us to LAX where we hoped our last minute tickets wouldn’t cause us any problems. Fortunately they didn’t so we had plenty of time to grab some treats and entertainment for our long flight and for Brita to get a last minute smoke break.

It had been years since I’d flown out of LAX (I try to avoid it by flying out of Burbank or Ontario), but I really couldn’t believe what a crummy, teeny international terminal it had! Everything was filthy and half under construction, there was no sit down restaurants or coffee bars (what, no Starbucks?), I was pretty disgusted. Anyway, I did manage to find myself some juice past security while we waited since our plane took off about an hour late.

Wednesday, Aug. 6
We lost a day due to flying and crossing over the International Date Line! Some time in the wee hours of morning we were rushed through the Taipai airport by people yelling “Bangkok”, who put stickers on us. We didn’t get to check out the airport at all, but honestly we were too rushed to notice anything anyway.

Thursday, Aug. 7
We arrived in BKK around 3 am and called family, changed some money, had problems with Brita’s bank card. We caught a taxi to Kelsey’s Aunt’s house, which only got partially lost. When we finally arrived we got to greet Kelsey and meet Kelsey’s cousins who were still awake and were a bit drunk but very friendly. They gave us a tour of the house then headed off to sleep. The house was really neat – multi-level with a meditation room, and rooftop garden with a great view of the city of Bangkok. From the roof we could see a big mosque, and we were actually able to hear a muslim prayer call at dawn. We weren’t unprepared for the unbearable heat and wretched smells of Bangkok, but it was still a bit surprising.

After we caught a few hours of shut-eye, the whole house woke up and we got ready for the vanpool to Pattaya. Carolynn & Jeremy arrived from their hotel, and we got to meet Kelsey’s mom, and brother, Dominic. We stopped at gas station to grab snacks and go to the bathroom. We got Mama cups (the Thai version of Cup ‘O Noodles but WAY better) and some neat Thai candy, and discovered Thai toilets, which aren’t much more than a hole in the ground.

About an hour later we arrived in Pattaya Beach. We checked into Amari Orchid Towers, they greeted us with big smiles and delicious glasses of lemongrass tea. The people are so very friendly with giant smiles on their faces, and they even had our names on a welcomes sign, though Brita’s name said Mr. Daniels! Kelsey gave Carolynn, Brita and I gifts for coming – individualized beach bags w/ our initials on them filled with goodies – so cute!

While Kelsey and Josh met up with the wedding planner, the rest of us checked into our rooms and decided to take a little walk down to the beach. It reminded us of Mexico – honking taxis, stray dogs everywhere and a horrible sewer stench, which made the beautiful resort and hotel seem so out of place in such an obviously poor country. We decided to head back to our safe haven and Carolynn, Jeremy, Brita, and I headed down to the pool for some veg time and to check out the swim up bar. We had fun out in the sun, but the drinks took forever!

A few hours later we caught up with Dominic (AKA “Domo”), and went in search of dinner. We found a great noodle joint called MK, where we fed 5 for dinner the first night down here for what was approx. 16 dollars - so nice to be in a part of the world where the dollar still holds some value! The food was delicious, and we didn’t seem to have any problems speaking English – though their English is obviously very limited. We quickly picked up how to say "Hello" and "Thank you", and the people all seem genuinely pleased when we try speaking to them.

After dinner we headed out to the Minus 5 Ice Bar with the whole gang. For only XX Thai Baht (approx. $) you get 20 minutes in the ice room, where it is all you can drink vodka. You put on big parkas and gloves, then they send you in the refrigerated room. Everything, including the shot glasses, is made of ice. We quickly discovered that only the first two shots were actually vodka, the rest was different kinds of juices (leechee, watermelon, etc.) – possibly mixed with vodka, but it was really weak. We then decided to mix half juice with half of the honey vodka (which is delicious btw), and everyone got pretty tipsy. We had a great time with the whole bar to ourselves! When we were done Kelsey, Josh, Carolynn and Jeremy took a tuk tuk back to the hotel. My sleep deprivation had started to kick in, plus a heavy buzz, so I didn’t want to stay out, but Brita convinced me that we were on vacation and we should party it up, so we went out with Kelsey’s mom and cousins to a Discotec.

What a crazy place! It had a mix of live bands and a dj, all of which was really good, despite the fact that we couldn’t understand a lot of it. They ordered a hooka (sheesha) and more drinks for the table, and danced. We got our first glimpse into the world of Thai hookers as we had a girl proposition everyone in our party (male and female) and partied until the wee morning.

Friday, Aug. 8
We slept in, and got breakfast at the restaurant at the hotel. The prices were pretty equivalent to American/European prices, but it was convenient and the food was good so it worked. I discovered the most fantastic Pomegranate juice, and sampled all the tropical fruits, though I was sad to discover that most look very pretty but are actually pretty bland.

That afternoon was Kelsey and Josh’s wedding! They had hired a charter bus to take everyone to Jomtien Beach, where the ceremony would be held. It was pretty windy and overcast, but very pretty. Kelsey looked so very beautiful in a mermaid dress, and Josh was dapper and nervous – it was very cute. Unfortunately both my camera and Carolynn’s batteries died within minutes of getting to the wedding site, but at least that gave us a chance to just watch the ceremony. The wedding officiator could barely speak English and he was butchering it so badly noone could understand a thing, and had to exercise some serious restraint to keep from busting out in laughter. It was really lovely though, and we had a lot of fun! They are such a great couple so it is nice to see them finally married! The reception was held at a local place with great little cabins right on the ocean! It had a great buffet of food, and the newlywed Simmons were able to get themselves a cocktail in a coconut, which they’d been looking for everywhere. Sadly the Americans were all so tired we virtually fell asleep at our table towards the end of the night, but it was a really charming reception.

Saturday, Aug. 9
The next morning B and I went to checked out the town, find an Internet Café and try the famous Thai massages. The little internet cafe we found doubled as a laundry mat of sorts and had decrepit 486 type computers trying to run Windows Vista on dial-up. We got quite a kick out of it, but the lack of air conditioning had us out of their fairly quickly. We found a massage parlor that looked legit (not the kind with a happy ending) and went in midly worried but very excited. It turns out Thai massages are like Pilates except you don’t have to do any work. The girl stretches and pulls every muscle in your body (including your face and head) and even lifts you over their head! This is an incredibly impressive, especially considering how teeny most Thai people are, as they use every part of their bodies to wrap you up in knots. As dancers, and thus fairly limber, Brita and I enjoyed it, but it certainly wasn’t relaxing as we had expected (that would be an oil massage instead). We headed back to the hotel for some pool time, but the sun was virtually gone by the time we got out there.

That night we joined Caro and Jeremy to check out the infamous Walking street. It is all lit up like Las Vegas with bars and strip clubs and it is a very crowded street. The prostitution and lewd acts (of horrifying things I won’t put into words) run ramped. We were shocked (I have now seen it all) and disgusted to see how little a human life was valued. We did manage to find a neat bar, named “Hot Tuna”, where there was an incredible rock cover band. We got some drinks and hung out people watching and jamming to the music for an hour or so. We then headed over to Boyz Town, the gay section, and by far the cleanest and friendliest part of town. Jeremy was too afraid to stay there long, but we were able to grab a drink and chat with some beautiful lady boys.

Sunday, Aug. 10
We only got a few hours of sleep before we got up to catch a boat to go Scuba diving. Brita snorkled, but then got seasick and was miserable the whole rest of the day. I had a cute, Dutch dive buddy named Jared and we were able to make two really great dives.

We had planned to go to the famous “Tiffany’s Cabaret Show” that evening, but we were so exhausted we ended up staying in, ordering room service, and trying to watch some of the Olympics.