On the Road Again

On Monday I leave for France. This will be a historical day for me. Not only is it the first non-stop flight to Paris from SLC (I'm hoping they'll at least have commemorative t-shirts or something), but it will be my first trip overseas. I am not looking forward to the 10.5 hour flight, but I am looking forward to seeing a few sites in France during my visit.

Most of the time will be spent in Pessac (about 25km from Bordeaux) but one of the gals I work with and I will be visiting Paris the last day and a half of our journey. I've been perusing the Paris guidebook and as luck would have it there's too much to see and too little time.

I guess I'd better start saving my pennies, nickels, quarters, dimes for a return trip and pray for a better exchange rate (right now a dollar is worth about .64 Euro -- ugh!) I'm not thinking there will be a lot of souvenirs, though I'm sure a girl could go crazy in a place like Paris.

Rumour has it that there will be Internet access, so time willing you may look forward to another string of blogs from the road.

Picture of the Week

Temple Site: Far West, Missouri

Kansas City - Day 6

People Watching

As I type this entry I am sitting in Panera Bread looking out over a bright orange statue of Shiva the Destroyer--insert Runaway Bride quote here--eating a Fandango Salad and a Turkey Artichoke panini sandwich which cost me $10 - a far better choice then the $29 luncheons I've attended this week.

I have seen many interesting people as I've been eating my lunch...Genealogists, teenagers, the tiny lady who ordered 6 ice teas...how will she carry them? You name it I've seen it.

But there are two people in particular that deserve mentioning, I only wish my desire for and respect for privacy did not prevent me from taking a few snapshots...oh for the spectacle camera where a simple push of a button on the bow of one's spectacles could capture so many wonderful things, like these two gems:

1) the white haired granny decked out in pink and rhinestones, complete with a pink cowboy hat with a feather boa trim. I kid you not.

2) The man in the Revolutionary War uniform, complete with 3-cornered hat. Once again, I kid you not.

Something tells me we're not in Kansas anymore!

Kansas City - Day 5

This morning began in a rush. I attended a class given by my bosses boss. I then attended 2 more classes and a luncheon. After lunch I returned to my room to change shirts, because I had somehow acquired some whipped cream or something from the luncheon on my dark blue shirt. While in my room I turned on my cell phone to find two messages from my boss wondering where I was because they were waiting in the Lobby before leaving for "the meeting." No one had informed me there was a meeting. So I call the boss to say sorry I missed the meeting and he's already forgotten I wasn't there. Apparently there was a communication error followed by a round of the blame gain, neither man was willing to admit that they forgot to tell me. Aargh!

After a mildly frustrating day my evening culminated with a visit to Far West and Liberty Jail. For those of you who are familiar with the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints you will understand the importance of these two places in the history of the Church. Sadly the visits were far too rushed but I was able to appreciate the feeling of history and peace that abounded in both locations. It was very easy to see why the early saints chose to settle in Missouri. They countryside is beautiful and green as far as the eye can see -- from horizon to horizon. As I mentioned there wasn't a lot of time for exploring, but I did get a few pictures (gotta love the dogwood trees).

And might I add...If the state of my hair in Missouri is any indicator that Missouri will one day be the new Zion, I believe it is true. My hair is fabulous here! if only I was more photogenic...that is NOT a request for compliments, just an actual fact.

Kansas City - Day 4

Slept in a little. Went to an 8:00am class on Civil War pension records. Went to Panera Bread for breakfast...i was very hungry but only ate a french toast bagel with honey walnut cream cheese. It was delicious. There wasn't a 9:30 class i was interested in so i wandered (via The Link) over to the Union Station to take some pictures and to see what all was there. They are currently having the "Bodies Revealed" exhibit. I didn't go. I did find this crazy railroad bridge that I took a walk on. it was pretty cool.

did i mention that the Union Center is a fully operation Amtrak station? Trains come and go all day. It was pretty cool. Unfortunately a lot of the pictures didn't turn out with my small digital camera and i could have had tons of fun with my Canon rebel. i definitely need to invest in a small travel tripod.

I got to collect tickets at the FamilySearch luncheon (yeehaw!) and I attended a very interesting class on websites for researching genealogy in the United Kingdom. I will be checking those out.

Tonight I went to the WWI Memorial and Museum. It was pretty cool. I'll admit I don't know much about WWI, though I do recall I have a great uncle who is buried at Flanders Field. After tonight I think I'd like to learn more about it.

Kansas City - Day 3

This morning I was invited to go out to breakfast with a co-worker who I met yesterday, her name is Cherie and she's really a cool lady. She took myself and another couple over to the Union Station where we ate real breakfast food and a fairly famous establishment called "The Harvey House Diner." Apparently these restaurants were quite popular during the era of train travel (i.e. 1950s and 1960s).

We were in a hurry to get back to the Hotel for the opening session of the conference so I didn't get to take any pictures. I'll have to go back because the Union Station is a cool building. Perhaps to get a picture of the famous bulletholes in the building. http://www.unionstation.org/bulletHoles.cfm

I went to a session on Civil War research this morning. IT was pretty good, then I attended a luncheon (which is a fancy word for a infomercial where they feed you). Today's luncheon was better than yesterday's. I learned about The National Institute on Genealogical Research. This is a program for experienced researchers (which counts me out) where you get to spend a week in Washington, D.C. learning from the experts and looking for records in the National Archives and the Library of Congress. The speaker made it sound like SO much fun. Needless to say, I'd like to attend...but I fear I would need more experience before they would consider me for the program.

After lunch I went to the exhibit hall to see what was there and then realized I missed the beginning of the 2:00 class, so I went up to my room to recharge my batteries, literally and figuratively. I ended up taking a nap and missing out on the visit to the Mid-Continent Library. Oh well. I needed a nap. I grabbed a salad for dinner at a place called Panera Bread. The food was delicious, sans the cilantro in the salad. I wish there were one back home but apparently it's a Missouri/Kansas thing. I'm thinking I'll try their "French Toast Bagel" in the morning...it sounds yummy.

Tomorrow it's more classes and a visit to the WWI museum -- hopefully I won't sleep through it.

*Did I mention my favorite musical Wicked is here this week. Unfortunately I didn't find out until it was too late and I wouldn't have had transportation there any ways...very disheartening. I am waiting with great anticipation for its arrival in Salt Lake next summer. And I am not ashamed to admit my jealousy of the fact my niece and nephew got to see it on Broadway.

Kansas City - Day 2

Today i was informed that i am a "geek" for taking pictures of my food. This from Sue, a woman who then encouraged me to take photographs of the gigantic drinks, she even held one for a shot.

With that, an explanation. After a day of pre-conference classes my boss decided to take a few of his closest friends out to dinner. We went to a Kansas City standard a BBQ pit (emphasis on the word pit) called "Arthur Bryant's Barbeque" where barbeque is the only thing on the menu. Not a salad to be had, unless you count cole slaw. The photo was my dinner. It's was a little on the dry side. Maybe I chose poorly...I really wish it had been a bagel with a schmear of cream cheese.

Kansas City - Day 1

6:15 PM Central Standard Time:

Looking back on the day this far it might be summed up as a series of slightly unfortunate events, though even saying that might be too harsh. The plan was to arrive at the Airport by 6:30AM to get through security and to the gate in time for my 7:50 flight. I figured that would be plenty of time. However, this morning did not run according to schedule. After a late start Marge dropped me off at about 6:45...then there was the queue to get baggage checked (I packed bigger this time so I could actually have what I needed). I handed my suitcase over to the luggage security check guy and headed for the security line. There were tons of people and only like 5 TSA agents checking boarding passes, so things went pretty slowly. I'm pretty sure I was standing in the Security line with some punk rock band, this hypothesis is based soley on the number of colourful and offensive tattoos, whacked hair cuts, silly hats and the fact that one of the "lads" was carrying a sound mixer board. I think it may have been the surviving members of DriveShaft.

Security check was uneventful, thankfully. In Fort Wayne they had to scan my carry on bag like three times before they would clear it, apparently if you've got a fluffy stuffed lamb crammed into the suitcase it looks funny on the x-ray machine.

I had previously changed my seat assingment to the first row, on the aisle--not my favorite place to sit but with a very short layover (Approximatley 25 minutes) I didn't want to take any chances of missing my connecting flight in Denver...so I had to sit on the front. The burly flight attendant informs me that I have to put my backpack up in the overhad bins because there's no where to put it on the floor. Funny how when you're one of the last to board that the overhead bins are full. Fortunately, I'm pretty good with spatial relationships so I was able to quickly determine that my bag would just fit in the bin right behind where I was seated. SO I quickly stowed the bag and slammed the bin shut--much to the awe of the man boarding behind me...he smiled and said "Would you like to place mine too?" I said something like "shure" and then took my seat.

The flight was uneventful, not even much turbulence. I have to admit I missed being able to see out the window, but I think it made the time fly by (No pun intended).

Upon arriving in Denver, there was an enourmous line for the restroom and only 20 minutes to spare. Then to the departure gate...or at least what I thought was the gate...come to find out they had moved gates without my permission. So I ended up boarding the same plane I had just gotten off of--which solved my what if my luggage doesn't make it worry...

Another uneventful flight to KC unless you count the Barbie Doll who stood in the aisle of the plane because there was no where to put here bag in the overhead bin. She stood there acting helpless until a big, strong man came and moved someone's laptop case so she could put her bag up. She seriously stood there saying "I'm not going to move someone else's bags" with all the gusto her little body weighed town with her one carat diamond earrings could muster. She had whiny, spoiled rich girl written all over her, from the earrings, designer flip-flips, right down to the pink rhinestone cell phone.

For those of you who have never been to the Kansas City airport, it can be aptly described as a goldfish bowl. It's circular with windows everywhere. As you leave the plane and go to the baggage claim you feel as though you are swimming around like a goldfish.

After a minor shuttle mishap; the one I was expecting never showed I arrived safely at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center hotel. A very tall building with a revloving restaurant atop it's 40 floors. I am on the 31st floor -- Needless to say I've got a pretty good view of the skyline.

After checking in, settling in, and checking in with the parents and Marge, I decide to venture out to the Crown Center (a small mall connected to the hotel via a glas enclosed sky walk.) I was hungry so I decided to grab a bite to eat and chose an establishment called A Street CAr Named Desire. After eating a soggy turkey on rye with mustard potato salad, which was heavt on the mustard and light on the potato salad, my waiter, who incidently, I kid you not, looked like a young Crispin Glover with shoulder length hair. Very odd. (side note: I saw John's doppleganger driving a truck out here) Back to the story -- so, Crispin brings me my check and I get up to pay the check and somehow manage to bang my head on the light fixture that is hanging above the table. I hit it pretty hard...got up rub my head and paid the check.

Now I know there are those of you thinking, wait, Bebo's girl just told us how she was good at figuring out spacial relationships...there is a caveat to this skill--it only applies to stuff I can see. Marge and I have decide that I have crappy peripherial vision, in spite of what the Optometrist may say...I am always running into things or people, you should never stand infront of me in the check out line at the grocery store, I'll probably hit you with the cart...or maybe I'm just clumsy. Who knows.

After some shopping, I came back to the hotel to put some ice on my forehead in an attempt to squealch a ginormous goose egg in the morning. Silly me!

It's probably safer for everyone involved if I just stay in my room and have room service cater to my every need. Unfortunatley that won't work for the classes I'm s'posed to attend this week.

The Continuing Adventures of Bebo's Girl

5:00PM Eastern Standard Time:

I'm currently sitting in the Fort Wayne International Airport. I bet you didn't know that the FWA consists of a grand total of EIGHT gates. Yes, eight. But in this eight gated terminal there is FREE WiFi access that is not available in either the Cincinnati airport or Salt Lake International. Kinda random, right?

I've learned a few things on this journey...

1) there is an overabundance of Vera Bradley baggage here. I had honestly never heard of Vera Bradley before coming here. Apparently she's a designer that makes bags of all sizes. These bags, in my opinion, are hideous, and I will not purchase one. Not even for my mother.

2) There's no wonder why the Hilton family is filthy rich. I have had the luxury of enjoying room service over the last few days. Each meal ran no less than $17.00 and that's before they add the service charge and the gratuity. Yikes!

3) Everything in Fort Wayne opens at 10:00AM and closes at 5:00PM. This is inconvenient when one is working from 9:00-5:00.

4) Earth shoes ARE the best shoes ever! I splurged about a month ago and bought a pair. Not only are they comfortable, they are also airport friendly! My feet haven't hurt yet. (A very wise investment if I do say so myself.)

And lastly; 5) Don't forget the DVDs, Power cords, and other vital electronic equipment next time!

With that, I'll give you a run down of the past few days. I spent 20.5 hours working with our missionaries Elder and Sister M in the Allen County Public Library. They are working on a project to digitize family history books and add them to the Family History Archives at BYU. They have quite the system set up and several missionaries come in on a daily basis to work on the various steps of the process. The missionaries in charge are great people. They work 11 hour days managing the project and I do believe, if given the chance Sister M would work all day and All night. I offered to have my boss order her a cot so she could sleep there. Elder M doesn't need a cot because he is often cot napping with his finger firmly placed on the right arrow key of his keyboard.

Highs and Lows: 1) I have thoroughly enjoyed the sleep I been able to get this week. No Gus the Cat to wake me up in the middle of the night. 2) I have not enjoyed the constant coverage of Hillary Clinton. I will not be voting for her in November. I'm thinking this year will be a good year to vote for Mickey Mouse or perhaps "Old Hill" from up the street. 3) It's rainy and muggy here. My hair loves it!

I did get to see the Lincoln Museum this morning. It was a pretty good place to visit. Although size wise it would be better suited as a permanent exhibit in a larger museum. I do love Honest Abe! Admission was free, due to the fact that the doors are closing for good at the end of May. Sad, BUT that meant that items in the gift shop were 30% off! So I was able to buy a few books I've been wanting to read for awhile.

Don't you just LOVE travelogues? Stay tuned for next week's Kansas City adventure...

The Adventures of Bebo's Girl - Part 1

3:17 PM Eastern Standard Time

Right now I am sitting in an uncomfortable chair in Concourse A of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport. I am waiting for my connecting flight to my final destination--Fort Wayne Indiana. I will be spending the greater part of the week there at the Allen County Public Library training our volunteer staff.

A man across from me looks a lot like Congressman Nathan Petrelli, though it could just be the glare from the windows affecting my vision. For the record, Ohio is a pretty state. It reminds me a lot of Tennessee. The view from above was amazing. I love seeing nothing but trees as far as the eye can see, broken up only by the meandering Ohio River or massive acreage of open fields. I love looking out the windows of the airport and seeing green!

Those of you who have flown have perhaps witnessed the following phenomenon....I was seated fairly far back on the plane, window seat over the wing (I need to figure out which row isn't right over the wing due to the fact it conjure memories of that Twilight Zone episode with William Shatner and the gremlin on the plane that only he can see...but that's another story. So here I am seated, as the plane pulls into the gate. People immediately jump up, grab their carry-on luggage and then they wait...and wait...and wait...for at least ten minutes (at least it feels that way) for the line to moves so they can get out. It’s just funny to watch these people who are in such a rush to get where they're going, only to find themselves stuck.

Then there are the cell phones...as soon as the plane lands a hundred phones beep into life. Can you honestly tell me that these people's lives couldn't take a break for a 3 hour flight? Seriously.

And did you know that Cincinnati is the city where pigs can fly? I kid you not...pictures to follow (if only I hadn't left my camera cord at home.)

6:54 PM Eastern Standard Time:

Now I am sitting in my hotel room in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana--trying to decide what to have room service bring me for dinner...

Let me fill you in on the second leg of the journey. Boarding the flight to Indiana I had my first opportunity to walk across a tarmac--no Jetway tunnels here...The flight from Cincinnati to Fort Wayne literally took 45 minutes from start to finish...I had just enough time to peruse the Sky Mall catalog before "de-planeing" The plane I rode on was very small. There were 13 rows of seats, 3 seats wide...for a grand total of 39 passengers. My very small carry-on back was too large for the overhead bins, so it had to be stowed under the plane. Wow.

As for the Fort Wayne airport -- I kid you not, it's roughly the size of Davis High. They have one terminal, a small gift shop, a flying elephant and not much else. Did I mention the fact that they hand you a welcome cookie as you exit the concourse on your way to baggage claim. These are the times you wish you had your camera out and at the ready. Can you honestly say you believe me when I say they have the equivalent of a Wal-mart greeter welcoming you to Fort Wayne who hands you your own individually wrapped treat. Amazing stuff!

From what I've seen so far Fort Wayne has a total of 3 skyscrapers and 3 giant churches. I'll have to explore more tomorrow to see what I can see.

Stay tuned...