So much to write about

It's a week gone since the last post. Here's a summary in case I never get time to write anything more. Mark has lots of photos, but hasn't managed to post any.The last post finished in DC.

Since then we have had two days in New York - we took the Staten Island ferry in the first day which we should have done the second day as well. Walked over the Brooklyn Bridge, went up the Empire State Building, visited Grand Central Station, mooched around Central Park, visited scenes from "You've Got Mail" including having lunch at Cafe Lalo (where they arrange to meet the first time.) Picture at right is of Verdi Square.
Went to Six Flags Theme Park in New Jersey. Nitro is amazing! Saw a real live cheerleading competition. There is NO healthy food in Six Flags.

Church in Scotch Plains Ward in New Jersey, then drove to West Springfield Ma. Dropped in at the Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe houses in Hartford Connecticut.
Had an excellent visit with George Cobb at Mt Holyoke College. Got some great ideas for teaching, and research, and possible future collaboration. Converted him to Blackboard.
Wonderful views from Mt Holoyoke itself.
Took the old road most of the way to Syracuse. Pleasant visit there with faculty from Le Moyne. A great steak. Discovered Wegmans supermarket. Visited the Erie Canal museum - really good. Found an amazing art deco building. Bought a groundhog puppet, and saw a live groundhog.
Then on to Palmyra. Stayed at the Palmyra Inn - very nice, very handy.
Saw ALL the church sites, and attended the Palmyra Temple. Watched too many J-Lo movies on cable. (Maybe that's why the blog has been neglected!)

Annapolis and Washington D.C.

We flew via Chicago (what a lovely airport) to Washington D.C. where we had our case replaced by the airline and picked up another rental car. Yet again we were relieved to have the GPS unit on board. And even more, I was relieved to be able to breathe properly and not have my heart racing. The altitude and dryness of Utah had not suited my body, so used to sea-level dwelling.

Annapolis, where we stayed for two nights, was very beautiful. Maryland is green, especially after the late winter greyness of Utah. The houses are amazing - palatial in places. The historic town of Annapolis is full of well presented historic buildings, with mostly tourist -focused shops. It was rather reminiscient of Akaroa, but on a much larger scale. We had seafood there at a buffet, which was fine, though the clam chowder was very nice.

Our day in Washington was outstanding. The weather was bright and clear and sunny with blue, blue sky but not too hot. We went first to the Washington DC temple in the northwest of the city, then drove in to Arlington National cemetary where we left the car for the day. We took a tour of the cemetary, which was a moving experience, even for us non-natives. The rest of the day we took a bus, then walked, and visited the Library of Congress, and the outsides of the Capitol, White house, Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. The whole place was beautiful. As I sat on the steps of the Capitol and gazed down the Mall at the Lincoln Memorial was when it dawned on me that we were really there, in this place we had seen so often in film, television and news reports.

Manti

We drove down to Manti on Saturday, arriving late afternoon. It is a nice little town, the main feature of which is the Manti Temple. We find intriguing, throughout our travels, the lack of fences anywhere - in the countryside and in the towns.

We were warmly welcomed by the family of William's on-line friend Jessica. They gave us a delicious dinner, and various family members came to see us and hear our accents. (Accents, what accents?) We spent the evening chatting and looking at photos. On Sunday we went to church with them - one block away. One member had served his mission in New Zealand fifty years ago, and was thrilled to meet someone from there. It seems it was a highlight of his life. In some ways church was just like at home, but there were some differences in facilities. Mark and I coveted their kitchen and library, especially.

After church we had a lunch, including Stacey's homemade bread, which she gave us extra of to take with us. It was a source of comfort and nourishment to us for nearly a week. Jessica and Collin showed us the dugout cabin in the hill below the temple, and then we headed north again, driving west of Utah lake, for a different view. There are many new subdivisions going in, with enormous, fenceless houses of similar light earth tones. There are LDS chapels everywhere. It is not at all unusual to be able to see three white spires sticking up out of a new subdivision in one direction.

On Monday morning we had a bit of a rushed time getting to the airport and were very relieved to be on the plane with all our luggage.

Life in the fast lane

Somehow I pictured having more time to write in this blog! Here's a quick summary in case I don't get time for anything more.
Sunday - visited Mark's brother, David and wife, Laurie and four delightful daughters, Olivia, Kate, Jane and Anna in their seriously cool house. The house is only 6 years old, but is built out of salvaged materials from old houses etc. So it has both character and convenience. My favourite feature is a laundry chute from the upstairs to the laundry. Had lunch and spent the afternoon at Laurie's parents' place where we were made very welcome. Fell in love with the GPS navigator in the rental car.
Monday - It snowed on our way down to Provo, where we went with David etc to lunch at a popular pizza place in Provo. Mark was in ecstasies over the home brewed Root Beer. I liked it too, but soda drinks are the one weight increasing food/drink I do manage to restrict my consumption of. Then ten-pin bowling - David won, Mark second and Laurie and I drew for third! Back to their place for photos, then visited David's work and back in time for the start of the NCTM conference. The four girls are Jane, Olivia (with Milo), Anna and Kate.
Tuesday - Conference for Nicola, laundry, phone buying, car finding etc for Mark. Dinner at Chuck-arama. Pretty good for trough food.
Wednesday- Friday - Conference for Nicola, and visits to the Church Humanitarian Center and Welfare Square. (The grain storage shown to the right - it was built in 8 days in the Great Depression) Dinner at Rodizios - a Brazilian restaurant - superb. Used the Trax public transport extensively. Attended the Salt Lake Temple. Met up with our friends, the Harkers.
Overview
The people here are friendly and mostly helpful. The motel location is brilliant, though it lacks external light (and there isn't much internal light!) The altitude and cold are getting to us a little, with cracked lips, dry hands, bleeding noses. The conference was mostly worth attending.

General Conference

On Saturday we attended the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City. It was an awe-inspiring feeling to be among over 20,000 people with the same beliefs as us and to participate in sustaining (giving a supporting vote for) our new church world leader, Thomas S. Monson. The Mormon Tabernacle choir lived up to their reputation in the flesh. It was hard to believe that you could get such precision in dynamics and enunciation from such a large choir. Every word was clear. We were able to get tickets by showing our passports with evidence that we had recently arrived in the US. Many people had signs trying to solicit tickets (which are free, but scarce for locals). There was the odd person trying to save Mormon souls outside the building on the street, but the mood was jovial in general.

Mark and I have watched General Conference on the internet, on video, and broadcast for over 20 years, but to be there in person was a new and quite moving experience.

The adventure begins

Our travel from Christchurch, New Zealand to Salt Lake City Utah was long but pleasantly uneventful. It was nice to spend some time sitting next to my brother, Peter, on the plane. It is a long flight if you don't manage to sleep very much.
The immigration people at San Francisco were wonderful. In fact all the people we have dealt with have been helpful and obliging. Already we have proved the worth of the "one main between us" policy. A mesquite chicken salad in San Francisco airport was the perfect size for the two of us, and very tasty.
Our motel for the next 10 nights in Salt Lake City is great. We have a fridge/freezer and full oven, all larger than the ones we have at home, a microwave and a dishwasher. The most exciting aspect, though is the location - very close (almost adjacent to) a wide range of food providers.
Eating highlights so far are: chocolate peanut butter ice cream, ice cream sandwiches and some very delicious (and probably fat-filled) tortilla chips.