Vacation - Highlights

It's hard to know what to include in a vacation post. I will do my best to give you an idea of my vacation, both highlights and low moments (such as waking up before my 4:15 am alarm on Friday morning...)

Thursday, January 21st

Leave work early. Finally pack and head to Sioux Falls. Hang out with Nealy for the night - read during her volleyball league. Run into Gustavo Hernandez - an acquaintance from USF who recently befriended me on facebook. He asked if the baby in my profile picture was mine.

Friday, January 22nd - Travel Day

4:30 am - Leave Nealy's apartment. Roads are icy so I miss the turn onto the interstate on the bridge. Luckily no one is on the roads and I make a u-turn into the right merge lane for the interstate.

6:30 am - Flight leaves after short delay while they de-ice the plane.

9:45 am - Walking briskly through the Detroit Airport to make our next flight. I was totally unaware of how close we were to missing it.

Noon - arrive in New Jersey, split with Nealy and take a train to NYC.

3:15 pm - Board Megabus in NYC for a 4 hour bus ride to Boston.

8:30 pm - Get picked up by friends in Boston and begin my vacation there.

9:15 pm - Have Nick's Roast Beef for the first time in Beverly - so good it's almost criminal.

Saturday, January 23rd (Happy Birthday Machelle!)

Morning - spend alone in room trying to rest from day before.

Afternoon - Natalie and Anna take me to Rockport so I can see the ocean. There I bought windchimes.

Evening - Cheesecake Factory with Anna, Natalie, Ruth, Gina, Teal, Tina, Sarah L. and me.

Night - Arrive at Pastor Sarah's house to stay for the night. Have a long conversation with Tirzah and realize just how much I miss her.

Sunday, January 24th (Happy Birthday Dad!)

Morning - Go to church with Sarah, sing in the choir and thoroughly enjoy confusing the congregation. I had a lot of people say hello to me, take a few steps and then realize that I wasn't supposed to be there. Favorite reactions? Jeff and Kimie Kester - screaming might have been involved.

Noon - After church Sarah and I went to visit Wendy - the organist of the church who was recovering from surgery for tongue cancer. We learned that week that she was completely cancer free - Hallelujah!

Afternoon - Chinese food at the Frank house with the Kesters. Probably my favorite time in my entire vacation.

Night - Bus ride from Boston to NYC. Train from NYC to Princeton where Nealy and Emily were waiting for me.

Monday, January 25th

Morning: sleep.

Noon: not a whole lot.

Afternoon: short tour of Princeton Theological Seminary

Evening: Made spaghetti and met some of Emily's friends. The sauce had carrots in it - weird.

Tuesday, January 26th

Morning: Wake up on a deformed air mattress. Train to NYC (wrong train, however. Apparently we were on a "peak" train with "non-peak" tickets. Conductor was very generous however, and let us ride anyway.) Maneuver our way from Penn Station to Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Noon: Ate lunch at the museum. Think about the 13 original Van Goghs I just saw.

Afternoon: Stand in line at TKTS in Times Square to get tickets for Phantom of the Opera. Met a nice man from Indiana who was very entertaining. Check out a few stores (M&Ms, Hersheys, Toys R Us). Introduce Emily and Nealy to Black and White cookie.

Evening: See Phantom of the Opera on Broadway on it's 22nd anniversary of being on Broadway (to the day). Take train back to Princeton.

Wednesday, January 27th

Morning: sleep

Noon: Make sandwiches.

Afternoon: Take a tour of Princeton University - where dorms look like castles. Hang out at a local cafe.

Evening: Eat pizza with Emily's friends. Learn Pictionary Telephone game. Watch Love Actually.

Thursday, January 28th

Morning: sleep (see a pattern?)

Noon: make a sandwich

Afternoon: Drove around New Jersey. Saw the ocean again - for about 5 minutes because it was cold.

Evening: Eat at Windberry's - local restaurant. Watch Footloose.

Friday, January 29th

Morning: Take train to the airport.

Noon: Fly to Minneapolis.

Afternoon: Fly to Sioux Falls. Drop Nealy off. Drive to Arlington.

Evening: Eat supper with family (including brother and his family), teach them my new game, drive to LPC and pick up broomball equipment from Steve. Drive back to Milbank. Get pulled over as driving into Milbank for speeding but get a warning instead of a ticket.

Here are my pictures of the trip:

2010