Spring Break 2009 – Prt.1

Being extremely tired/lazy every night when I got in, and wanting to talk and spend time with those I stayed with, I didn't update this everyday. That means this will be a long post.

23March
I began my Spring Break road this morning. I left a little later than I'd originally intended, but not too much later. A part of the purpose for this trip was to visit as many temples as I could. Temples are not open on Mondays, but I thought I stop by the Fresno Temple anyway. I had lunch there and then continued on my way. I had realized earlier in my drive (about when I got to Los Baños) that I had forgotten to bring a jacket. Too far to turn back, so I planned on stopping by a Wal-Mart in or near Fresno to buy one. They had none. No jackets. Ridiculous. I was able to eventually find one at a Big 5, on sale too. I continued south for several hours towards L.A. and got off the freeway at Santa Monica Blvd. I drove down Santa Monica to the beach just because I could. I spent a couple hours at the beach, ate dinner at a little restaurant there and then continued on my way south, towards San Diego. I got to my friends Tim and Charlotte McFarland apartment around 9ish (they actually live in La Mesa a little town right next to SD). We talked and hung out for a bit but we were all tired and they had school stuff so we were all in bed by 1130.

24March
Tim and Charlotte had gone to school by the time I got up. I ate, left them a thank-you note, and head off to the San Diego Temple. Google maps failed me a bit in getting me righ to the temple, but I worked it out. San Diego is a nice temple. Beautiful grounds and gorgeous inside and out. It went through a session and took pictures outside, before continuing north. I took the toll road (CA-73) and got off to see the Newport Beach Temple. If there is such a thing as a posh temple, this is it. It is an amazingly exquisite temple; from the grounds to the decal to the materials, inside and out. The area is very exclusive too, so the probably adds to the ambiance. I had just missed a session and didn't have time to wait for the next so I continued on toward L.A. (Normally you have to make an appointment for smaller temples like Newport, but they had room and would have been nice enough to let me in.) Google maps failed me again in not getting met exactly to the temple, but I made it anyway. The L.A. Temple is one of the largest and is right on Santa Monica Blvd. I ate there, but didn't have time for a session (I'd just missed one again), but I did other work there. From there I spent the next couple hours in L.A. traffic. Yay! :| I was driving to Las Vegas and I didn't get there until after 10pm. I probably spent nearly half my time in traffic. It's a goo thing I didn't go through another session. I stayed with my friends Kyle and Suzanne Hansen in their house in Henderson (just south of Vegas). Suzanne was already asleep, but I got quick tour from Kyle. I was asleep by midnight. More on them tomorrow.

25March
Suzanne ended up not having to go to work until 9, so I was able to spend time talking with them both in the morning. (She's a nurse and orginally had a 7am shift.) They have been amazingly blessed with where they are in their lives. So many things came together for them from buying the house they're in to the the jobs they both have, to the timing of Suzanne's pregnancy. It was blatently obvious to me how the Lord had blessed them and it inspired and gave me hope for my future. I'm really grateful and glad they let me stay with them, even if it was brief. That morning I went to the Las Vegas Temple. It was a nice session and I really liked the celestial room. (I can be so much closer to heaven there.) I ran one quick errand in N. Las Vegas then headed on my way to St. George, UT. When I got to St. George I had a little trouble getting to the St. George Temple (this time I'd made a mistake with the address). Fortunately Utah street design is such that it's pretty easy to find one's way around. I'd forgotten about the time change coming into Utah and thought I had plenty of time for a session. I ended up having to rush in to make it. It was nice nonetheless. When I got out and began heading north I realized my mistake with the time. I was heading to Ephraim to stay with my cousin Abbie. (She attends Snow College.) I was worried I was going to be really late, but it turned out that her night out in Provo with friends for a b-day had gone later too and we ended up getting getting to her place at about the same time. We talked a bit and she let me crash on the couch.

26March
Abbie was a great hostess, and her roommates were accommodating, too. She fed and took really great care of me. I have great family and awesome, attractive cousins. (Abbie's actually getting married in June.) I went to the Manti Temple in the morning. I'd passed it the night before (it's right on the highway) with it all lit up, you can see it for miles. It's a beautiful castle like temple. I gave myself plenty of time; I really enjoy the experience a lot more when I'm relaxed and unrushed. The workers there were really nice and I got to see some beautiful rooms and amazing pioneer craftsmanship. I did a bit of laundry at Abbie's place and hung out some. I did some writing and such. I actually had snowed the night before and parts of the day, so I was in no hurry to drive to Provo. When I got the work done all that I wanted to, I finished packing up and and headed up to Provo. My excitement on the way up was almost hitting a dear on UT-89! It saw me and I saw it, but it decided to run across the road in front of me anyway. My breaks did there job. The other odd thing from my drive to Provo is that the first Mormon missionaries I saw all trip I saw just outside Provo. Go figure. So met up with my buddy Nathan Casper and his fianceé Crystal. I'm staying with Nathan and his roommates. Their place is affectionately called Hotel California. I basically hung out the rest of the night, with them, other friends form San José, Nathan's roommates and friends. We got frozen yogurt, watched a movie, talked til late about dumb things. It was great fun. Though because this is near BYU, the honor code applies, so all girls were kicked out before midnight. There's several good reasons why I never wanted to go to BYU: that is one.