The forecast is saying highs in the upper 70s out here in Burlington for the rest of the week! The ski bums are a little bummed, but I'm ecstatic! The winter has really been a breeze -- I think there were only a couple of weeks that it was too cold to run outside.
All this summer weather has put me in the summer frame of mind. As part of my program, we're required to do an internship or write a thesis. I had my fill of 72-page papers last spring, so I'm opting out of that one. Plus getting paid for the summer vs. having to pay for another semester of grad school. That's a no-brainer.
The whole internship process was kind of a pain in my behind, but I had a couple phone interviews the week before and the week of spring break and I'm excited to say I was offered a position at the South Dakota State Historic Preservation Office! Woot! So I'll be back in the mid-west for the summer and that means any of you who haven't seen Mt. Rushmore yet (and I thought that drive was a requirement for all MN families) you need to come visit me!
While this trip was technically for academics, I did manage to squeeze in some sight seeing and fun too :) I got into SF early afternoon on Monday and my hotel was able to check me in early -- hauling all of my stuff on my sight-seeing wouldn't have been as fun. I decided that stop #1 needed to be the park at the beginning of Full House. Since I spent the majority of elementary school wishing I was DJ Tanner, this was only appropriate.
After some sketching, picture taking, and dog-gawking, I went to Union Square which is the big time, expensive shopping center. I went into Sak's 5th Ave and was terrified to touch anything and then venture into Tiffany and Co. and eavesdropped on some Australian dudes trying to pick out an engagement ring. FYI: there's free Tiffany-blue saltwater taffy there!
The next day was mostly meetings, but I did squeeze in a trip to the Museum of Modern Art since it's free the first Tuesday of every month. There was some cool stuff there and then some really conceptual, confusing stuff too. One exhibit was literally a lady sitting in a room with a laptop typing observations of people as they walked around. I was really tempted to do a kartwheel to try and get on the screen, but restrained myself. I did make it down to the Fisherman's Warf that day too -- on a cable car no less!
The Warf is pretty cool. Lots of seafood and touristy shops. There's one restaurant off of Pier 39 that looks out on to docks full of sea lions! Apparently they get eaten pretty often by sharks, so they spend most of their time in shallow water to stay alive. And man are they fat and loud!
Alcatraz was the other big attraction that I wanted to make sure to see. The ferry ride itself was pretty sweet with lots of great views of the Golden Gate Bridge. The cell block on "the rock" was a little creepy especially since the audio tour was narrated by a former guard with commentary by some former inmates. You could see dings in teh floor from where bombs had bee dropped and into the utilities hall where 5 inmates crawled up to the roof and escaped. The freakiest of all was listening to the story of the riot in 1962 when some inmates tried to escape and as their plan started to fall apart, they locked an officer in a cell and shot him to death. Standing in front of that actual cell while hearing that story was a little creepy. As was going into one of the solitary confinement cells! One of the most interesting memories from a former inmate was that San Francisco was so close that they could sometimes hear festivals going on and bands playing in the summer. Reminders of what they had given up were always present.
That evening I walked all over kingdom come to try and see a few other things before leaving. Of course they were all in completely different parts of the city and I bet you I walked upwards of 7 miles that day. That wouldn't be so bad if it was flat, but San Fran rivals Duluth when it comes to gigantic hills. And trying to break in new Birkenstocks in the process was not my smartest decision. One thing that I did want to see was the Golden Fire Hydrant. It was the only one left working during the fire of 1906 and it essentially saved the entire Mission district, so they paint it gold every year on the anniversary of the fire.
Here are a few more snapshots from my wanderings. I decided that I really do like traveling by myself. Not having to work around other people's schedules or preferences is kind of liberating. It was nice to do some things with my classmate who was also there, but being able to just lay in the park and journal without worrying if my travel mates were bored was really enjoyable.
A wrong turn walking home led to this amazing view!
Just for you Dad: the legendary Filmore.
Trust me, the Golden Gate Bridge is back there somewhere.
"I stopped by a red front door and felt an intense longing to spend the rest of my life there...I wanted the life that this space implied." - Again, Alain DeBotton, The Art of Travel
This kind of visceral connection to architecture is the main reason that I'm in historic preservation. It's also the main reason that only 4 photos from my entire trip have people in them. One day I'm going to get in trouble for taking pictures of other people's homes or get hit by a car while trying to do so, but there are some many wonderful examples of high-style architecture in San Francisco that they deserved their own post, so here you go!
The "Painted Ladies" of Alamo Square Park or "those houses from the beginning of Full House" as they are better known.
City Hall
The Haas-Lilenthal House where San Francisco Architectural Heritage is based.
And a splash of eastern influence in the city center.
True to my luck, my computer refused to turn on during my entire trip, but once back in VT it has been behaving perfectly. So apologies for failing to come through on my promise of regular updates during the trip.
My adventure began with meeting the fam in LA. Getting there turned out to be one heck of an ordeal. I spent most of Friday evening in Urgent Care waiting for my roommate and then didn't go to sleep before my bus which was scheduled to leave at 2:15am. The bus didn't actually show up until after 3am and the bus driver kept asking me if I had more winter clothes at home because I looked cold, but there was no way I was bringing my big, LL Bean coat to California.
The bus took a good 6 hours to get to Boston, but I had some time at the airport to get something to eat and read some "for fun" books. My transfer through Memphis was uneventful as was the flight to LAX, but after my recent travel luck, I was ok with that. I then had a shuttle to the hotel. I was sitting behind the driver and creeping on his GPS/passenger tracker the entire time. While I was supposed to be drop-off #1, the slew of Romanian hippies got dropped off first and I got the first-hand tour of Los Angeles's sketchiest hotels. Woo.
After nearly 21 hours of travel and no food for almost 13, all I wanted was to be horizontal and stuff my face with any kind of sustenance. Good thing the parentals had a pizza waiting for me when I got to the room. And Baby Bro was so excited to see me that he almost put down his video games. Almost.
The next day we spent at Universal Studios with Cousin Josh going on rides and seeing shows. The only real roller-coaster there is The Mummy ride and of course, just as Josh and I get on the ride, it shuts down due to "technical difficulties." So we wait it out for nearly 20 minutes while the uber chatty 8-year-old next to me tries to talk me down because I "looked scared," but he'd been on the ride 5 times already that day and ran to get back in line as soon as we were done.
Dinner at the Hard Rock follow and Baby Bro got royally embarrassed when the waiter pulled him to the front of the restaurant to publicly wish him happy birthday. Bahaha. At least you got a free ice cream, dude :)
My fave picture from the day was this gem; 3 dogs rocking sunglasses in the back of a pick-up :)
So this spring break trip is exciting and a little nerve racking at the same time. I'll be traveling largely by myself. On the one hand, this is good because then I can be in complete control of my schedule -- which we all know I love. But on the other hand, I have to be on my game all the time. No following or becoming a baby duck. It takes some extra planning with less figure-it-out-as-I-go, but I have more leniency for random adventures based on what catches my fancy at any particular time.
I've been flipping through my fave travel book, The Art of Travel by Alain DeBotton. Check it out. Seriously, some of the best ideas about space and place and the psychology of traveling that I've ever read -- and it's completely accessibly, so don't be freaked out because it's sometimes categorized as philosophy. I've shared a couple of quotes from it on the main page of this blog, but I thought I'd share a couple more just because I think they're so articulate. Yes, I'm a word-nerd.
"Journeys are the midwives of though. Few places are more conducive to internal conversations than moving planes, ships or trains." -- I find this one to be especially true. The prospect of travel coupled with confinement to a single seat on a bus or plane creates the perfect milieu for dreaming about what life could be. During a highly transitional phase in my life, that space to create and plan without bounds makes the prospect of growing up less fearsome and more exciting.
I've also been reading a great blog I stumbled upon thanks to CNN -- here are links to their article on the 5 Joys of Traveling Solo and the original blog, Solo Traveler, that inspired it. This woman amazes me. She's not a youngin' afflicted with capricious wanderlust, but a true world traveler who's explored all of the corners of the globe alone. No waiting for others to get in gear and plan a trip -- she just goes and the fluidity of her planning style has led to some really great adventures. Now I just need to find a job that will fiance such excursions and give me the PTO to take them :)
So today marks the official beginning of spring break for me! I only have one class with tests which meant only one midterm this week, but two papers and an internship interview made the week more stressful than I would have liked. I'll be jetting off for Los Angeles tomorrow after an early morning bus ride to Boston -- flights are MUCH cheaper out of Logan than out of Burlington's teeny-tiny airport. After a couple days with the fam, I'll be heading up to San Francisco for four days of meetings and a little sight seeing too. I'll try to update this thing throughout the trip -- I realize I've been hard-core slacking. And since I won't be doing to much after-dark exploring, I'll have the time. And I've been google-mapping hard core and there a at least a half-dozen thai restaurants right by where I'm staying. Score!
So after my unexpected adventure in Newark, I told my rescuer Eric that he had an open invite in Vermont any time he wished. Lots of times, those things are never cashed in on, but apparently the urban insanity that is Newark got to be too much so Eric came up here to see some trees.
Life in VT is pretty slow paced and if you're not going skiing, there are minimal options in the winter for activities. So we ended up playing a lot of cribbage. I would like to note that for the record, I did win 5 out of 8 games, so I am technically the champion. Eric will tell you that that's negated by the fact that I got skunked. You'd think my years of training would have prevented that, but it is only the second time in my life that it's happened. And I did peg 32 points one hand with the crib.
Not happy about losing. I was Scarlet Red of course.
Laura ended up lending us her car for the day on Sunday so we got out to Camel's Hump State Park for some winter hiking and then over to the Ben and Jerry's factory for some bad cow-inspired puns and free samples. Side note- we actually did see a camel! Some crazy Vermonter has apparently decided to keep one in his front yard as a pet!
The Camel's Hump through the trees.
All in all, it was a pretty fun weekend, especially since my ski-bro friends are always exhausted after a day on the mountain and aren't usually up for fun things. And it was nice to see someone from back home and relive the glory days a bit.
