Fall Break

I have a lot of pictures to add with this entry because I went on an awesome road trip for fall break. Fall break is the greatest ever. Coming from a school that didn't have a spring break let alone a fall break I feel like Christmas has come early. I took the two days off of school to see more of this neck of the woods. Maggie, my roommate, and Ashley, a mutual friend, took off last Friday afternoon for Niagara Fall and upstate New York. We stayed Saturday night in Niagara.

All three of us officially love Canada now and want to hook up with a Canadian Mounty but unfortunately did meet any real ones. Niagara was beautiful and after touring there for the day we spent Saturday night in a cute little bed and breakfast. We pushed two twin beds together and all fell asleep on them watching American Dreamz (dreams with a Z).

The next morning we had an amazing breakfast. There were awesome hash browns cooked with chives and some really good blueberry pancakes. Carolsue, the owner, was a hoot. She actually has a house in Michigan too and her daughter went to UM.

After we checked out we visited some falls near out bed and breakfast. It is amazing to me that just a little hike off a road can lead to an amazing water fall. I am use to beauty like that requiring a ten-mile-round-trip hike. After those falls we hiked up Watkins Glen. It is about a mile hike up a gorge along a dozen of so really pretty waterfalls.

Later that day we drove up to Palmyra to tour the church history sites. We went to the Hill Cumorah, Smith Farm/Sacred Grove, Palmyra Temple and the bookshop where the Book of Mormon was printed. It was all really amazing. The Sacred Grove was beautiful especially with the leaves starting to change colors. It was not hard to see why Joseph Smith would chose a place like that to pray.

Sunday night we spent at the house of a sister from my mission, Kirsten Trefflich. Her mom is such a great woman, so nice and caring.

Monday we did the Women’s Rights Tour in Seneca Falls. It was great. That town is really lovely too. In fact every town I went to seemed lovely just like in the movies. We finished the sight seeing part of the trip with a visit to the Whitmer farm where the church was organized.

Finally we went shopping. I think every good road trip needs some shopping.

Now my trip is over and it is back to the real world. Midterms, Yeah!

Walking through Campus Listening to Ipod

At the risk of being one of "those kids"—you know, the ones that walk around with headphones on all day and seem oblivious to immediate surroundings—I have to share a story. I have often wanted my life to have a soundtrack and listening to my I-pod while walking through central campus is the closest I have come. One particular day stands out. I got to school early as usual, about 7:15 am, when few people are out; I was listening to The Eternal Vow from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon by Yo Yo Ma. That song is amazing! The world seemed at peace at that moment. The hundred something pages I had to read didn’t seem so insurmountable. The Prospect of 8 hours of class that day didn't instill its usual dread. Karl Marx said that “religion is the opium of the people." While I don't agree with that that moment my drug cocktail was a song mixed with a misty autumn day in Ann Arbor. It was delicious.