TRIP PHOTOS

I put the trip photos on FLICKR instead of Blogspot. It is able to handle and upload all the pics I had.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/57047380@N07/

So now...

Now it's Monday morning. Bags packed, clothes on, writing these last few lines.

Weather is bad in Nashville, so I really don't know when I'll land. Supposed to be 6:15pm, but earlier it said not until 7:20pm, now back to 6:20. Guess I'll get there when I get there.

After landing, I am heading to the Arena to see the Preds and Islanders. Hope the streets are decent. It'll be a slow trek back to Goodlettsville after the game. It'll be cold in the house as I turned down the heat to 60.

So wish me luck as I wind back to Nashville through Denver. Leave SLC at 12:20.

As I sit here writing and looking out the window towards the mountains, I relish the time I've spent here this trip. I look forward to the adventures ahead. I know I shall return here. We've become old friends me and Salt Lake. I won't abandon a friend!

Until snowy Middle Tennessee, I say so long.

Sunday starts early

So Sunday is an early day. For a number of years, I have listened to Music and the Spoken Word over the internet on KSL from Salt Lake City. It is a half hour radio program by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir every Sunday at 10:30am Central time. The show is live, and open to the public. For the Christmas crowds, it is being held in the Conference Center, which seats 22,000 instead of the Tabernacle which is considerably smaller. Got in line at 8:30 to get a seat. It was magnificant! The organ played rich, deep tones as the choir sang some old carols and some newer ones, like a Caribbean one. After the great start to Sunday, Mass was at 11:00am at the Cathedral of the Madeline, Salt Lake's mother church, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene. It too was a cathedral choir Mass, so two choirs in one morning! Mass started with the Introit, something not done in Nashville. After Mass, I felt I had been to Mass!

Walking back to the hotel, I breezed through Temple Square again, and it looks so different in daylight!

I decided to eat brunch at an Italian cafe a few blocks over. Caffe Molise. I had a great grilled chicken with sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, garlic and gorgonzola cheese over angel hair pasta. And a Bellini! Then coffee... Came back to the room and decided to go see a movie. Pulled up theaters on the 'net and saw that Harry Potter was playing at the IMAX at 5:30. It was 3:00pm, so I decided to walk over since the IMAX is at the Clark Planetarium. Got my ticket and had free admission for the planetarium. It wasn't a big place, mostly geared toward children. I sat a while and watched some NASA footage, and walked through space.

Harry Potter was good. On the IMAX big screen, some of the scenes were a bit, well, scary! It lasted until 8pm, so I walked back to Temple Square for a last night of lights and song. Walked into the Visitor Center to visit Christus. When you see the pic, you might recognize the statue. It is 11 feet tall and very comforting to be next to it. Watched the Nativity story again, and finally got some pics of the three kings! Never did get good ones of them in previous years. Came back to the hotel for a fish sandwich, coconut cream pie and coffee at JB's. It was a good way to cap off the evening.

I packed a bit and then decided to write out Christmas I had brought to do, but never did. I was up until 1am doing those. Only have about 20 left, but ran out of cards....left some at home.

A full day is now complete....I dreaded the morning and the thought of going home.

As the trip ends...but Saturday first!

Well, the trip is coming to an end. I've had so much fun the last few days. I've tried to squeeze every hour out of it. That's why I haven't updated. I either haven't been in the room, or been dead tired and asleep.

So Nashville is in a freeze. Right now at 9:00am Monday in Salt Lake it is sunny, 38 degrees with a high of 52. Yesterday was in the upper 50's.

So I left off on Saturday afternoon...I finished up at the Family History Library. Never did see Elder Pedersen again! That's a story for later... I got back to the room and changed clothes for my dinner at Lamb's. Lamb's Grill Cafe is the oldest Greek restaurant in Utah. Salt Lake had a flourishing Greek community and it was the largest ethnic community in Utah. Lamb's is on Main St. in the building it has been in since 1919. Walking through the crowds in Temple Square for the lights was slow. There were so many people! Got to Lamb's, without a reservation, and got seated immediately in a booth up front. Had a great dinner of veal cutlets, banana squash, baked potato, Wasatch Amber Ale and rice pudding. A pianist was playing Christmas music to set the season. A wonderful evening.

Now off to Temple Square and the lights! First I stopped at Deseret Bookstore, the LDS shop. It is in a new location with a lot more room. The store was wonderful and I made some purchases. Even found the LDS-only room. Watch for the photo...

Temple Square was absolutely packed! It was a slow saunter, if that. The weather undoubtedly brought people out. There was at least 30 people in line for the $50 carriage rides, a bagpiper played carols, the Nativity scene was lined with rows of onlookers. I took what photos I could, then decided to go back to the room and come out later when the crowd died down. I went out about 10:15pm and most of the lights were off and gates locked. They shut down at 10pm every night. So I walked and took what I could.

I wanted to do something and since it was warm, I decided to do some walking toward the western side of downtown and the Gateway. Its a shopping area in the Union Pacific depot buildings. I found the Greek Orthodox Cathedral, and I stopped at a brewpub I've been to on past trips Red Rock. Had some libations and tootled back to the room about midnight. A very satisfying day.

A quick break

Had to get out and into some sunlight!!

I went to lunch at Siegfried's Delicatessen on 200 South. It was a nice walk...sunny and about 45. Supposed to precipitate tonight and calling for icy conditions in the morning. Good thing I'm hoofing it rather than driving.

Siegfried's is a German deli I went to last time in Salt Lake. A few weeks ago I googled it and found out it is now owned by a Lithuanian lady named Daiva. Yeah, I had to go!! And WOW!! I had Goulash with spaetzle, a huge roll and a Francizkaner Weiss beer. It was great! The German food items on the shelves are pricey...I can do a lot better at Aldi's. For example, a 17 oz stollen here was $9.45. They are larger and about half that price at Aldi's. They did have a full assortment of Knorr mixes for sauerbraten, goulash, hackbraten (meatloaf!). But I saved my money and just got a few things. Daiva is from Kaunas Lithuania and she said they came to the US in 1989. Not bad...owning her own deli in downtown Salt Lake in a few years!!

Well, I am headed back to the library. Probably wrap up around 6 pm. Going to head to Lamb's Restaurant tonight and have some more good eats! Then walk around Temple Square and see the lights...

A full day!

Hello from balmy Salt Lake City! Just got in from outside and it's cool, but not frozen cold. Right now 37.

It's been a full day to say the least. Couldn't fall asleep last night until after 1 am. Woke up at 6. That's ridiculous!! So I rolled over and dozed some more until 7:30. Two cups of coffee and a shower and I was in JB's for breakfast. I thought if I ate a good breakfast, I could skip lunch and work straight through until supper. I did! I had scrambled eggs, corned beef hash, hash browns, and sourdough toast with three more cups of coffee. No, I didn't take a nap after that...

I hit the library and went straight to work. I worked on all my project families today. It was hard to plan out because I didn't know where the first pieces would lead. Two projects kinda bottomed out...just no records published or extracted from those locations. I will have to use alternate methods, such as direct letter writing and RAOGK (random acts of genealogical kindness).

I had mentioned that I wanted to research my Common and Cumine/Cummings families from the area around Rothbury in Northumberland England. I started that this evening. Parish records on file start very late, so I thought I was screwed on that. However, I found a book containing copies of The Rothbury Parish Magazine, which was put out by the local church every week in the 1890's and 1900's. In each issue they provide a list of old parish record entries of baptisms, marriages, burials. And they pre-dated the known catalogued records. The earliest mention of Common was the burial of Michael Common, son of Gilbert Common of Cornwall on May 21 1669. One of the other families from that era in my tree are the Joyce/Joicey group, which listed a christening of Christopher, son of William Joicey of Ffarneham on Jan 19 1658. There is also a microfilm copy of a compendium of these Magazine pages, but they are a bit out of focus and not in good order. There is an index to them, but there are multiple sets of page numbers on the individual pages and it is very confusing. Tomorrow I will spend a lot of time on this and see if I can grow the trees back a few more generations.

So I got to the library about 9:30 am and left at 7:45 pm. I went from Mahoning Co. OH to Pittsburgh PA to Edinburgh Scotland to Slidell LA to Carlisle and Ballard Counties KY to Putnam Co. TN to Atlanta GA to Carroll and Maury Counties in TN to Brainshaugh Northumberland England and finally settled in Rothbury Northumberland England. WHEW! I'm beat!

It was dark when I left, and I needed to get out and walk and get some food. I walked around southwest of downtown and passed a couple of places I've gone before. 1) they were packed; 2) I wanted something different; 3) it was nice outside to walk. So I wound up walking toward the Gateway Center and found Cafe Trang. It's a Vietnamese/Asian atmosphere. Wasn't too crowded, so I popped in. I ordered Vietnamese spring rolls with a peanut hoisin sauce and BBQ pork with snow peas with jasmine rice. The spring rolls were fantastic! They weren't deep fried, just a thin rice papaer wrapping around fresh veggies and steamed shrimp. The sauce was excellent! I'll have to get some for home. The BBQ pork was spicy with a hint of ginger and garlic. Not overpowering but bold enough to make you take notice. I had Hue Beer from Vietnam to cleanse the palate. A great meal!

I walked back through crowded streets. Families and kids are all going to Temple Square to see the lights and Nativity scene. I make those tours on Saturday and Sunday evenings....it is beautiful to see. Definitely photogenic sites!

I'll try to get some pics tomorrow. Spending all day in the library wasn't a picture site!

Walking tonight and I was thinking, this feels so right. Is SLC in the cards for me in the future???

Have a great evening!

Added a photo

I added a photo of the view from the hotel room at my pic blog

www.mbellpics.blogspot.com

All nice and cozy!

Checked into the hotel after a 30 minute wait for the shuttle form the airport, but it was complimentary!!! At least it wasn't bone-chilling cold. The pilot said it was 39. Just a few piles of snow around town. Nothing showing any recent snow.

Room is on the 10th floor overlooking Symphony Hall. The downtown streets are lined with blue lit trees. I'll post a pic later. Right now, I've unpack and getting ready to go get some all-you-can-eat shrimp down at JB's. Then next door to the library for a bit to re-orient myself with where everything is. There are 5 floors, broken down by geographic location. So will have to hit US, England/Scotland and Continental Europe. And yes, three different floors.

Hope things warmed up in Nashville today.

Off to eat...

A long walk!!

Of course my gate is at the farthest end of the airport!! A nice long walk!

I am ready!

Sitting here dressed, packed and ready to go! I don't want to leave and hang around the airport too long. Kinda boring there. Especially with the prices they charge! I could get two meals for that. I'd rather chill a bit at home and make sure everything is secure.

Flight leaves Nashville 12:30 pm and gets to Salt Lake at 4:45 pm with a 45 minute stop in Denver. Just enough time for a cup of coffee! Library is open until 9pm, so I'll get some looking done tonight. Staying at the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel, which is right next door to the Family History Library. How convenient!

Supposed to be in the low 40's there today, and same tomorrow with rain/snow showers. They took the rain out of the forecast for the weekend. So I can go exploring in the city Sunday without getting wet...

OK....so the adventure starts NOW!! Yeah, these days even the airport is an adventure!

Happy birthday to my godson Alex! He turns 19 today and is in Dallas at SMU.

Catch you from Salt Lake!!

I'm back!

Well, I have returned to my blog. Can't believe the last post was so long ago. A lot has happened since then...

So tomorrow I fly back out to Salt Lake City for my biennial trip. I am sooo needing to go and refocus. It has been a tough couple of months. Emotions have swelled and ebbed. I need to make some health decisions, life decisions, which way do I go decisions. Connecting with ancestors may help me out.

I finish packing tonight and putt off to the airport tomorrow for a 12:30 pm flight. Stop in Denver, then SLC. Back home the route on Monday.

I have four main projects and some of my own research to work on. Families include 2 Williams families, Brown and Jones/Peterson. My own research will focus on those ancient ancestors of mine named Cumine/Cummins/Cummings and Common. There may be some Scottish lineage in me after all! If any of you readers want me to look up something, let me know. I'll be at the library Thursday evening, Friday and Saturday. And I will have my laptop and iPhone.

Well, better finish up so I can get some rest and make the house look nice. I hate coming back from a trip to a nasty house!!

Hope your enjoy reading and thanks for keeping up with me!

Mark

My Summer Vacation -- Day 4

Tuesday August 4--

Finally, the day has arrived for the drive home! Been waiting a few months for today. I need to get back to my roots and ground myself again. The time in March helped, but I need more Chicago in my system!

We hit the road at 7:55 am and dropped off Meesha, mom and dad's dog, at the kennel on the way. We croosed from Tennessee into Kentucky at 8:48 am. The went into Illinois from Kentucky at Paducah at 10:18 am. Dad drove that first leg. We stopped at the Metropolis rest area to walk around and stretch. The temps are warm and muggy.

We got back on I-24 and merged into I-57. We exited at Benton IL and drove through town to Masonic and Oddfellows Cemetery where my great-grandfather, Antanas Vozgirdas, is buried. He died in March 1927 and is buried in an unmarked grave. We have talked about getting a marker for him, and did so again. The monument company is right outside the cemetery gate. My great-grandmother, Petronele Nasvytaite Vozgirdiene, is buried in Belleville IL, acroos from St. Louis. They lived in East St. Louis IL and she died in 1910. Antanas and my grandfather, Mike, walked the railroad track to Benton after she died.

We were back on the road and saw a backup on the other side of the interstate that went about 7 miles. Glad it was southbound instead of northbound! Have to check to see if it is still only one lane when we go back. If so, I'll take a side road from Mt. Vernon to Benton or West Frankfort to avoid the traffic.

We stopped at KFC Buffet in Mt. Vernon IL for lunch. Mmmm...chicken livers!! Back on the road to Sigel and the Moto Mart for gas. Always stopped here on the trips when we still lived in Chicago. Station is still there. We got unleaded for $2.48. Everywhere else was more than $2.65. Here in Chicagoland the average price looks to be $2.79. When we got out of the car the temp felt like 65! It really cooled down. That felt great!

Stopped for a stretch again before Champaign IL. The skies were overcast and a few sprinkles. The temps stayed cool, but as we moved closer to the city, it started warming up again. We had just missed the bad storms that came through Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky.

Finally, we exited I-57 at 159th St. We drove through my old hometown of Midlothian. Drove past our old house. Wow the houses on the block look great! Even ours has gutters now! Drove through the business district and tried to remember what was where. A lot has changed.

NExt we had to get to Oak Brook from the Southwest suburbs at 5:00pm--rush hour. I decided to go west on 143rd to Wolf Rd. And then Wolf north to Cermak (22nd). I figurd it would be less congested the further west I got. I just didn't know if Wolf went all the way through. So we wound through Midlo and then Oak Forest. Passed by Batchelor Grove...the most haunted spot in Chicagoland.. Went through Orland and finally hit Wolf. It worked from 143rd to 123rd. The I had to backtrack as Wolf dead-ended. Went less than a mile before I hit 108th Avenue. I got on it and it was a great drive through the forest preserves. Very nice, shaded, few cars. Took it to Ogden, then Ogden back to Wolf and Wolf to Cermak and Cermak to Windsor and WE ARE HERE!!!

We unpacked and registered. Then since it was almost 8 pm, we decided to get something to eat. We went back to Cermak and Wolf to Buona Beef and got good ol' Italian Beef Sandwiches. They hit the spot! I had the combo--Italian Beef and Italian Sausage. Then came back to the hotel and went to the bar area and sat and jabbered with my fellow Knights. I finally ahd to call it a night because I had the trip to Springfield and the Lincoln Museum and Library to go to. I had to be up at 5:30 am to be ready to go at 6:30 for a bus departure at 7 am. So I finally amde it to bed after 11:30.

What a full day! And I go to bed happy to be back home!

My Summer Vacation -- Day Three

Monday August 3--

Today was a catch-all day. I needed to finish packing for the trip, had some meetings in Nashville and Green Hills, had to take out the trash at church and count the Sunday collection with Jim and Mike. Then drive to Mom and Dad's to spend the night so we could leave early on Tuesday.

I finished packing with room to spare! Everything fit and I didn't have a lot of extra stuff in separate bags.

My meetings went well and I am on my way with this current project! Now just waiting on the go-ahead.

Trash went out in record time and collection is counted and deposited.

On to the folks! And the trip in the morning.

An early beginning for Day Five

I am awake and ready for a trip to Springfield Illinois! Going to see Abe today! Bus leaves at 7 am, so gotta be ready by 6:30. Be back by 5:00 pm? Yeah, right! Lithuanians on time????

More when I get back!