Super Trip

Hey Everybody! Yogurl and I just got back from our big trip that we have been planning since before we got married. Mostly it went smoothly, but there were a few hiccups.

We drove early to MCRD where we were told by a friend that we could park the car and call a cab. Well, they wouldn't let the cab on base, so we had to walk over to greet the cab at the front gate. Then the gate guard tells us that if we don't have a parking permit, we'll get towed. So I run down to the PMO shack and get the permit, but then it turns out I have to park at the other end of base. Fortunately, it all worked out so that we got to our gate at the airport right as our flight to Montreal started boarding. Of course, our seats got messed up so that we weren't sitting next to each other. It worked out OK because a guy sitting next to Yogurl didn't mind switching seats with me.
We picked up a rental car in Montreal and drove to Quebec City. This picture shows me going 114. Yikes thats fast! The real problem started when we tried to get gas and my VISA was denied. I tried calling them, but they were closed for the night. I was able to get a hold of the Discover people, but nobody in Quebec takes Discover. Anyway, we got up to Quebec City just fine, and though my VISA wouldn't work at stores, I could get cash from ATMs.
Everything went pretty smoothly after that. We rode the Metro (the Subway) the whole time we were in Montreal, which Yogurl actually enjoyed. No offense to Boston, but the Metro was a lot better than the T, in my opinion. The T is the bottom train picture.
We took a Greyhound bus from Montreal to Boston, which was actually a really nice mode of travel, since it wasn't too far of a distance.
Our trip home went super smooth, even though the flight was a little long. It was really cool watching the sunset while flying though. It looked like a sunset as it set behind the clouds, and then reappeared between the cloud layers and the ground. I thought it looked pretty awesome. Anyway, it was a great trip.

Exciting and Exotic Foods

This is the dim sum brunch we ate in Boston's Chinatown. Amanda and Manburger were very excited. My digestive system didn't really go for Chinese as a first meal and Luke's system was crying out for American food very shortly after this picture was taken. There were all kinds of fun Chinese dumplings and buns and even a chicken foot of which both Amanda and Luke were brave enough to take a bite.

Here we have some slices of the best and most authentic pizza I've ever had. And it was a major deal! Manburger and I were well feed for under $15. These slices shown are Sicilian style with a wonderfully thick crust and fun veggie toppings.
Here I am enjoying a croque monsieur (a sandwich with ham and cheese and herbs) and some of the best darn pastries ever. The one I'm taking a bite of is an almond-chocolate croissant. If calories were free, I think Manburger and I would have one everyday. So delicious!

Next up are our first French foods of the trip. Our first day in Quebec City, we had crepes for breakfest. Mine is the apple and cheese one on the left and Manburger's is the egg, cheese, and bacon one.

Below is Manburger holding up how a gallon of milk is packaged in Quebec. This one big bag has three smaller bags inside. Milk is served by pouring the contents of the bag into a pitcher.


Here are two pictures of wonderful poutine. You're probably thinking, what on earth is that? Well, it's a dish of fries, cheese curd, and gravy. And even more amazing is that I actually ate some of it and enjoyed it. The photo with Manburger is him eating his first poutine since getting off his mission. Oh, how he missed it! The second photo is my favorite kind of poutine, Italian style. Instead of being made with gravy, it has tomato sauce. This particular Italian poutine had a nice chunky sauce with lots of tomato pieces. Don't knock it till you've actually tried some in Quebec.
Another crazy and yummy Montreal food is smoked meat. This picture is taken at Schwartz's, considered to be the top smoked meat joint in Montreal. Smoked meat is beef brisket that is smoked until it's super moist and tender. We waited twenty minutes in some pretty heavy rain to just to eat at Schwartz's. It was delicious, but after eating one of these sandwiches I had reached my red meat quota for the month.

Boston is Wicked Cool

Boston was the last leg of our trip and it was really great. We got to take a tour of Harvard, but we forgot our camera when we were in the really nice part--the business school. I really felt out of place there, never having had a butler or tied a cashmere sweater about my shoulders as I played squash.

There was a place were Yogurl saw some Lilac that was too high for her to reach so she performed the rarely seen jupming sniff maneuver. This picture is just a re-enactment. Rest assured, though, it was a truly awe inspiring move.

We went to the North End, where we had the best Italian food I have ever had. I have never been a big fan of Italian food, but this stuff was delicious. We also visited Paul Revere's House, but he wasn't home at the time.

While we were there, we took a duck tour. They are tours done in old amphibious landing craft from WWII. The tour was packed with tweenies from some Junior High, but miraculously they behaved. The tour guide was hilarious, and we had a lot of fun.

The real reason we went to Boston, though was of course to visit the Petertammenson family and see little Laurel. She looks so different now from when we saw her before. She is such a happy little baby, always smiling and giggling.

Montreal

Being in Montreal was unreal. I felt like I needed to run after everybody and tell them about the Book of Mormon. It was weird not to have everybody treat me like I had a disease, either. Turns out that the people there are really friendly.

Our hotel was located right downtown, so we spent most of our time just walking around downtown, stuffing our faces every chance we got. We did do a few worthwhile things though. We went to the Parc Olympique, which is where the Olympics were held way back in 1976. There is a domed building there that has been converted into the Biodome. It is like a small zoo, but way cooler. They have four distinct areas that are all climate controlled to match the real ecosystem, including seasonal changes. So when we walked into the rainforest area, we got sweaty really fast. It was awesome. The Olympic Park also has a big tower that you can pay to ride to the top of. It is like 600 feet tall, and since the whole area is really flat, you could see for miles and miles. Plus, it looked like a roller coaster going up.

In the middle of Montreal, which is an island in the St Lawrence River by the way, is Mount Royal, which is really just a glorified hill. It was still fun to walk around Mount Royal park, because it is a big park right next to downtown and it offered awesome views of the city.

We also visited St Josephs Oratory, which features one of the largest domed ceilings in the world. The pictures really don't do justice to how massive it is. The wooden stairs in the middle are reserved for people to walk up the stairs on their knees, saying a Hail Mary or some other prayer every step of the way. On our way out of the oratory, we saw a few people doing it, but I obviously didn't harrass them by taking their pictures. I guess they think they'll be healed or forgiven of their sins if they go all the way up kneeling. Yogurl didn't like the Oratory too much, especially not the part where they have a preserved heart that belonged to a priest who used to be there. Yuck.

The best part of course, was seeing past investigators. This is my buddy Constantinos, or Costa, who got baptized just after I left the area. I guess he just needed a decent missionary to get him to commit. He is still doing great four years later.

Vive le Quebec Libre!

Quebec City was really awesome. It has a much more European feel to it than Montreal does. Part of that is because there is very little English in Quebec City, but more so because the buildings are really old and just have a French look to them. We mostly stayed in the area of Old Quebec, which is completely surrounded by an old stone wall, to protect against the British. Well, they lost anyway and that is why the Queen is on all their money, suckers.



The huge beautiful building in the pictures is the Chateau Frontenac. It was built originally as lodging for the trans-Canadia railroad. It has 618 rooms, and it is fabulous inside. We took a tour with tour guides who were dressed in clothes from the period. We took the English tour, so Yogurl got to giggle at the French-Canadian accent the whole time. Yogurl's favorite part was the the Chateau has its own dog that guests can take for walks if they want.



The next day we went up to Montmorency falls, which are even taller than Niagara Falls, though not nearly as wide. There was a huge staircase near it to take you to the top, but we didn't feel like getting soaked, so we took the lift.

Times They are a Changin'

It's definitely been a while since we posted, so here's the latest scoop. Manburger turned 25 about 2 weeks ago; finally reached his 1/4 century mark! I made the oh so delicious Elvis Cake for his birthday and we enjoyed nibbling at it for the next few days afterwards. Maybe I'm weird, but there is something totally delicious about cold chocolate cake. (I had to keep it in the fridge b/c they were fresh banana slices in the middle). Here's a picture of Manburger getting ready to blow out the birthday candles. Also in honor of Manburger's birthday, we used some free movie tickets his parents sent us and saw Ironman on its opening weekend. I have to say I enjoyed the movie about as much as he did. Ironman is one cool superhero!

One weekend Manburger and I went up to Oceanside to get his hair cut and discovered that they were having some kind of city art festival. So while Manburger was at the barber I walked around and found a picture I just had to have. I was amazed I actually found something I liked, b/c a lot of the artwork was not my taste or just not that well done. So the picture I bought is a extreme close-up of a section of Pietersite. The artist uses the same technique and equipment that Bill Atkinson uses. When Mommy and Daddy toured the Gemological Institute with us, we say a collection of Mr. Atkinson's photos. I really wanted to buy one, but then discovered that his cheapest ones sold for $400 (http://www.billatkinson.com/). This guy at the Oceanside festival had a decent sized photo for $40. So I bought it. Take a look, it looks like a crazy abstract painting, but it's actually stone.

Another fun thing that recently happened is that I got my hair cut. My stylist straightened my hair so she could check the even-ness of the layers. So this picture is the third time in my life I've had my hair straightened. Manburger wanted to know who the strange woman was that greeted him when he came home Friday. I definitely feel like I'm wearing a wig here. Tonight I will wash my hair, and Manburger will have his real wife back. Wow, you straight-haired folk have such smooth hair, it's so weird!