The Trip

 Oh hi kid,

We are currently at 35,000 feet somewhere over the middle of the country. We’re on the last row, I’m squished up against your mom, life can’t get better. I just skimmed last weeks letter, it seems so long ago, life already seems so different. This will be a longish letter, I’ll sort it out by days. I’ll also put some photos together from the days.

Monday: Departure 

Monday was a pretty hectic day. Your brothers left right at six. Mom sent them off with some breakfast burritos. It was poignant watching them drive down our street. I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. But as they say, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” I have a lot of confidence in you boys, whether it’s schooling, missions, or jobs. I know you’ll do beyond well.

I had three calls between my freelance work and the franchise search. I learned about the home restoration company. It has potential, and good territories, but I don’t know. I cranked out a bunch of freelance work, I hope I can keep it going. After that all got finished up, I got packed and ready to go.

Our neighbor Brandon Nelson took us. He’s Ryder’s dad. Ryder’s coming home in September. They have a couple of hunting trips planned so his homecoming might be later. Ryder has plans with a buddy to do work on foundations for his buddy’s dad. Doesn’t sound like he has school in his plans. I think with the advent of AI, a lot of kids are rethinking college. Brother Nelson is super nice and it was fun to get to know him better.

As brother Nelson dropped us off your mom and I looked at each other with the realization that it had been over 25 years since we traveled alone together. It seemed like we were leaving something behind. We had an all night flight with a layover in Charlotte. Everything was on time and the flights weren’t bad. The advantage to a red eye is that the airports are a little less crowded.

Tuesday: Hartford to New Haven.

I’ve never been to that part of the country before. On the plane mom sat next to a kid about Ben’s age who’s dad will be Ben’s Stake President, President Bacon. Of course mom chatted his ear off but it was fun to learn about the church in that area. That kid attended the student ward at Yale for about a year and loved it. I hope ben has a similar experience. 

After we deplaned and found the car rental. Mom is a great traveler. She does everything with energy and enthusiasm. She keeps me going and helps me be positive. Our car was a Kia Soul. Very similar to Jacob’s just nine years more recent. We chose that to help Ben haul his stuff from Ikea. It’s a nice enough little car. We were starving so mom found a little hole in the wall restaurant in Hartford. It was good, they were super generous with the bacon so naturally we thought of you. By that time, Ben and Jacob were already well into the second day of their drive. I have to admit, I now agree that flying is better.

We stopped by a Sam’s Club in Hartford to get Ben a few items for his apartment. Mom had saved a bunch of points on her card. We were able to buy his mattress, a fan, some pillows, and a tv, along with some almonds and some freeze dried strawberries. We loaded up the back of that little Kia and headed to New Haven.

New Haven is a really cool place, as you will discover. But after no sleep and having a car full of stuff, driving those narrow streets was a little stressful. We found our hotel and let’s just say, it was horrible. It was under construction, noisy, and dusty. The desk staff seemed less than happy that we were there. Mom got a really bad feeling so we decided to see if we could cancel and find another hotel. We did this as we looked for Ben’s apartment. Finally I found a parking spot at a Walgreens where I could park and find another hotel. As soon as we did, a lot of that stress went away. It’s funny how the Holy Ghost guides us sometimes.

So we found the new hotel, a best western which was about 15 minutes from Ben’s apartment. Now, this was no high end hotel, but, it was much better and mom had a much better feeling about it. We got there too early to check in, so we had some time to kill. We found a Home Depot to get a simple tool kit, which came in very handy for putting his furniture together. On the way back from Home Depot we stumbled across the PEZ factory, so we went in. It was interesting enough, and we bought three ex presidents PEZ dispensers. Ulysses S. Grant, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton. We also got a bag of sour PEZ, which you would like.

We were finally able to get the stuff unloaded and checked into our hotel. Then we headed back to Ben’s street and walked around a little bit. We went to the Peabody Museum which is this really great natural history museum. On the way in we ran into the Elders in the area, one was from SLC. It was fun to chat with them and they are assigned to Ben’s ward. On the way out we found the Geo Science building which we assume is where Ben’s office will be. I’m so glad we can now picture what his new world is like. He said something funny whe he heard we were going there. He said “Don’t tell anyone that you know me!” Which is Ben code for, I’m going to be working with those people so don’t embarrass me. Now, understand, the Peabody Museum is world class and historically prominent in science. Your brother is going to be a part of that.

After, we got pizza slices at the pizzeria across the street from Ben’s place and had our first experience with New Haven pizza, which is evidently, world renowned. We walked around for a bit after that, then decided to call it a day. I slept really well that night. I never sleep well in hotels away from your mother, but I did on this trip with her.

Wednesday: Your brother’s arrival 

The boys got up really early because ben had to pick up his parking pass before 2:30, and they stayed in Ohio that night so they still had a long drive. So mom and I drove back to Ben’s street and visited the British Art Museum. That museum was okay, and I came across with some distinct impressions on British Art. Most of it was commissioned by rich people, and most of those people were not very attractive. There were some really cool paintings of lions hunting horses and one called The Deluge, which was truly haunting. There was also one of an aristocratic family where one of the daughters looked exactly like your cousin Katie. Most of the art was post renaissance but there was one gallery with a modern British artist who painted with squiggly, expressive paint strokes, phrases and crossed out words, and lots of red paint. My impression was that all of the traditional paintings represented the outward appearance and status of the people represented in the paintings and her art represented the inner emotions and turmoil of her experience. But then, I did have to take four years of art history so I would think of something like that.

After that we had signed up for a guided tour of the Yale Campus. They took us around and showed us the highlights. There were several cool things. The library was initially intended to be a cathedral, but Yale is a non denominational institution, but it still looks like a cathedral. There are several dormitories called colleges, where the first year students are required to live. They are all these medieval buildings that only open to the inner courtyards. The students are assigned randomly to each college, and each college has a name. It reminded me very much of Harry Potter.

By the time we were done with the tour your brothers had arrived at the parking garage office. After a safe drive they had their first disaster, a flat tire. Apparently Ben hit a curb pretty hard and tore the sidewall of his rear passenger tire.I can only imagine the frustration they felt after a 32 hour drive. But I was more than grateful that it happened there and not hundreds of miles from me or anything I could do to help them. I saw an answer to our prayers for a safe drive in that. They did have to unload the entire car to get to the spare and charge the thing right there in front of everyone. Finally they arrived at his parking garage which is a block or so from his apartment.

Mom and I were waiting in front of his building when they came walking up. They both had arm fulls of their stuff. I drove Ben back to his car and we loaded the rest into the Kia. The we drove back and carried it up. Ben’s apartment is on the second floor, so hauling his stuff up wasn’t too bad. His apartment is small, maybe about the size of our game room. It might be comparable in niceness to one of your less nice mission apartments. That, plus the lack of air conditioning, made it seem a little somber. 

After we got everything hauled up I called around to some local tire stores. We went back to his car and grabbed the flat, wheel and all, and put it in the back of the Kia. I found a Firestone and they had one tire left in his size, they got it mounted up really fast. The guy there was super nice and we chatted the whole time it was getting mounted. He was a local guy and he was genuinely impressed when I told him about Ben being accepted into that program. He recommended a few pizza places nearby, which happened to be the ones your brothers had researched, so off we went for the world famous New Haven Pizza.

We went to a place called Frank Pepe’s . It’s probably the most well known. Now New Haven pizza is known for its thin crust baked in super hot coal fired ovens. It’s really thin and the toppings are not piled high. It’s different from the pizza I’m used to. Mom made a new friend there who kept recommending pizzas, but your brothers had done their research and knew what they wanted. We got a fresh tomato pizza, which was sweet tomatoes over a really light sauce with hardly any cheese, and a clam pizza with cheese, white sauce and clams. Now, I’m just a geezer from Utah, but my initial impressions were, “what’s the big deal, the Pie is way better?” But the more I ate it the more I understood that this was a completely different style, so I tried to experience it for what it was. At first I preferred the clam pizza because it was closer to our traditional pizza. But by my third slice, I was really enjoying that tomato pizza and I was starting to gain some appreciation for New Haven thin crust.

After that, we drove back to Ben’s car to get the new tire mounted. It gives me comfort to do that stuff for you boys. With the tire fixed, we took both cars to IKEA to pick up the furniture Ben had ordered. It’s a good thing too because the boxes filled both of the little cars. Ben bought a bed frame, a dresser, a table with four chairs, a bookshelf, and a little end table thing. We went back and hauled them to Ben’s apartment.

Jacob wanted a shower in our hotel room so we left Ben and mom to unpack and start putting some of the furniture together. We stopped at Walmart to get some water and an air mattress for Ben’s apartment. I figured you boys will be staying with him over the years so you may as well be a little bit comfortable. By the time we got back I could tell your brothers were exhausted so mom and I left back to the hotel.

Thursday: Boston 

Somehow Jacob convinced us to take a ride up to Boston. It’s about three hours from New Haven so why not. Mom and I got up and had breakfast at our hotel. Your mom made your brothers these enormous bagel breakfast sandwiches with eggs, two sausage patties, and roasted potatoes. They were huge. We picked your brothers up and off we went. The part of Connecticut and Massachusetts we drove through is rolling hills and trees, it’s green everywhere and you can’t really see much until you get to the city. Boston is a really cool place. We found a parking garage and went look for the start of the famous Boston Freedom mtrail. It’s a trail that highlights many of the historic sites in Boston. We found the start of the trail after about a two mile walk. They were giving paid guided tours there (which we had no intention of paying for.) but mom did start chatting with one of the tour guides who was dressed in colonial garb complete with a wool coat and a triangle hat. He asked where we were from and when mom told him he asked if we were “Latter Day Saints.” When we said yes he got really excited and told us he played Joseph Smith in some of the church film from the late 90s. Not the big one that played in the Joseph Smith building theater, but some of the smaller ones. I didn’t recognize him.

The walk and the sites on the trail were interesting, we saw buildings and churches and cemeteries, those old cemeteries look legit for Halloween decorations. We read a lot of plaques and listened to an on line guided tour. Now your old Utah dad usually doesn’t mind the heat, but with the high humidity of the east coast, I looked, felt like, and probably smelled worse than a wet dog. But it was really fun to vacation like that and explore a really cool city. After a while we got hungry and we all decided we wanted seafood, which is rare for your mother and I. Last time I was in Boston I had clam chowder in the airport, and it was delicious. We found a place by the marina that was well regarded and tried it. I had a cup of clam chowder and the fish and chips, the chowder was incredible and the fish was really good. Mom got a bowl of clam chowder and a salad, and your brothers got lobster rolls, which they seemed to really enjoy,

After lunch we finished the trail by crossing the Charles River to Bunker Hill. Bunker hill is a small hill, with a tall memorial obelisk on it. It was the heat of the afternoon by then and we had already walked six or so miles. I had no interest in climbing that stupid obelisk, but your mom did start chatting, and when someone that attractive asks you to do something with her, it’s hard to say no. 294 step up a cramped, stuffy spiral staircase only to be rewarded with a tiny, cramped, and crowded observation deck with teeny tiny windows. I could barely breathe. So down we went 294 steps to where we started, I was drenched and my legs were pure rubber. We walked back and found the car and drove back. On the way home we stopped by a random Walmart to get a few groceries and supplies for Ben’s apartment. Setting up house is more involved than I thought, even a small house. We got back, dropped off your brothers and the groceries, and went back to the hotel to shower and sleep. It had been a long, hot, fun day.

Friday: Assembly day. 

Friday we got up and went to Ben’s again. It was the day to assemble all of his furniture. Mom and Ben had put together the bed the night before and mom had started the table. That morning I finished the table and mom and Ben built the chairs. After those were done Ben assembled the bookcases and I started on the dresser. We got that stuff mostly done discovered that we needed a drill as some of the furniture was missing holes for the screws. So we took a break and drove to Home Depot where I bought the least expensive Ryobi drill that they had. Then we stopped by a couple of thrift stores to see if we could find a couch for Ben’s apartment. We didn’t, and even if we had we probably couldn’t have fit it in the car. 

By then it was way past lunch time so we went to another famous New Haven pizzeria, Sally’s Apizza (it’s really called apizza). This time we ordered another tomato pizza and a rosemary and potato pizza. They were very similar to the first place, but by now I knew what to expect so I enjoyed it more. 

After we were done, Ben had ordered a kitchen island and it was ready to pick up at the FedEx store. We wouldn’t have room in the car for everyone and the big box so mom and Jake walked the mile or so back while Ben and I picked it up. This box was the heaviest of all, so I was glad to park the car while your brothers hauled it up to Ben’s apartment. We all went up and started putting it together. Ben’s apartment does not have air conditioning. The fan we bought helps, but with four people in there, it was pretty uncomfortable. That island was a bear to put together. Mom and Ben put together the main assembly, and I did the sub assemblies. It took a while, but we got it done and I think it’s going to make the most of the space in Ben’s little studio apartment.

By then we were all sweaty, hot and tired, so we called it a night. That night’s shower felt so good.

Saturday: NYC

We had been planning all along to visit New York on this trip. Jacob bought Yankees tickets for an afternoon game so we were excited. We took the train from New Haven which is about a two hour ride. It was nice and I dozed most of the way. We got off at the famous Grand Central Station and it was just as big and busy as it is in the movies. We found the subway to the 911 memorial site and had a look around. The memorials we really impressive, far bigger than I had imagined. I also realized how old I am. When I was 23 in 1990 I visited NYC and the World Trade Center when I went there my senior year of college for a studio tour. We went to the top of the World Trade Center. Then 35 years later, 25 years after 911 I’m there looking at the memorial not really understanding how time works.

We didn’t have time before the game to go to the 911 museum, which I would very much like to visit. We decided to grab lunch—you guessed it, pizza, this time at Joe’s pizza, which, apparently, is also famous. This honestly was my favorite as we each bought our own slice. I got pepperoni with cheese, traditional thin crust, my favorite of the trip.

We got back on the subway and rode it all the way to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. It’s a really cool stadium. We were on the top tier, luckily in the shade on the first base side. Mom and I bought hats outside the stadium. I’m not really a baseball fan but this game was fun. The Yankees won 5-4 on an 8th inning home run. They have a really great relief pitcher named David Bednar, so obviously we became instant fans.

(We’re flying into Salt Lake  now and it looks puny compared to the places we’ve been. I’m going to have to finish this later)

After the game we wanted to go to the Empire State Building. We took the subway down there but for some reason didn’t go up. We did go into the lobby and saw the famous art deco mosaic of the building as featured in the movie Elf. It was very cool.

Then the boys decided to walk to Central Park. It was a long walk and we passed many NY landmarks. We got to the park and just kept on walking. There seemed to be many concerts and activities in the park. It was crowded with people having picnics and playing games. The park is really pretty. We ended up walking pretty much across it, Jacob wanted to see the Dakota, the building that John Lennon lived in when he was assassinated. It was a cool building and it felt kinda sad there. 

By then, we were getting tired and it was getting late. I was determined to eat a genuine NYC street hotdog. There were no end to our options so we just found ounce before we went down to the grand central station. I got mine with all of the toppings. Your brothers got the other thins there. Mom got a yeero. Well, all I can say is say is that we were charged $18 bucks extra for using a credit card. As for the flavor? Meh, I never need to do that again.

After we scarfed down our dinner we went down to grab the train. We all had to find the bathroom. Unfortunately for Jacob, he needed #2. He proclaimed that the WORST public bathroom he’d ever experienced. Mind you, he spent most of two years in Mexico City…go USA!

The train ride back to New Haven was full, luckily we got seats. Less luckily mom and I got seats facing the other passengers. They were folks about our age, the both slept most of the way with their mouths open, which was entertainment in its own right. After they got off, both your mom and I commented that they were members, we could see their garment lines. 

It was late when we got back so we dropped your brothers off and went back to our hotel.

Sunday: Travel day 

Well, Sunday was more accurately separation day, at least that’s how it felt to me. Mom and I got packed up a fed at the hotel, then we headed over to Ben’s apartment. Mom and I were planning on going to the local family ward after Ben and Jake left for Syracuse for the Bob Dylan concert. We planned on having an hour with them, but they were doing laundry which took a little longer than expected, so we got more time together. Ben had his apartment a little more together, and with the furniture assembled, it’s not half bad. I think he’s still arranging things so by the time you go for your visit, it should be even more homie.

Well, you know your brothers aren’t into long goodbyes, so, off they went. For your mom and I, it was (we thought) the end of the trip. Syracuse and Rome were still in their future. 

We had a little time so we went to the Yale museum of art, which is just the next block down fro Ben’s apartment. We learned on the tours that, while the buildings are old by our standards, they were designed to look even older. The art museum is made up of many different styles, but the first wing is very impressive with it’s vaulted ceilings and arches. The art is really great, but two things were going through my head the whole time I was looking at it. The first was Indiana Jones screaming the “THIS BELONGS IN A MUSEUM!” The second this was that for the most part, these things were stolen from where they were found. There was also a lot of ancient christian art. It’s amazingly emotional an demonstrative. It’s interesting to me that a lot of that is missing from modern worship. I think thats why we are encouraged to build or own relationships with God.

After, I had wanted to try  best burger in New Haven. Apparently, new haven has the restaurant that introduced the burger as we know it to the US, but it was closed for a month. Well, as for the “best burger”, I think a burger from Chili’s is probably superior. East coasters think their food is so superior, I don’t buy it dude. 

After that it was just head to the airport. We gassed up and cleaned out the rental, and checked in. Mom was in charge of logistics for this trip and I noticed her tensing up as time passed. The departure time for our flight kept slipping. We only had 40 minutes for ur next flight, so we got the feeling that we were in for a long day.

Well, it was late, and by the time we got to Philadelphia, our flight was long gone. Seems there was a rash of late flights. They sent us to a long line with really upset people who had all missed there flights. One flight to Amsterdam was two hours in and had to turn back, people were mad, ladies and girls were crying, men wire swearing. It’s amazing to me that two generations ago it took months to travel what we do in hours and we get so upset. We got to the front of the line and we just decided to be nice. The airline had already sent us a hotel voucher and a meal voucher. The lady at the desk recommended a hotel and told us where to find the shuttle. Mom didn’t need to be at work on Monday and me? Well, you know. The desk lady was able to find a direct flight home for us instead of the one with a four hour layover that the system had given us, we snatched it up. It didn’t leave till seven pm, so, we decided to make a day of it.

Monday: Philadelphia

The next day we got up, had another Hotel breakfast, mom made friends with a random lady we met in the elevator. Normal stuff. We took the shuttle back to the airport to catch the train into town. The train system there is pretty easy to navigate. I was super impressed by the train conductor. He was a large black man that was simultaneously super forceful and incredibly kind. He literally helped everyone on the train, he’s kind of my new hero.

We went to see Independence Hall. We lucked onto a tour and it was really cool to see where the constitution was signed, right down to George Washington’s chair and where Thomas Jefferson sat. Then we went over to see the Liberty Bell. There was a long line, we had to go through the security gates. There were a lot of sweaty tourists there. We waded through a long line to see…a bell. Not sure that was worth it. I wanted a Philly Cheesesteak sandwgfg. The two famous places were about a mile and a half away. Mom had heard about this market, the Reading Market. That was much closer to the train station back to the airport, so we went there. 

I’m not sure how to describe the Reading Market. Think of it as an enormous foodcourt. But instead of crappy chain restaurants, it was full of high end Delis, bakeries, and food places. It was packed with people, all kinds of people from blue color workers, tourists, and families. Mom and I decided to divide and conquer. She wanted a brisket sandwich from a German Deli and I wanted a Philly cheesesteak. We etch got it and shared. Mine was better, but moms brisket was really good. It just had too many of the sour German toppings I don’t love. We walked around a little more and mom got some really good pastries that I was happy to share with her. 

By then, we didn’t really have enough time to do anything big, so we worked our way back to the train, hotel, and airport. We had plenty of time, so it was low stress. The rest of the trip was as it should have been. I was always a little afraid of Philadelphia. They have a reputation for being rude, for it being unsafe. But our experience was that we met the most friendly people, they we kind and helpful. But the thing that I found, was that they were genuine. I would love to go back there.

Well, that’s the trip. It was a lifetime experience. Our lives are different now with Ben being out there. I’m really grateful that We were able to see visit. The next big milestone for us is your return, which I am getting very excited for. Mom’s ready with your food plan. I know Ben is excited for you to come visit him.

I’ll get back to my normal boring letters now.

Love,

Pops