Detroit Rock City

Although I was sad to be leaving Cleveland, we had to get moving on to our next stop: Detroit! I'll admit, I was a little scared. But we never actually went into the city.

There is a lot of cool stuff to see outside of Detroit, such as the Henry Ford Museum, which was recommended by my dad.

The museum houses such gems as:

An original McD's sign

The car in which JFK was shot. The hard top was added later because, and this is a little freaky, they continued to use this car to transport presidents. Seriously.

Josh got to pretend to steer a locomotive.

Josh's dad, grandfather and an uncle
are all railroaders for Union Pacific.

I got to pretend to be a Barnstormer

George Washington's camp cot

The chair Lincoln was sitting in when he was assassinated. Yes, that's blood on the back.

The actual bus in which Rosa Parks refused to move to the back.

She was sitting where Josh is sitting.

Here I am being caged by the bonds of patriarchy in the Women's Liberation exhibit

Of course, there were also Model Ts. This exhibit shows how they were constructed.

There was an exhibit about how homelife changed over the century. I'm standing in the '80s room, which reminded me of my sisters' rooms.

This exhibit made me nostalgic for life in high school.

The Weinermobile

The infamous Detroit Josh Dog

We're probably going to have to come back because the museum has a second part, Greenfield Village, which was closed due to the season.

Thankfully, the Detroit temple is not actually in Detroit but Bloomfield Hills, which is a very affluent suburb.

It was snowing a little.

Although it's in a nice area, this temple is small and pretty plain. It was built in 1999, which makes it similar to all of the other small temples built at that time (e.g. Palmyra). We did, however, get to see how they trained temple workers (basically just by job shadowing).

Temple #40, yo.

We were in Detroit for less than 24 hours, and then went off again with Chicago in our sights!

What's that smell? It's Cleveland!

I had never been to Cleveland, had never considered visiting Cleveland, and didn't imagine I would have feelings about Cleveland at all. So I was shocked to discover that I loved Cleveland. Like, I immediately began looking up internship sites in the area so we could move there next year.

Here is why:

Cleveland looks like a city following a zombiepocalypse. Although we were walking around during rush hour, there was practically no one on the streets (and not because the streets are Philadelphia-scary either!) The city is clean. I didn't get yelled at by homeless people. There was little traffic. For a misanthrope like myself, this seems like the perfect place for me.

Cleveland has some really cool public art and it's everywhere. I discovered so many things to look at-- on sidewalks, on buildings, on the huge lawn down the street from our hotel. I loved it.

Cleveland has the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame, which, though it was fun to visit, I doubt I'll ever plan to go again. But it is amazing, and Portland doesn't have anything nearly as cool.

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but we did take several outside:

It looks a little like the Louvre, which prompted Josh to make many Louvre-related jokes.

Josh was excited for the "W" from Weezer's concert shows

And one covert (and, frankly, unflattering) shot inside a listening booth:

We were listening to our favorite one-hit wonders, which included MC Hammer, Four Non Blondes, and Eiffel 65. And we may have been dancing. A lot.

Cleveland also has one of the best restaurants in the whole-wide-world (and I'm only being slightly hyperbolic), Melt Bar & Grilled. Josh insisted we go there as it was featured on both Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Man vs. Food.

They serve different types of grilled cheese sandwiches, where I ate the summer chicken (havarti cheese and garlic!) and my first-ever fried Twinkie (not as good as I had imagined):

We also went on an impulsive, last-minute trip to find Lilly Pulitzer, which my new favorite clothing store, because there aren't any stores near Portland and I wanted to try on some dresses. It involved driving top-speed to the suburbs, running through a mall only to discover we were in the wrong place, driving to a different mall (across the street), and rushing into the store 10 minutes before it closed. They were really nice about it, even though it was a completely jerky thing for me to do. (I hurried, I promise!)

For the rest of the trip, I mourned the loss of Cleveland. It turns out that I am still a midwest girl at heart.

One last picture:

The Soldiers and Sailors monument downtown

We then went on to Detroit, which I liked a lot less than Cleveland, but will write a blog post about soon anyway.

Kirtland Temple: Basement to Belltower

On our third day, we made the long drive from Toronto to Kirtland, Ohio (passing Buffalo, NY, where Josh saw a building he admired and I spent an hour on Wikipedia trying to figure out what it was called. (Long story short, it was this one).

Josh signed us up for the "backstage tour" of the temple, but first we went on the regular tour with two other families-- one with four teenagers and the other with three kids. Some background: when I got dressed in the morning, I agonized over whether I should wear a dress. "It's a temple," I told myself. "I should show some respect!" But then I reasoned, "It's no longer used as a temple, just as a meeting house. I would wear jeans to the church (not on Sunday)!" Plus we were driving 4 1/2 hours, etc. etc. So we wore jeans. When we saw the other people on the tour, I was convinced there was no way they could be church members because they were practically wearing pajamas (well, basketball shorts, sweatshirts, flip-flops). There were a few other reasons I was embarrassed that these people are church members: 1. One of the teens fell asleep while our guide was talking, 2. One of the other teens asked a very stupid, very judgmental-sounding question about "What makes RLDS different from LDS?", and 3. The mothers of the same family asked whether a hymnbook that the tour guide was passing around was the actual hymnbook that Joseph Smith used. Um, what?

Here are some things, folks: the idea that "there are no stupid questions" no longer applies when you are 45 and in front of actual adults who actually heard what you just said out loud. Further, just because the Community of Christ is no longer affiliated with your church does not mean that they are dumb enough to be passing around priceless, antique artifacts from the 19th century for you to get your Twinkie fingers all over. Also, if you are going to take time out of your life to drive more than 15 minutes to a location of historic significance to your religion, please, PLEASE educate your kids at least a little bit about the organization that maintains it, especially if it's also of historic significance to your own religion!


Also, put on real clothes in public. I mean, seriously, show some respect. Even if you apparently have no knowledge of the Community of Christ church, you must at least be aware that it's a place of significance and reverence, otherwise you wouldn't have bothered to show up. Spend the 30 seconds it takes to put on some pants over your pjs, brush your hair, and be nice. Obviously, this was a subject about which Josh and I spent a lot of time discussing. And now about the temple...

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but you can see some pictures here. It's pretty amazing to be in any historic building, but to know the history of this temple, the sacrifices people made for it to be built, and then to stand inside (and under and on top) of it was an experience that I think every LDS (and RLDS) person should have. During our "behind-the-scenes" tour, Josh and I were able to stand in the basement and touch the tool marks, see where improvements have been made, see where mistakes were made, and know that we were touching materials that the Prophet and other early members touched. Then we climbed into a crawlspace above the first-floor meeting room and saw how the ceiling was constructed to allow maximum air movement during the summer and heat-containment during the winter (among other architecture-related elements). Finally, we went up into the belltower to peek at the bell and look at the roof. We were allowed to take pictures of the roof.

And the view:

Not much going on in Kirtland. (Shocker).

One of the coolest parts of our tour was in the belltower. I noticed that people had scratched their names into the wood and we asked our tour guide about that. He said that they used to just let people roam the temple, unaccompanied, and so people would deface the wood. When we looked closer, we realized that some of the names had dates, and some of those dates were early 20th century. That was pretty cool. (Of course it also means that people were douchebags who defaced temples even in 1903).

The belltower, safely from the ground

Both of us were showered and not wearing sweatshirts.

Because that's how the ShepAlders roll, temple syle.

I need to say, because we also went to RLDS-run sites in Nauvoo, that the tour guides and people who work at these places must deal with a lot of stupid LDS church members who ask a lot of mean, pointed questions, because it happened on both of our tours. There are a few times where I've been embarrassed about the culture of my church and church members (note that I did not say that I was embarrassed about church doctrine or my membership in the church. The culture and the doctrine are very different things), and these interactions were two major ones. Please, PLEASE, if you go to either of these places (Kirtland or Nauvoo) and take tours, be respectful. I can understand that it would be difficult when you are so self-satisfied and smug, but please don't say things like, "How could you possibly believe that?" or laugh derisively when your 60-year-old tour guide tells you that their church members don't believe that Joseph Smith had multiple wives. Don't snottily refer to websites that "prove" otherwise. Don't roll your eyes when the guide is bearing his heartfelt testimony to you about how Joseph Smith's son, not Brigham Young, was a true prophet. Just because you don't feel the same way does not make their feelings any less valid. Shame on you.

After our pleasant tour, we drove to Cleveland, where I immediately fell in love. But that's for a different blog post...

P.S. I'm sorry that this was so ranty, but I was really bothered by the whole thing, and I've had time to stew.

Oh, Canada!

After Palmyra, we spent the night in Niagara Falls. My only knowledge of NF comes from my favorite tv show and a Marilyn Monroe movie, I was surprised to find that it is so full of douchebags and casinos. They (the nefarious Canadian government, I assume) shine lights on the falls at night, which, if there wasn't so much Niagaramist might be beautiful.

Two decades too late for a Stephen King thriller (and, yes, I know it's a different kind of mist-- don't be such a literalist)

The view from our room was uh-mazing. 

The next morning we drove to Toronto. Josh kept saying things like, "Wow! They have Home Depot in Canada?!" I thought he was kidding, but apparently his mind was truly blown. On our way to the temple we got extra-special lost because our cellphones roam outside of the country and we didn't want to pay more for the GPS. But once we found ourselves at the CN tower we knew we had gone too far. 

The Toronto temple is surprisingly plain. I got lost (of course) and almost ended up in someone's office before a temple worker stopped me. We also almost headed toward the baptistry, which is in the basement, before someone said, "Are you really going to the baptistry?" 

This temple is not one of my favorites, but I like that the writing on the temple is also in French.

Later that night we got to have dinner with our BNAT friend Heidi. She took us on a walking tour and showed us all the things we missed about Toronto by only staying less than 24 hours.

Although we drove past it, and although Josh talked about it nearly non-stop before our trip, we did not go to the CN Tower. Oh well. Next time....

30 Books Before I'm 30: Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility 

by Jane Austen

"Elinor agreed to it all, for she did not think he deserved the compliment of rational opposition."

It turns out that I have read this book, hated it, and repressed the memory. This is definitely not one of Austen's better works. Her characters are not exceptionally believable (or likable), and I didn't care whether the sisters ultimately ended up with their rich-but-humble love interests. They do, of course, but    is there a less likable character than Marianne Dashwood? Blech. How could anyone, let alone two handsome bachelors, want to marry her? So, thank you Jane Austen, for perpetuating the myth that you can have a crummy personality and yet still get married as long as you're attractive.

Things I Liked: Austen novels are generally feel-good and uncomplicated. Bad people get comeuppanced and good people get married.

Things I Didn't Like: I hated the characters. Also, everyone has the same name because they are all related, and, yes, it was confusing.

This Book Would be Best If Read: In an airplane, on a long car-ride, NOT in the gym (once again).

If you Liked This Book, You May Also Like: Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Mansfield Park, Jane Eyre (pretty much all the books that make for teary-eyed, Friday night PBS/BBC-watching)

This Book Wins My Award For: Resulting in the most boring 30BBI30 review so far. (Super sorry. This book was just as boring to read as it was to review).

Up Next: Women of Covenant (for reals this time) 

14 down, 16 to go!

Oh How Lovely Was the Morning

For Spring Break, Josh and I took a Church History Tour, starting in Palmyra and ending in St. Louis. We took the red-eye from Portland and ended in Rochester, then immediately(!) drove to Peter Whitmer's farm in Fayette, NY.

For those who don't know, my religion was officially organized on this spot in 1830. The real building is no longer standing, but this recreated cabin is on the spot of the original foundation. The first church meeting took place in front of this fireplace:

They now have a meeting house on the farm grounds. Can you imagine your ward meeting on the site where the church was organized? Craziness!

The visiting center and chapel

We got a little shock driving through town when someone was driving ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD! Apparently that's the way they do it in upstate NY. 

We then went to the Hill Cumorah, where we saw this christus in the visitor's center:

And we hiked to the top of the hill:

The cool thing about being there was seeing that this hill is super narrow and a great vantage point. Josh said he could imagine watching a battle because you can see forever on both sides.

There was also a statue of what is supposed to be Moroni:

(Even though he has a beard)

Also, the Hill Cumorah is A LOT steeper than you would think. 

Then we went to the E.B. Grandin printing shop, where the first 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon were published:

I have to say that there were some really lovely sister missionaries at all of these sites, but the girl at the the E.B. Grandin store was pretty awesome. She even lifted up the cloth on the fake plates so Josh could take a picture:

She was my favorite, and I especially loved her owl earrings

Then we went to the site of the Smith family farm, where there is the reconstructed log cabin:

And the reconstructed room where Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith (again):

The Palmyra temple overlooks the farm:

We also went to the Sacred Grove:

Where Josh took these creepy, stalkery pictures:

We then did a session at the Palmyra temple (#38!). It's a smaller temple, similar to Reno, Medford, Kona, etc., so I didn't get lost. The session was ridiculously full and they had to bring in folding chairs for pretty much every possible space.

The major defining feature of this temple is the stained glass of the grove:

It also has a window in the lobby where you can look out onto the grove:

from the outside (we do NOT take pictures inside the temple)

We were pretty severely jet-lagged so, despite wanting to be awake and attentive, Josh and I both fell asleep during the session. It was pretty embarrassing when the woman next to me had to shake me awake. 

After the session, we drove to Niagara Falls, where we stayed in a beautiful hotel overlooking the falls. We're definitely going back there again.

Acupunctured

In my (seemingly) neverending quest to decrease stress and headaches, I started going to an acupuncturist about a month ago. Usually it feels really good, but this last time it hurt a little.

And it resulted in this weird bruise.

Pity me. I need pity today.