the states: indiana: a family gathering in bloomington

Unfortunately, this trip was due to a death in the family. Since my family wanted to have as many of us at the memorial as possible, it was scheduled several months later. 

I started with a loooong day of traveling. Three flights to get to Bloomington, Indiana; from Kyiv to Amsterdam, then to Detroit, then to Indianapolis. The last flight was slightly delayed, but not nearly as much as it might've been. 

My uncle (whom I hadn't seen since fall 2012,) met me at the airport, and we picked up his rental car. From there we drove to Bloomington, only having to turn around twice. Whoops! Even though the airport in Indianapolis is probably 10 years old, I've only gone from it to Bloomington one other time. Most of the time I fly into Chicago. 

Anywho, we arrived at home safe and sound, then immediately turned around and went out to dinner. I love steak, I was happy :) 

By the time we got home from dinner my body was completely confused as to what time it was, but I stayed awake chatting until after midnight. Ooops. That didn't help with jet lag. 

I was wide awake the next morning at 0630, argh. It wasn't light outside and no one else was awake. I putzed around and found cereal for breakfast, cheerios for the win!!

Eventually everyone else was awake, and dad went to pick up a couple more arrivals. They came back to Bloomington, and we all said our hellos. I hadn't seen one cousin since January 2014, and an aunt since fall 2000. Clearly my family is not so good about getting together regularly. 

Dad had something else to do, so I took an uncle, an aunt, and a cousin to see one of the more unique sights in Bloomington. (One the way we stopped at a bookstore so I could buy a guidebook.)

Most people don't know that the brother of the Dalai Lama lived in Bloomington for many years, until he died in ........ During his years in the city he taught at Indiana university (I will usually refer to it as IU) and established the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center. 

This temple and complex is in southeastern Bloomington, and you feel as though you're in a totally different place. We walked around the prayer wheels and looked at the sand mandala inside one of the stupas. We looked inside the temple, noticing the religious books of several other faiths. It's a very calming place to spend time. 

From there they dropped me off at my sister's house, where I got to meet my nephew for the first time. Since he was just short of four months old, of course he won't remember me the next time I get to see him. It was nice to spend a couple hours with my sister and catch up with her. I held my new nephew a few times, but he always started crying within a minute, argh. 

I went back to Dad's house for dinner, pizza was ordered. That's the biggest family dinner any of us remember for quite a while. 

After dinner I went with Dad and my uncle to round 3 of the women's national invitational tournament, usually called the WNIT. Dad had scored courtside seats for us, which was awesome. I've never been that close to the action, it was a whole new perspective. IU won, which made it even better. 

When I got home I watched the last few minutes of a men's NCAA game, the University of Oregon beat the University of Michigan. My family is sports obsessed, yay!

I tried to stay up for another basketball game, but didn't succeed. 

Even though I fell asleep at a decent time, I still woke up super early, thanks jet lag. 

Since I was up so early I was able to convince Dad to let me use his car to go to Needmore Coffee Roasters. I've known the owner for a long time, I was thrilled to support a local business. She has been roasting coffee wholesale for several years, having a coffee shop was quite new. All of her coffee beans are ethically sourced from fair trade farms in Central America. I'm not a coffee drinker, but all of her other products for sale in the shop are locally sourced. 

She has found a great chai for use in a chai latte, which made me happy. I want to have more the next time I visit.

I picked up coffee to go for a couple cousins as well. 

Not long after I got home, two cousins showed up, along with my sister and nephew. We had arranged to do a day long road trip, yay. At some point when I'd been looking at a map of the state I noticed there were a number of towns with names of countries. I thought it would be fun to visit a couple of them. 

My sister drove, and since she knew where she was going, we weren't worried about getting lost on the back roads. 

Our first stop was Cataract Falls State Recreation Area. From the name I suppose this makes it a step down from a state park, but I don't know what the difference actually is. Right near the first parkplatz is a red covered bridge, you can't help but see it. 

As we started to walk through the bridge we saw it was filled with picnic tables, I assume they are put out during summer. We took group photos, thank goodness for time delay options on cameras :) 

On the other side of the bridge was a small path down to the water. Not a big path, I got the impression there aren't heaps of people who visit this area. Or maybe we were just early visitors in the season. 

We got down to the water, each of us taking our own photos. My cousins and I travel semi regularly, and I love their photos. When I saw photos of this trip later on I was surprised by the differences, despite all of us being in the same place. Awesome.

The rec area has two sets of falls, upper and lower. The falls by the covered bridge are the upper falls, and according to the sign they are some of the biggest in the state. I had to climb down in a couple places, of course I ended up with bruises from falling against the rocks. 

We viewed the upper falls from the viewing 'platform' on the parkplatz side of everything as well. It's a nice view. We could see the area is capable of having much more water, I wonder what the falls look like after a big rain. 

We walked along the road to lower falls instead of driving. Another thing my family has in common is a love of walking. On both sides of the road were woods, I figured there must be hiking trails in the area. 

The lower falls weren't as impressive as the upper falls, but I'm still glad we saw them. I saw a couple people with big cameras setting up for shots, so maybe they saw something I didn't? 

We drove to Poland, IN and went to a local diner for lunch. I'm a huge fan of diners, and the characters you see in them; I was thrilled when I'd found this place listed on a travel app. 

The food was okay, not wonderful not awful, the pie wasn't nearly as good as I wanted. We all snickered to ourselves when we saw a man stand up wear leather motorcycle pants with suspenders. We overheard part of the conversation from a table on the other side of the room, they were talking about Trump. Given that this was small town Indiana, they were probably supporters. 

There isn't much to the town of Poland, IN, it's really small. The church was quite picturesque though. 

We next drove to our last stop: Brazil, IN. The seat of the county, and the birthplace of legendary union leader Jimmy Hoffa. While we were there we looked for him (or his body, as neither has been seen in a looong time,) but they were nowhere to be found. 

Brazil isn't terribly exciting, with very little listed on travel apps. I liked the look of the county courthouse, which is quite grand. On the side of another building I saw a giant mural, but we didn't stop to see it.

We drove to a coffee shop, I learned what a French ice drink is. I liked my snicker doodle cookie best of all. 

After the coffee shop I convinced everyone else to stop for a few minutes in front of the courthouse. On one side of the front lawn was a plane, my guess is it was from WW2, the tail said FU-434. There was also a memorial to soldiers from a different era. 

After this stop we drove back to Bloomington, my sister knew exactly where to go. Yay. 

That night everyone had dinner at Dad's house, (two more family members had arrived,) then we watched another basketball game. As I said earlier, my family is sports obsessed. 

The next morning was Saturday. Some folks went to the church to deal with technical issues, I went with the cousins to see a little of IU's campus. It's a gorgeous campus, consistently named as one of the most beautiful in the country. 

The technical issues folks joined us fairly quickly, Dad and I showed them around a small part of the campus, and told a bit of the history. In addition to loving sports, we all enjoy history as well. 

That afternoon everyone gathered at the church for Grandma's memorial service. It was emotional, to say the least. Afterward we had a small reception, Dad and my uncle had put together photos of Grandma's life. I'd never seen many of them so it was fun to watch. 

Toward the end of the reception we got someone to take photos of the entire group, which was awesome. For my family it's incredibly rare for a gathering like this to happen. 

Afterward everyone went out to dinner together. Again, a nice gathering, with time to chat with each other. 

I went back to Dad's house and packed up my stuff, then hopped in Mom's car and went with her to her flat.

On the way we stopped at a supermarket to pick up food for me, as I was determined to enjoy some foods I don't get to have very often. 

The next morning the whole group went to church. For once, my family sat at the very front of the sanctuary, something else we rarely do. During the service my sister baptized her son, I was so proud. (My sister is an ordained minister, she has baptized several children.) I was happy to see her present her son to the congregation. 

After the service we all went to lunch at a local restaurant. It was my first time there but everyone else seemed to know it, or had at least been there once before. Yum. 

After eating I drove Mom back to her flat. She let me borrow her car to do some shopping around town, then I went over to my sister's house again. Since we don't get much sister time I wanted to take advantage while I could. 

When I got back to Mom's flat I showed her my new 'toys' and we chatted for a while. I wish she still lived in Prague. 

The next morning was the end of the trip. As usual I woke up early, so I took time to start packing. I'd come to the states with empty space in my pack, knowing I was going to shop. 

I drove (in Mom's car,) to Dad's house where we picked up one of my aunts, then we drove to Indianapolis International Airport. 

It was hard to say goodbye, and the trip was too short, but I'm glad it happened. 

california: san diego

I flew from chicago to san diego via pheonix. Easy flights.
I met Stephanie when both of us worked at a resort on the Pacific island of Saipan. We've kept in touch ever since, she is now married with two kids. Hard to believe it, but our time in Saipan was a long time ago. 2005! Ten years ago! Stephanie picked me up at the airport, we went straight to lunch.
Lunch was at a place called Lucha Libra, a gourmet taco place. Steph told me it was a local place, and is now a busy place because it was featured on a cooking show, or best of list. Now everyone wants to eat there. I don't know how I feel about the "best of" lists, because hidden places become overrun.
It was good food, and the line moved really quickly. They have their own salsa bar, how awesome is that?
Then we went to Steph's house, where I met one of her children, and the nanny. The baby was 8 months old, and seemed happy when I held her. Awesome! Steph collected some of the stuff she had for newborns, and we took it to one of her friends who had just had a baby. (4 days ago.) Awesome. Instead of buying all new stuff, people who are having children should be able to reach out to friends who have already had children and use a few things. Newborns are tiny tiny humans, but they need so much stuff!

After baby time Steph took me to a place called Blush Desserts. YUM. They make macaroon ice cream sandwiches to order, yahoo! You get to choose what flavor of macaroons you want, as well as what flavor of ice cream you want. I got a bit greedy, and ordered a red velvet cupcake too, more yum. Clearly, Steph knows me too well :)
Then we picked up Steph's other kid, a 3 year old. He talks, a lot. Steph told me when he started preschool a year ago, he cried for 3 months straight. I wouldn't have known it from the child I met. He is a happy kid, he wanted to tell me everything he knows about everything.

We went back to Steph's house to hang out for a while. I really enjoyed the view, which looks out over Qualcomm stadium, home of the San Diego Chargers. While we were there I met her husband, a nice guy.
Then Steph took me over to her sister's house, where I fell asleep at 8pm! To be fair, 8pm San Diego time is 10pm Chicago time, which is 11pm Bloomington time, and I'd had another early flight after sleeping in the Chicago airport again. I deserved to fall asleep early :) Oddly enough, the people who lived in the house weren't yet home when I fell asleep!

The next morning Steph picked me up and we went to breakfast at a place called Bear Buns Bakery. Steph had a meeting, so I sat in another area, writing a letter. I loved my chai latte and red velvet cookie. Yum.
After breakfast, Steph dropped me off at the trolley stop at Qualcomm Stadium. There isn't a lot of public transport, but this was perfectly convenient for me. I rode the trolley into the city center, getting off at the stop for Old Town. It's a historical park/district, mostly for tourists. Too many kitchy shops for my taste, but great for people watching. There were a few good (and small,) museums too. I really liked the old schoolhouse. It reminded me a lot of the one room schoolhouse in Bloomington, Indiana. 

Nearby was an old synagogue, no longer used.
Eventually I hopped back on the trolley, transferred to a different line, then caught a bus. All of these took me to Balboa Gardens. A huge, beautiful area in the city. It took me a while to find the central area of the parks. The pin shown on tripadvisor and google maps is not where you find the majority of people.
It was hot and sunny, but I still loved walking everywhere. My first find was the cactus garden. Despite my attempts to be nice, the cacti did not return my love. (I was still digging prickles out of my fingers a couple weeks later! Tiny little prickles you can't quite see, but you can feel.)

I loved seeing some of the cactus flowers, you don't get to see those very often. Beautiful.
By the time I found the central area of the gardens, I was really dehydrated. I got really lucky when I saw a server coming into his shift at one of the restaurant cafes. I asked him where I could find a drinking fountain, he brought me a big cup of ice water, then brought me a to go cup with more ice water. Random acts of kindness are amazing.
Sadly, the Japanese garden was closed for a private event. Argh.
After the garden, I walked to a bus stop for a bus that would take me to a trolley stop. The trolley took me back to Qualcomm stadium. As the trolley got closer and closer, I saw more people with football jerseys boarding the train. I figured out there was a game that night, between the Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers.

Getting out of the trolley station and stadium area was quite different than when I'd been there in the morning. Near game time, traffice patterns for both people and cars are different. For security reasons, people getting off the train have to walk a specific way (that takes you through turnstiles to make sure you have a ticket!) and I was worried about how to get out of the crowd; I wasn't going to the game. It took me a bit, but eventually I was able to go where I wanted.
Traffic was already pretty heavy at that point, but Steph and I were able to figure out where she would pick me up through texting. Thank goodness!

I ate dinner in the house that night with Steph and her family.
The next morning Steph dropped me off at a street corner across the street from the Marine Corps Recruiting Depot in San Diego. A few minutes later, one of my cousins picked me up.
My cousin is a chaplain in the Navy, currently stationed at MCRD. This was a Friday, and he'd arranged tickets for us to see the graduation ceremony for the recruits who had finished basic training. Our seats were in the VIP pavillion, under cover. Thank goodness, as I was sunburnt, and it was again (as is normal,) sunny and hot.

Impressive. I love the mix of tradition and youth. Since my cousin is an officer, and most of the folks on this base are younger and enlisted, he was saluted approximately every two feet. I got to see his office, learn how the recruits are organized, and watch the ceremony. Awesome.
After the ceremony he took me to the gift shop on base, where I got to buy postcards and a mug for his unit.
Then we drove to his house. San Diego traffic is nuts. Not very well organized, full of freeways, too many cars and people. Just as we got to his house, his wife was leaving to take one of the kids to the doctor.

This was only the second time I've met these kids, they didn't remember the last time three years ago. This visit was awesome, as they were old enough to have real conversations, and understand how we are related.
The original plan was to have a picnic dinner with Grandma later that afternoon/evening, but plans changed when my cousin got a call from work. He had to go back to help with what they call an AmCross situation. This is by far the worst part of his job, when he has to help deliver a message to one of the recruits. The message is always a bad one, about the death of a loved one.

When recruits are going through basic training, they don't have access to email, and other electronic communication, so these AmCross messages are delivered by the folks in charge.
We had dinner after my cousin came home again, after going for a short walk to a neighborhood playground. My cousin and his wife said this was a great neighborhood in which to live. Their kids can walk down the street without worry. They know other kids in the neighborhood, and other families. Most excellent.
The next morning breakfast was my choice of cereal. Definitely a Johnson tradition, one that I love.

During the morning, my cousin's wife went to an education fair/school registration. The family had just moved from Colorado, so they still needed to figure out where the kids would attend school in a couple weeks. From what they'd already learned and heard from others, the system in California is rather broken, and definitely not as fantastic as what they'd had in Colorado.
At some point, I hopped in the truck with my cousin and the kids. We stopped at In n Out Burger, my first visit to that chain. I think it's a California/west coast thing? Grandma likes it. The menu is small, and simple.

We brought the food to Grandma, and my cousin's wife joined us when she was done with the school stuff. It was really nice to spend some time with Grandma. She is my Grandma, but is great grandma to my cousin's kids. Awesome.
After a while, I had to go back to the airport. Everyone trooped downstairs, and we asked someone to take a family photo. Very very cool. I wish family photos were taken more often. By everyone. Being able to look at these photos years later is a fun thing to do.
Then my cousin took me back to the airport, and I flew back to Chicago.
This is when I should mention the EXCELLENT people who worked one station of TSA. While I was going through security, a small bag in which I keep foreign currency and various cards fell out of my bag. I didn't notice it, and made my way into a nearby store selling books and newspapers. A few minutes later, I heard someone saying my name, I perked up.

He asked me if I was planning to buy anything, and I said no. At this point I was scared, thinking he was asking me if I was stealing. I wasn't, of course. He kept asking questions, and I could tell he was looking for a specific answer, but it took me a while to figure it out. Eventually, I did. I'm sooooooooo grateful for his effort in finding me. I was able to say what my bag looked like, as well as name a few items in the bag, including currencies. THANK YOU SAN DIEGO TSA.
My flight landed in Chicago at 0100, not a great time. Another night of sleeping in the airport. Thank goodness, I'm good at this.

san diego

my biggest reason for going to san diego was to spend some time with grandma...she's 92, and still in pretty good health...:)
my first flight from vegas to LA was fine...the connecting flight from LA to san diego was delayed by an hour or so? I WAS NOT HAPPY...i ended up arriving at grandma's place just after midnight...i hate arriving anywhere that late...ugh...
we both went to bed straightaway...it was nice...

one morning we went to the grocery store...exciting stuff, i know:)...i think it was that evening that i joined grandma and her friends at dinner...they're all older than she is, i love the conversations...one was a vet during WWII, he fought in italy...another still works 40 hours a week, and spends time on his blackberry when he is home...
the next day we went to breakfast at harry's...according to grandma, this is a johnson family tradition...wheneva anyone visits her, they go there for breakfast...this is not my first visit to san diego, but it was my first trip to harry's so i have clearly missed the memo somewhere along the line...ooops...harry's is a typical hole in the wall diner/breakfast place...i love these types of places...it was packed, but i loved it anywho...for some strange reason i was in the mood for salt/protein (as opposed to my normal sweet tooth) so i went for the basic eggs and bacon...
one afternoon my friend layna drove down and picked me up...this is the chick i traveled with during my epic asia trip...we hadn't seen each other since, so it was great to catch up...she had the phone number of another garmisch friend, michelle...when we called, michelle was tail gating before a san diego padres game, she invited us to come...
layna and i figured hey, why not? petco park, the stadium is located in downtown san diego, an area i don't ever recall visiting...oh well...the stadium is really squeezed in tightly, there is no room for expansion...we found michelle, and finally got to meet her husband...well, layna had met him previously, i hadn't...great for the three of us to catch up...
michelle and her husband are season ticket holders for the padres, so they were able to get us a discount on our game tickets, we only paid $7!! our tickets were up on the 3rd level, but after the first three innings michelle sent us a text telling us to come down to the 1st level where they had their tickets, she'd gotten 'permission' for us to sit down there...AMAZING SEATS...the padres ended up losing the game, though it did go extra innings....and the fireworks afterward were fun:)
my last morning in san diego grandma and i went to church...it's been a long while since i've been to a presbyterian church, it was nice...plus there was a special choir performing, and i loved it...we didn't stick around to chat, which was also nice for me, since i didn't know anyone else there...
i didn't do any sightseeing in san diego, i just spent time with people...my computer had troubles and crashed not too long afterward, and i hadn't backed up the few photos i took, so they're lost foreva...argh argh argh...