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| 6-9-04 @ 10:06 pm |

I'm looking at a trip to Spain this summer. I will be leaving in the middle of July and returning in the middle of August. I'll be spending the entire time at a single program that is geared towards increasing language proficiency. My hope is that I will be fluent (or very close to it) by the time I return. I can already speak Spanish pretty well, so it won't be a huge leap.

A return to Europe is also being contemplated for the summer of 2005. I hope to hit Germany, Denmark, and a few other countries. Any suggestions?

| 4-14-03 @ 10:32 pm |

A recent trip (the end of March) to San Francisco as well as the surrounding wine country was quite enjoyable. We left Thursday evening and drove until the wee hours of the morning. Friday was spent exploring San Francisco, particularly the area around Fishermen's Wharf. Saturday was taken as a cruise-around day for family to do as they wished, and Sunday was our return date. It was great fun and I hope to repeat the experience!

| 4-28-02 @ 9:54 pm |

I just got back from a trip to Minneappolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. We went down there for a "weekend vacation" on short notice. Mom went to a horse show on Saturday while Matt (my brother), Dad, and I went to the Mall of America. Today, Sunday, we all visited the Festival of Nations at the River Centre. It's an annual event where one can go and see productions (dances, etc.) of various ethnic groups as well as taste all of the foreign food and watch demonstrations of native forms of art. It was a great display!

| 2-03-02 @ 10:07 pm |

Last Friday (2-01-02), my family and I went 'up north' to go downhill skiing after my parents finished with their conferences in the mornings. We had lots of fun! I wiped out once my first day... but it was actually a fun fall. Somehow I must have landed gently and done some sort of somersault and then landed with my skis pointing backwards 'uphill' (it was flat) parallel to each other. It didn't hurt at all and I stood up with a smile on my face. :-)

Friday night we spent driving up there and shopping a little until the mall closed. I got some pants for a production I'm performing in on Sunday, February 17, 2002 (as well as other times).

Then, on Saturday, my parents made me get up bright and early (around 9:30 am) to go skiing. Yeah, it was worth it, but sleeping in is always nice, too. We skied for quite a while and then soaked in the hot tub at the hotel for a while before my parents went to a meeting and Matt and I went back to the room. Once they returned, we pretty much read and watched TV until we fell asleep.

Today, Sunday, we spent skiing for the majority of the day and then we drove home around 4 or 5 that evening.

| 1-11-02 @ 7:20 pm |

On the Saturday after Christmas, my family and I traveled up to northern Wisconsin to go skiing, sledding, and swimming with friends. It's something we do annually. We stayed until the first of January. We had a great time up there!

Now Matt and Dad are out in California visiting Grandmother (Dad's mother). They left last night and will return on Sunday. I hope they have a safe journey! It's my turn to go next time! :-)

| 10-24-01 @ 9:40 pm |

Okay, here's the Travel news for the past month. As you probably already read in the Other column, I was gone to California from Oct. 16 until Oct. 22. While out there, we (family) toured San Francisco as well as going to a technology museum near Silicon Valley. Towards the end of the trip, we went to stay with more relatives (we stayed with other relatives--same side of the family--for our first night) for a few days.

Our flight on the way there was delayed 2 hours and 20 minutes because of a "chime problem." In the end, we (all passengers from that flight) switched to another plane and were on our way. Since security didn't take that long, we had 4 hours and 20 minutes extra time at the airport.

On the way back, everything went smoothly and we took off exactly on time. Dare I say that air travel is safe and fairly fast again?

| 9-24-01 @ 9:00 pm |

Yesterday, as you've probably already read in some of the other columns, I went up to Duluth, Minnesota. We (Mom, Julia--our guest--and I) went to the airport first. Once we were done checking her suitcase (which, by the way, is quite heavy), we still had an hour left, in which we went to the Miller Hill Mall to get breakfast.

When it was time for Julia to be left at the airport, we said goodbye and then went around town for a few hours. We didn't purchase anything major--I knew you were wondering.

| 9-15-01 @ 9:00 pm |

Today I went to Superior, Wisconsin/Duluth Minnesota.

Our first stop was the Great Lakes Aquarium, which is in Duluth. It was, of course, an aquarium, and so it had aquatic life (no-brainer, 'eh?). The had some otters, which were being fed when we were there, as well as a lot of fish! In addition to all that, they also had an aviary and other bird-exhibits. You can either spend a long time there looking at everything or you can glance at the surface... I prefer the latter.

For lunch, we visited the Miller Hill Mall. I ate cheese pizza from the Sbarro there... yum! That's what I always get... it's reliably good.

For those of you not in the northwest-Wisconsin and northeast-Minnesota area, this is the major mall around. There's also the Mariner Mall, but it's... ah... not as 'new', so the Miller Hill Mall attrracts more people. It's in MInnesota, but people from Wisconsin will often cross the bridge and go up the hill to go shopping here.

We also did a little shopping there, but not too much. My brother got some new shoes and a saxophone music book (with a CD).

Have you ever heard of the William A. Irvin? It was a big cargo ship up until 1978, when it was retired because it was 'too small'. If you haven't heard of it, you might want to see if you can find its website online.

The group and I had fun taking the guided tour there. There were a lot of interesting facts presented and the ship was a wonder to behold (haven't I heard that line somewhere before?).

After that came... Barnes and Noble! I got an awesome new book called "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creating a Web Page". You can read more about it in the Literature Column.