A Story About Life and Living It

Hey-o!

Lani here.  I was just ruminating on the concept behind blogging.  I think it, like many scientific concepts, is a great theory, but more difficult to observe in practice.  A major hurdle seems to be continuity and picture storage on the blogger program.  So I've reverted to words for now as a medium of expression.  

So I’ve decided (well, I decided it long ago), that I’m going to spend my life building relationships, serving others, having REAL experiences.  And yes, I’ve been trying to do these things all along, but now, I feel like I can (and should) readjust my focus.  I’ve always felt like I should do family history work, so now I’m actually doing it!  I’ve always made Visiting Teaching a priority, and now I’m building on that habit!  I’ve always tried to exercise and eat right, and now I can work and improve on those goals as well!  I’ve applied to volunteer at the hospital; I’m playing pick-up games of volleyball; I’m learning a new language with a lesson each day.  I can spend time building good habits and establishing priorities so that things that matter most are taken care of, and things that don’t matter fall away and don’t clutter up my life.

• I’ve learned that having the spirit in our home is the most important thing we can do to build our relationships. 
•  I’ve learned that Chad and I generally relax differently, and I’ve learned that different doesn’t mean bad or good.  
• I’ve learned that Chad needs to have some time to himself each day, as do I. 
• I’ve learned that we love entertaining people and having people in our home, but we both know to limit that time so that our friends and acquaintances don’t come between our just-us-time.   
• I’ve learned that Chad values my service, especially to him, and serving him is one of the major ways to show love for him (not just from me, but from everyone). 
•  I’ve learned that being honest is the best policy, and that Chad really does want my opinion on stuff, even if he doesn’t take it. 
•  I’ve learned that I usually want Chad’s opinion on stuff, and if I don’t, I shouldn’t ask for it (insert shopping story here). 
•  I’ve learned that I sometimes substitute weird things into recipes and they don’t work and dinner is gross and we go out for tacos at the taco joint down the road.  I’ve learned that Chad doesn’t substitute stuff in recipes, and dinner is good, and we don’t go out for tacos at the taco joint down the road (bottom line, we occasionally eat tacos, which is important). 
• I’ve learned that Chad doesn’t like wearing red, and I like wearing heels.  
• I’ve learned that being part of a pair is great, because if one of you forgets someone’s name (or occupation, or dog’s name, or car they drive, or hometown), the other one of you generally remembers, and it’s like having two brains instead of one. 
• I’ve learned that both Chad and I have a reservoir of stories about life that usually come out at the end of a long drive, when we have to keep each other awake and stay on the lookout for deer and other objects in the road, like turtles (insert story of Lani hitting a turtle here (and still feeling sorry for it)).  
• I’ve learned that Chad is really good with Book of Mormon people and their names, but doesn’t like the Bible name Melita (the old word for Malta). (In case we ever have a girl, that name has already been nixed). 
•  And most importantly, I’ve learned that Chad is a caring, loving, brilliant, ambitious, hilarious person I love with all my heart.  

Much love, 
Leilani

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Ah ha! THE MUD RUN! The challenging, obstacle-ridden, cross-country test of endurance, teamwork, and skills! The mad dash of a race over the hazards, complete with hidden snakes, lava, spontaneous tornadoes, and no glory without the pain! The race few enter and even fewer finish!



Now, to talk about the race that we ran:

Our mud run was three things.
1.  Not trained for. At all.
We signed up for this bad boy during our (relatively) school-less-only-working summer. Those were the days of lazy walks, weekly camping trips, and pastries. However, the race was in the thick of our semesters; therefore our "training" consisted of two jogs around the block two weeks before. When we do our marathon, we should probably invest a little more time into the training aspect.


2.  Freezing until it started.
I know that most racers like race day weather to be about 50-60 degrees F, but when you have the prospects of belly crawling and then sliding into a muddy pond in the race, you want it a touch warmer. 

Glorious Austin Texas, where two seasons exist (summer and not-summer), was a balmy 85 degrees the whole week before the race. However, the day of the race, when we got our numbers, it was 43 degrees, and didn't look like it was ever going to warm up. So we retreated to the car for an hour (when we should have been warming up, stretching, etc) and thought about hot cocoa and blankets. However, when we emerged an hour later, it was up to 50 and felt like prime jogging weather, even with mud ponds on the menu.

Here we are after the pond dunking washed off all the assorted mud.

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We decided to break up our final drive home with two more stops. First, we stopped by historic downtown Memphis. We took a look at the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King, Jr was assassinated. The motel has been added onto and is now the National Civil Rights Museum. We didn't get to go in.

The window on the second floor with the blinds open is to Dr. King's room. He was shot on the balcony just outside of that room.


We walked down the street from there to Beale Street, famous as the birthplace of the Blues music genre. B.B. King had his start there, as well as other well-known artists. We took in some of the music along the street.


The Memphis Grizzlies basketball arena is right by there and is decorated with large sports balls.


 We then headed out yet again and made our one final stop in Little Rock, Arkansas. Instead of going to the Williams J. Clinton Presidential Library (very tempting...) we went to the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site. What a mouthful. This site, still an operating high school, was the school attended by the Little Rock Nine who were the first African-Americans to desegregate the school. They were barred from entering in 1957 by the governor of Arkansas who sent the National Guard to keep them out of the school, despite the US Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v Board of Education. President Eisenhower responded by sending the 101st Airborne Division of the US Army to escort the students into the school.


Today, the high school is still considered one of the best in the state. It's huge too.


There are nine benches outside of the school, one to commemorate each member of the Little Rock Nine.


After that short stop we really did head for home. Only a day later we found ourselves back in Austin. We were exhausted and ready to be home. More importantly, we had enjoyed some of America's quirks, history, people, and natural beauty. We are super grateful for the chance we had to go on this trip and see all that we did. We were especially grateful to see so many old friends and spend time with them.

Nothing to do now but go back to school and plan the next one!

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Following our brief passage through Alabama we recorded an even briefer traverse of Mississippi. The highpoint of Mississippi, Woodall Mountain, it right up near the northeast corner of the state, close to both Alabama and Tennessee. We drove the dirt road to the top where we found some markers and a summit log to sign.

There's a nice bench there with a Lani on it:



The plaque details the history of Woodall Mountain:


Of course, there was also a USGS marker:


Near Woodall Mountain is Corinth, Mississippi, the site of the famous battle of Shiloh of the Civil War. The battlefield itself is north of Corinth, in Tennessee, but all the fuss was about the city of Corinth and its important position on the railroad lines. The museum went over the several major battles and minor skirmishes in the area in great detail and chronicled day-to-day life in the city during the war, especially for the recently freed slaves who made their homes in Corinth when it was under Union control.

This neat monument outside represents the stepping stones toward freedom.


This display shows a union soldier teaching a former slave girl how to read

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Our trip through Alabama was very brief since, after leaving Atlanta, we decided that we were about vacationed out and ready to return home. The highpoint, Cheaha Mountain, is about an hour west of the border with Georgia, just off the freeway and really close to the Talladega Speedway. The top of the mountain has a tower and, of course, a USGS marker.

Climbing up the stairs...


With a wonderful view of Lanis from the top.


There was another Lani here, too.


We hopped in the car that afternoon with the intent of making it as far as we could. However, we got sidetracked by the Jesse Owens Museum in Danville, AL. Ever since I ran track in high school I've loved the story of Jesse Owens, so we left the main road to go investigate. The museum was closed, but a friendly note on the door instructed us to call a local number after hours. We did and a very kind elderly lady came and unlocked the museum for us.


Apparently Jesse was born in Alabama and then moved to Ohio when he was 10 years old. We enjoyed the picture chronicles of his rise to the top of the track and field world, including his astounding performance at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin where he demolished Hitler's display of Aryan dominance with a five gold medal performance. It's so neat the things you find in the middle of nowhere in America.


The next morning, Sunday, we went to church in the Florence, Alabama ward. I don't know that I've found myself in a friendlier ward at any point in my life. We were very kindly accosted by just about everyone in the building who wanted to know, in the most polite, kind, southern hospitality sort of way, who we were, where we were from, and where we were headed. Note to self: if the University of North Alabama ever offers me a job, take it.

On the way out we saw one of those really confusing signs that makes you wonder what the civil engineers were thinking. Really? This same road goes both east and west?

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Our first stop in Georgia was Brasstown Bald, the state's highest point. I was a bit disappointed because it was the only state highpoint that we had to pay to visit. Oh well.

There are a museum and observation tower on top of the mountain, complete with exhibits about the history and preservation of the area.


The exhibits include an old train used for transporting lumber on the mountain.



There were some good views from the top of the building,



including views of the surrounding hills.


The USGS marker, for some reason, was hidden behind a locked door in a stairwell.


Good thing we stopped to ask the ranger where it was or we would have never found it.


Here's the view of the tower from the parking lot.


We drove through a few interesting town on our way down to Atlanta. The first was Helen, a town of 420 people that was formerly a dying logging town. In 1969 the city issued a zoning ordinance stating that all buildings needed to be refaced to resemble buildings in the Bavarian Alps. Thus, in theory at least, the whole town looks like it was transplanted out of Germany. The town now makes its living as a tourist destination.


We stopped for a rather tasty, possibly German pastry.


Our next stop was Dahlonega, a town made famous by the first major gold rush in US history in 1828. Subsequently, a mint was established in the city. After the closure of the mint, Dahlonega, like Helen, became a tourist town with chic shops, though it also doubles as a small college town.

We thought this bench was pretty funny. It's right next to some pretty womanly shops and has "Husband Bench" written on it. Clearly I wasn't the only one to take advantage of its prime position. Actually, Lani didn't go into those stores, so this is a totally posed picture.


This is the old mint that is now an administration building for North Georgia College and State University. The gold leaf on the spire was mined in the town.


We spent Friday night with my friends Stephen and Conner in Atlanta. Due to some gigantic oversight we didn't take a single picture with them or at their apartment. I'm not quite sure how that happened. It was great to see them again as it had been quite a while. We went out for tacos and spent some time on the rooftop patio of their apartment building, which features a beautiful view of downtown, reminiscing and catching up.

On Saturday morning we went with Stephen to Stone Mountain, where there is a huge relief sculpture of three famous Confederate leaders carved into the side of the mountain: Stonewall Jackson, Robert E Lee, and Jefferson Davis. The picture doesn't really do it justice because you have to pay to go stand right in front of it and get a good shot. It's hard to tell how big it is, but the whole relief is actually larger than 2 whole football fields in area.


Afterwards we went to the Martin Luther King, Jr historic sites. Don't let the lack of pictures make you think that this wasn't a highlight. The museum is exceptionally well done. It has separate displays featuring pictures and quotes etched in glass for each period of his life, all centered around a tribute display to those who fought for civil rights. The Ebenezer Baptist Church across the street is preserved just like it was when Dr. King used to preach there. Dr. and Mrs. King are buried right next to the church, in beautiful above-ground marble tombs in a reflecting pool. We weren't able to go into the house he grew up in because all of the tours for the day were full, but I did get a photo of Lani in front of it. Walking through both the museum and the  buildings gave both of us feelings of gratitude for his life, mission and service to all people. The museum talked not only about his civil rights work, but also how near the end of his life he championed the plight of the poor.




After our stop there we had lunch with my friends and headed off. We enjoyed our visit to Georgia, especially Atlanta. We highly recommend the Martin Luther King, Jr National Historic Site in Atlanta as a must-see when your in the area. Even better was a chance to visit with friends. It was really great to see Stephen and Conner again. It's amazing how easy it is to connect with old friends even after years have passed.

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