A Journal of Sorts

I’ve never been able to keep much of a journal. Once I had a good stretch going for about 6-7 months. I have realized lately that I’ve had this blog for about 17 months. This is quite an accomplishment for me. At first it was just going to be a wedding blog, but now it is much more. I have been thinking lately that I need to inquire of some of my techie relatives (read: Uncle Lance) how I can go about backing up the blog every so often onto a disk or hard drive to provide a digital journal of sorts. I figure this might be as good as it gets. Plus, I’m sure one day our kids will enjoy reading some of the posts and mocking us for things we did, said, or how we looked.

Having said all of that, some posts going forward might be a little nostalgic. I need to start writing down some of the more memorable moments of my life. My friend Elise and her recent post got me thinking about some great vacations I’ve been so fortunate to take. Here are just a few in no particular order.

Lindsay, Kristen and me in Mazatlan—December 2004. I will never forget parasailing and the “Mexican Delight” showing Kristen his tan lines. Plus there was a very memorable meal of lobster and shrimp wrapped with bacon that I can still almost taste not to mention the deliciousness of Mexican Coca-Cola.

Christmas in Florence—December 2001. My Dad was nice enough to let me plan this trip. Highlights include consuming mass quantities of gelato and all the tourists ignoring the lady shouting over the speaker to please not take pictures of Michelangelo’s “David”. Although, to be fair, Cameron managed to get a few pictures off as well although he did not use the flash like everyone else was doing. Another highlight was ordering what we thought would be a pepperoni pizza in a little restaurant in Pisa. However, pepperoni in Italian means peppers. We were very disappointed.

Lindsay and me on our Mexican Riviera cruise. November 2005. What I loved about this cruise is that it was the ultimate relaxation. We barely stayed up past 10 the entire cruise which enabled us to take full advantage of the ports like Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo. Oh, and the fact that I think I only spent maybe $100 for the entire experience.

All of the Mortensen family vacations. Yellowstone and the petrified tree. Brian Head. Cruise to Catalina & Mexico. Alaskan cruise with the helicopter ride to the glacier. Caribbean cruise with stops in Roatan, Hondurus, Cozumel, Mexico, Belize and Grand Cayman. One particular memory that comes to mind was the chocolate buffet on the Alaskan cruise. I laughed to myself when I got down to the line and almost the entire Mortensen clan was first in line. Classic. Unfortunately, with Quinn in school we are missing out on this year’s cruise to Hawaii, but I’m sure they will all have as much fun as ever.

Our family trip to Nauvoo and other church sites. Summer ’93 (I think, could be wrong on the year). I loved Far West, Missouri. There was such a sweet spirit there. Another highlight was Independence and the crazy RLDS temple. Who doesn’t love a building shaped like a snail?

Family trip to Vernal. Summer ’97. Highlights include eating at the “Cracked Pot” and use of the phrase “Maybe the dingo ate your baby.” Oh, and the window in the van getting shattered while driving when a car came flying past us and kicked up a rock that hit the driver side window.

There have been so many more. Just writing all of this down has made me realized how fortunate I’ve been to be able to travel to some great places and share some amazing experiences with family and friends.