Embarking

Tomorrow begins the next phase of my journalism career.

After wrapping up Winter Semester 2011, I packed up Erin, Allisyn and as much of our apartment as I could and we left on a Great American Road Trip to New York City.

The road trip was actually tons of fun. Somehow, I must have been boosted by some Mario Bros. invincibility and was able to drive the entire time, even though usually when we drive to Oregon I have to give Erin a turn. I honestly think I was riding high on the excitement of coming to New York.

Erin did a great job (with only a little help from me) of blogging on the road. Here's where you can find our travel log:

Day 1 (Provo, UT, to Kearney, NE)
Day 2 (Kearney, NE, to South Bend, IN)
Day 3 (South Bend, IN, to Somerset, PA)
Day 4 (Somerset, PA, to Hatfield, PA)
Day 5 (Hatfield, PA to NYC!)

And here are just a few photos (go to our family blog to see all of them):

Somewhere in Wyoming

Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple

Notre Dame

I give BP's mere presence a thumbs down. (Read a buncha my blog posts from last summer to find out more.)

 

Sandusky, Ohio! Home of Callahan Auto Parts!

Cleveland skyline

Allisyn in front of the Newel K. Whitney Store in Kirtland, OH

Newel K. Whitney Store, Kirtland, OH

Kirtland Temple

The Phillie Phanatic!

Liberty Bell

Philly cheese steaks! Where have you been all my life?!

Independence Hall

New York City coming up!

For our stay in New York City, we are living in the International House, a part of Columbia University especially meant for international students. The building was built in 1924, and it's got a lot of character, as my mom would say. It's actually two buildings, and the two together make quite a labyrinth.

(Click here to scroll to the bottom to find a video tour of our apartment.)

But, Erin, Allisyn and I did escape from the maze enough to explore Times Square today. Erin wrote about it on our family blog: Exploring the subway/Times Square

Anyway, the ultimate purpose of moving to this amazing city is for my internship at The Brooklyn Paper, which starts tomorrow. I'm not really sure what to expect. But I know that the editor is really excited to work with us (Dan Ng, a fellow BYU print journalism student, will be working there too), and I think it will be a comfortable environment. I expressed interest in writing about sports, especially the Brooklyn Cyclones minor league baseball team, but I also think this would be a good opportunity to branch out. Branching out means doing something I've never done before, which makes me a little nervous. But, I'll just do what I did when I first became a reporter: jump right in and do my best, and I'll surprise myself.

I'll tell you all how it goes tomorrow!

Also, be sure to follow my family blog. I'll keep this one updated, but Erin's good about sharing our travels and adventures on there, which very well could be more exciting than whatever I do at the paper. So check that one often.