My trip to the far north

Greetings from Winnipeg, where it's snowing. Hard. In March. I flew to Winnipeg on Tuesday after getting notified of acceptance on Monday at the University of Manitoba's joint Masters program in Peace and Conflict Studies. The program sounds lovely, but I knew I would need to see Winnipeg for myself to know what I'd be getting into if I accepted my place at U of M. I met with the program's faculty on Wednesday and was very impressed. Thursday I went for a city tour and then poked around down town on my own until I got too cold and gave up. I flew out later that evening.

Overall I was very impressed by how nice and hospitable everyone was (the license plates all bear the motto "Friendly Manitoba"), and the city's Old West feel was fun and appealing. Too bad the weather is a different story!


The University of Manitoba


Downtown Winnipeg


In the legislature building next to the provincial animal, the bison (pronounced bizon, if you want to sound like a local)


The frozen Red River near its junction with the Assiniboine River, known as The Forks


Ruins of St. Boniface Cathedral in the French-speaking district of Winnipeg




Assiniboine Park, next to the Winnipeg Zoo

Westmont Orchestra Golden State Tour: The Adventures Continue

We had a four-day weekend for Presidents' Day this weekend, and so our intrepid Westmont Orchestra and Worship Team took off touring across the state, with stops in such illustrious and exotic locales as Arroyo Grande, San Francisco, Watsonville, and (drum roll) Chowchilla (near Los Banos, for the mercifully uninitiated). For all that it lacked in recognizable destinations (SF being the notable exception, of course), this tour made up for in entertainment value and food quantity. We had an utter blast and an award-winning meal everywhere we went. Thanks to the family members that made it out in the rain to catch the concert in AG on Friday night!




Saturday we headed to the city where we played a benefit concert at the Bayview Opera House for the Old Skool Cafe, an employment program for at-risk youth. That night we went out on the town and had a harrowing but ultimately successful 3-hour adventure to Ghiradelli Square.

Photographic proof that, after 3 wrong buses and a 20 minute walk, we made it in time for a cup of cocoa.




Sunday we attended a beautiful church service downtown and then headed to Golden Gate park for lunch, including a 10 minute photo frenzy at the bridge overlook.

Repping with the Communication Studies buddies

Sunday night we played a concert in San Jose. I got to stay with my friends Katie and Justin in Santa Clara that night and absolutely loved seeing them!




Monday morning after an award-winning breakfast at Stacks with Katie and Justin we took off for Chowchilla, a 5,000 person town (not counting the prison) of mostly Dutch dairy farmers. Did I stay the night on a Dutch dairy? Why, yes. Yes, I did.




Tuesday morning we headed to Watsonville, where we played at 2 chapel services at a local high school. From there we headed back to Santa Barbara via Atascadero, where we ate yet another award-winning meal at the home of an orchestra member.


Aside from overwhelming amounts of mouth-watering comestibles and a plethora of concerts, we also had plenty of time for horsing around and having a general blast.

We had the rare privilege of witnessing our conductor doing a one-armed pull-up.






Definitely one of the best trips across the state I've ever been on!