Fall Break 2026 - Part 2 - Utah

 We picked up our rental car and headed for Utah. We had grand visions of doing a hike in Zion along the way, but a long bagel wait coupled with delayed traffic along the way due to an accident, sidelined out plans. We had a great drive though, listening to Led Zeppelin, who Lily recently discovered, and other oldies that seemed to fit the vibe of the beautiful red rocks and mountains our our window.

Once arrived in Provo, we checked into the AI and Social Impact conference and headed to dinner. Mirror shot with the badges :)

The conference facility is in a gorgeous setting, so behind every presenter is a jaw-dropping backdrop.

Day two we took a little break after lunch for a quick hike around the property.

After the conference wrapped up for the evening, Lily and I headed to the Sundance, created by Robert Redford, that is a couple of miles down the mountain to check out the famous Owl Bar, where Sundance Kid and his hang used to hang out.

We loved watching these mule deer eating the pumpkin decorations (descendants of Sandy Pfromm :)

Once back to the Aspen Lodge, we realized we left our room key in our room! We didn't want to wake anyone up, and weren't sure what they could do about it anyways at 10:30 pm, so we rented a cabin back at Sundance. While we had not toiletries or changes of clothes, we had great attitudes and enjoyed the bathrobes in the room. It ended up being a trip highlight for sure!

We were back at the Aspen Institute by 8:30 am where we wrapped up the conference - which included Lily being called by her fellow teammates a "Neurology Expert" :) Super cool to be in a working environment with her. Very proud to see how she navigated and networked!

The conference wrapped up by 1 and we headed back to Sundance to enjoy the amenities - restaurants, hikes and hot tubs for the day. 

We got lunch at the Sundance deli, where a sweet man who must have been in his 90's commented how pretty we were. He said he had been coming to Sundance for 50 years and he had never seen such pretty girls. If only he had a helicopter... :)

The property is gorgeous, so I of course made Lily do a photo shoot.

We then changed out of our work clothes in the lodge and hiked to Stewart falls, making only one wrong turn along the way, due to a poorly marked trail. 

After our hike we headed straight to the hot tubs. There 3 of them and a sauna. We used everyone of them + the sauna. A perfect day!

The half-eaten pumpkin in the daylight.

We made one more stop at the coffee shop for snacks for the road, before changing and setting off for Salt Lake City. We have an early early flight (6am!) to NYC tomorrow.

Wonky GPS that looks like water color.

We stopped in Sal Lake for a past restaurant Lily found. She of course got carpaccio. All was delicious!

Next stop...NYC!

Fall Break 2026 - Part I - Las Vegas

 Due to an Ebola outbreak in Uganda, taking to students this fall break was put on hold. However I was invited to participate in a conference at BYU on AI and Social Impact, so I pivoted. One of the areas of focus was around neuroscience, so they let me bring Lily too! 

Before leaving, we had friends over to watch the ND - BYU game outside. Such a blast, although the outcome is very much contested!!!

And right before we left, Caden made a beautiful and delicious chocolate cake that had about 300 steps involved. Luckily we were able to get a slice before heading out the door.

We flew Sunday, October 18 on one of Allegiant Air's direct flights from South Bend to Las Vegas, arriving at 3 AM our time - flying into Utah was too expensive because of the game. We settled into out hotel - Fontaine Blue - and went straight to bed.

The next morning we committed to spending the entire day at the pool. There was a homemade bagel place in our hotel, so Lily had all she needed for a great day :) 

The pools were amazing! We tried our hand at a pool model photo shoot. I was fired. Lily was invited to go with a guy for a ride in his helicopter!

Next up, a little sushi and wagyu beef with a qual egg for lunch. This restaurant was right next to the bagel shop. Restaurants definitely go in the pro column for Vegas!

We were right next to this tower, and were surprised to see people repelling down! Turns out you can book this experience. We did not.

We decided to head up the strip to do a little shopping, and for Lily to make her first visit to Dry Bar. We took our elevator mirror shot - which has gotten to be our thing on trips :)

We planned on heading back to the room to change before going to the Sphere to see the Wizard of Oz, but were shopping a little longer than we planned. So we stopped in the Venetian and shared a lobster roll and lobster mac n cheese. Lily was gob smacked that each casino was basically its own little city.

Heading to the sphere, which you can see just over our heads.

The show was so cool! The original Wizard of Oz with a complete immersive experience. Apples getting whizzed into the audience, leaves swirling about as were in the tornado, and monkeys flying around. Super cool. The photos do not do it justice.

We stopped for a bagel the next morning before setting off for Utah.