The Journey to RootsTech 2012

1 February 2012

Planning paid off! I made a list of everything I needed to pack days before I was to leave. It would be too easy to forget a charger or some other vital tech piece. Last night I checked that list twice just like Santa-- I don't think I forgot anything.

I deliberately took the mid-day flight and am really glad I did. It was an easy morning getting out of the house. My flight wasn't until 12:45, but I wanted to get tot he airport an hour and a half early just in case there were any problems. It was an easy drive to Omaha and the easiest airport check-in I have had. There was no one waiting to check baggage, the security check was barely busy, and I was to my gate by 11:15-- wow.

One of the things besides the kitchen sink I didn't bring was a lunch or snack. I brought a small package of Lay's potato chips and a cup of coffee. I could refill it and take it on the plane. That worked well, but next time I will take along a sandwich or something. It was great having the new Delta card, as it got me zone 2 seating which is pretty sweet. The flight was on time leaving and arriving at Salt Lake. The last time I was st the SLC airport I was stranded with my daughter for a day. This time it went well. Their shuttle system takes getting used to but was only $8.00.

My hotel reservation was in two parts. They couldn't guarantee I would have the same room the second night. They did upgrade my room though. I hurriedly set up in my room and then headed towards the Family History Library. On the way I realized I was very hungry and stopped at the J B's across from the Salt Palace. It was great getting that 55+ lunch price. I had looked before I got toe SLC to figure out how to get to the FHL. Of course I got the distance off a bit and had to call Mike to get better directions. The FHL ended up being just a hundred feet away.

My friend Marcia and I had planned to meet for dinner tonight, and I knew she was going to the FHL when she got to SLC. I looked around the FHL a bit and found her checking out the US book shelves. I had forgotten just how impressive the FHL is. I was mesmerized walking down any bookshelf-- it was incredible what they have. I checked out a few books I had printed out the records for before I left.

Marcia and I headed over to the Salt Palace to get our registrations. The Salt Palace is huge. The registration process went well. From there we went to a very nice Japanese restaurant across from the Palace. We ate light,but each added a glass of wine. After dinner we headed back to the FHL. This time I decided to work on the Saratoga land records. I had ordered the grantee index earlier in Lincoln and had the volumes and page numbers I needed. It was tedious, but I am starting to put a picture together of that family. Thank you to the person who suggested bringing magnets to mark the microfilm cabinets. After a couple of hours or more we headed back to our hotels. After relaxing for a bit and checking out the conference schedule again I decided to go down to the bar to write up my notes while enjoying an excellent glass of Cabernet!

SD Trip and New Laptop

My trip to the Black Hills was very nice. I had great visits with several cousins, aunt, and mother. I was lucky to get to a few cemeteries and got some good pictures of some family gravestones to add to Find A Grave. The new camera did a fantastic job. I also heard a great story from my cousin Loretta about my great uncle Will's funeral. To make it short, he and the coffin got away from the pall bearers on a long stairway.

Last night I decided I really had to buy a new laptop, so I headed to Best Buy and got a Dell Inspiron that was a display model for a very nice price. Now I don't have to worry that I will suddenly lose my electrical connection.

In today's mail was the death certificate from Delaware for Warren Roosevelt. They did a very impressive job... fast and accurate.

Labor Day Weekend

The past few days have offered several new options for my research. I was really happy to find that familysearch.org has added the index to the 1892 census for New York. It makes it possible to research Brooklyn. I had browsed images earlier, which was all right for villages, but was overwhelming for a city like Brooklyn.

Yesterday I decided to work on Warren G. Rosevelt. I found a marriage record I didn't have for him through a google search... I love google searching. That led me to see what records were available for New Castle County, Delaware. The Delaware Public Archives http://archives.delaware.gov/ has a great service to provide copies of vital records to genealogists for their older records. I emailed their form with the information and had a reply within a few minutes. I was able to order the death certificate for $10.00 online using a credit card.

Today I went to the local cemetery, Wyuka, to practice taking gravestone pictures in preparation for my trip to NYC in October. I am getting used to the camera and hope I can get what I want from it, or there may be a new digital camera in my future. I am adding the practice pictures to FindAGrave.