Museum Exhibit Was Fantastic

April 29, 2012Sr. Krista von Borstel 1 Comment

Saturday morning we loaded the bus and headed to the California Museum in Sacramento to visit the Women & Spirit Exhibit about the History of Religious Women in America. It was very inspirational and something that made us feel really good about the women who helped shape the country. It was really very moving. I did take some clips of the exhibit which was allowed so after some editing will share the clips I took.

One interesting tidbit I discovered was about the Mayo Clinic. It was started by the Sisters and they asked Dr. Mayo if he would work at the hospital if they built it and provided the support! He said he would and the rest is history!

Because this was the traveling exhibit, it was the featured exhibit and quite large. After spending about three hours in this section, I could not believe that much time had passed, I then went around to the other exhibits which I described yesterday. I was especially interested in finding “Ishi” the last wild Indian in America. It was very interesting and I enjoyed reading the material about it.

We spent the entire morning at the museum and by 1:00 had pretty much seen everything so people broke up into small groups and headed for all points in Sacramento. My group headed for Old Sacramento which we really enjoyed especially the old hardware store. Lots of great things to see in this town loaded with history. After lunch we went to the Train Museum. Wow…what a place two stories of locomotives…full size…took you through the ages in trains. Also included a large wing on toy trains. Incredible building and the content was fantastic – Highly recommend to all train lovers!

Wonderful shops to visit all around Old Sacramento and as 5:00 approached we made our way to the Cathedral for Mass. The Cathedral was recently renovated and as we learned yesterday, the architect and overseer of the renovation was done by the uncle of our friend, Colleen Nistler, known by many of you. Her uncle did a GREAT job. It is beautiful! Pics to come later.

After Mass, ten of us headed over to the Pyramid restaurant across from the Cathedral and we had a wonderful dinner outdoors where we could enjoy the facade of the Cathedral and people walking . It was a great evening! After dinner we headed for our hotel and I have to tell you…I was tired! I did not even get into the pool! Just went to sleep!

I can assure you that we all had a great day yesterday. It was a remarkable event for us and one that I am glad to have taken part in. Today we head back to Portland on our “Noahs Ark.” It will be a lot of fun as this group of 44 has really had a wonderful time building community and enjoying the entire trip.

See you soon!

Sacramento Morning Day 2…

April 28, 2012Sr. Krista von Borstel 2 Comments

We got into the Best Western last night and found our way to our rooms. The rooms were spacious and wonderful and after a 13 hour bus ride it was such a welcome sight! It was not hard to fall asleep! Seven pillows on each bed? This morning I processed a little video tape that I took yesterday at the Heaven on Earth restaurant. I told you about Rosie who got out her guitar to share a song she wrote about the place. It is quite charming.

We will be leaving here at 9:30 this morning and heading to the museum. There are several exhibits there and I plan to take almost all of them in. Of course the purpose of our trip is to see the one featuring the History of Religious Life in America which originated in the Smithsonian Institute.

One that sounds interesting to me is the 100th Anniversary of Ishi’s discovery, an enhanced display chronicling the life and legacy of “the last wild Indian in North America”

California’s Remarkable Women 2011 – Celebrating the 100th anniversary of Women’s suffrage.

2011 California Hall of Fame – This will showcase the personal artifacts of the visionaries, legends and dreamers in the class of 2011 inductees – that should be interesting depending on who they are!

Tuskegee: Journey to Flight – Celebrates the gallant African-American men and women who broke barriers as aviation heroes of WWII, as well as champions of equality.

California Indians: Making a Difference – featuring Native voice and over 400 extraordinary artifacts

California Innovates: The Computer Chip

Explores the impact of the computer chip – I will take this one in so I will have something to say when I sit down with one of my friends from Intel! 🙂

Uprooted! Japanese Americans During WWII

Sacramento Here We Come!

April 26, 2012Sr. Krista von Borstel Leave a comment

Reminder…Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon (about 40 of us) are headed to Sacramento to see the exhibit on the “History of Religious Women in America!” This show was created by the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. and the closest it gets to Portland is Sacramento!

This adventure is very exciting and one that will be written up in the Archives of the Sisters for sure! It is the cap of the Sisters 125th Jubilee anniversary this year and will be a great memory for those who take part. Join me this weekend as I blog our adventures! And please leave comments! 🙂

Now to the practical side of things…

ü Our hotel has a swimming pool!

ü Forecast for Saturday: high of 84 and low of 63.

ü Sr. Rita has snacks for us. She will also ask for a bowl of tuna fish to be prepared on Thursday so we can make sandwiches either Thursday evening or Friday morning.

ü Kelly (our tour arranger) is not only providing snacks and water, but she is also treating us to cinnamon rolls, coffee/tea at “Heaven on Earth” in Azalea, OR.

ü Bring your own water bottles to refill/coffee mugs.

ü Remember that we cannot take fruit into California – so pack your lunch accordingly.

ü We will not stop for lunch (lunch on the bus) but we will stop for lunch/dinner on the return trip.

Schedule

Friday, April 27

6:00 Morning Prayer and Mass followed by breakfast

7:45 a.m. Bus Arrives

8:00 a.m. Board Bus

10:00 Rest stop near Eugene

11:30 Stop at Roseburg to pick up Barbara Green

(exit 127 – Home Depot parking lot)

12:30 Stop at Heaven on Earth Restaurant (exit 86) for coffee, tea, and cinnamon rolls –( thanks to Kelly)

2:30 p.m. Pick up Sr. Patricia Marie at McDonald’s on Biddle

5:00 p.m. Stop in Redding, CA, for dinner

8:30 p.m. Arrival in Sacrament (Best Western Sutter House)

John Canzano Writes About CYO Trackmeet

April 22, 2012Sr. Krista von Borstel Leave a comment

Mark Lee is the Director of CYO Track and Field in the Greater Portland area. He has a fantastic group of individuals who serve on his Commission and a wonderful group of talented individuals who coach the nearly 25 track and field teams in the Metro area including Clark County, Washington.

Special thanks to John Canzano for capturing this moment in words and sharing it with us.

http://mobile.oregonlive.com/advorg/db_106479/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=K2zQd6Yv

Thank You, 7&8 Graders, Blanchet Catholic School, Salem, OR

April 21, 2012Sr. Krista von Borstel Leave a comment

Six faculty and 94 students from Blanchet Catholic School in Salem, Oregon came to Camp Howard today to give a day of service to the camp. They were like a miniature army accomplishing things that would have taken the camp several weeks to do! The goal was to continue the branch and limb pick up from three places in the camp and haul the refuse to a pile where it will e recycled into chips. The camp is looking very clean on the forest floor thanks to the efforts of the camp staff and work groups like Blanchet Catholic School who volunteer to make a day of it! Thank you so much, Blanchet 7th and 8th graders for a job well done!

Click on photo to enlarge

Easter Week Gift of Inspiration to YOU

April 10, 2012Sr. Krista von Borstel 1 Comment

Sit back, put on your head phones, and let this music video fill your soul with inspiration. Happy Easter Week!

Patron Store Coming to CYO/Camp Howard

April 3, 2012Sr. Krista von Borstel Leave a comment

A new concept, THE PATRON STORE, is coming to CYO/Camp Howard. Reading behind the scenes at CYO gives you up close first hand information! The Patron Store is an online shopping opportunity that was started and originated here in Oregon. Three high schools were the test pilot schools this fall. Since then, the Patron Store has added nearly 100 organizations to the online shopping concept.

The way it works is that The Patron Store has gathered a plethora of businesses to offer goods online. Whenever we, the shoppers, buy these items, a percentage of the profit is sent to the organization. One of the most interesting features will be the ability to design your own spirit wear. It will come in a variety of colors and you can design it the way you want it and it will be sent to you. I have tested it out and it I really like it. I hope you will check it out too.

I am excited about what we can expect to see from the Patron Store and I hope you will check it out as soon as it launches and become a CYO/Camp Howard supporter.