RootsTech 2020 - The Day Before

It is time for a new episode of RootsTech, their 10th anniversary. Most of the attendees are beginning to arrive and headed out to do some sight seeing, visit the Family History Library to do some research, or just get together for some socializing. We got in last night and met up with Elizabeth Swaney O'Neal, a fellow blogger and Ambassador for RootsTech. We shared an Uber ride to the hotel and had time to discuss our families and what we are working on. Networking is a major part of the RootsTech experience.

My wife came along with me this time and she is trying to acclimate to the dry and cold conditions. It is a big change from Florida and I think her gills are drying out. You definitely have to drink your water while you are here. And then I injured my elbow and now have limited mobility in the left arm, that will make it hard to keep up on my blogging. Luckily I only use two fingers when typing and my right hand handles about 2/3 of the keyboard so it isn't too much of a handicap.

The exciting part of this week for my wife is meeting a couple relatives for the first time and attending a wedding reception for one of her old Primary kids. She is also looking forward to getting some time to do some research in the Family History Library where she will try to prove her DNA results by focusing on three sons of a common ancestor to see which line is hers. I'm looking forward to the conference, meeting some friends, and networking more with the other genealogists. I will be pretty busy attending classes, working at The Family History Guide booth, meeting with FamilySearch and MyHeritage staff, and just socializing.

So, what do we do the day before RootsTech officially starts? Since this is her first time in Salt Lake City, we spent our time with sightseeing and some networking. My wife and I explored the area around the Salt Palace. Our first stop was the Church History Museum. They had done a renovation a couple years ago and the displays and stories were well designed and engaging. We talked to several of the people working there and learned more about the events in the churches history. Afterwards, we went to the Family History Library to do a little research. We selected a work station and began looking for my wife's brick wall, James Albert Walker and then I heard someone from an adjacent work station call my name, it was one of my genealogy friends from The Second Life Virtual Genealogy Society. We had a short conversation and then it was time to head out for the next activity.

Geneablogger lunch with Fran Kitto and Cathie Sherwod

Then it was off to lunch at the Blue Lemon with the Geneabloggers. The Geneabloggers are a group of genealogy bloggers who socialize on Facebook. We share our stories and interests and hopefully inspire others to take on the challenges and joys of family history research. My wife and I sat with two bloggers from Australia, Cathie Sherwood and Fran Kitto. We had a great time discussing Australia and their research as well as my wife's Australian relatives.

The organ in the Tabernacle.

Temple Square is partially closed due to construction but we were able to visit the Assembly Hall, Tabernacle, and North Visitor Center. At each location, the missionaries gave us tours and explained the history and meaning of the various locations. Then we went to the Conference Center and got a nice tour of the location from two sister missionaries from Canada. We even went onto the roof of the Conference Center to see all the dormant plants up there. Each side of the roof is planted with vegetation from the respective side of Utah.

Registration for RootsTech opened at 4:00, so we went to the Salt Palace to take care of our registration. Registration and checking in is so much easier and quicker now with all the prep that the RootsTech staff have done. We were done in seconds. Then it was off to explore the classroom locations and see who was around. The Speakers and Ambassadors had their meet and greets during the afternoon also so I was able to see many of my old friends and see what they have been up to.

By this time my wife was totally exhausted so we headed back to our hotel for a quick bite and some rest. It was a bit crowded on the sidewalks with crowds of people headed to the Vivant Arena to see the Miranda Lambert concert. As we were walking we started talking to some of them, mainly about the weather and our "winter coats" from Florida, which were basically light jackets.

There is so much to do and so little time to do it while we are here at RootsTech. Oh, and wait for the big announcement in my blog post this evening. What will be happening with RootsTech in the future? You will have to wait to find out. Until then, have a great day.