Trip To Beth's - Day 8 - June 29th, 2016

This was our last morning here with Beth and Dave. We had a great week with them, and made tons of memories. We ate breakfast, checked out of the hotel, and drove to the Rochester Airport. We flew to New Jersey ( on the way there, we saw the Statue of Liberty out the plane window. Doug tried to get a picture, but all he got was a shadow of it as we flew past) Then we flew to Denver. From there we were supposed to fly into St. George, but our flight (and most everyone at the Denver airport) was cancelled. They rerouted us to Las Vegas. MaKayla drove and picked us up. It was a LONG 18 hours getting home. 

Trip To Beth's - Day 7 - June 28th, 2016

We drove to Palmyra, New York. The first stop was the Joseph Smith Sr. farm. We saw the log cabin where Joseph and his 7 siblings grew up, and where the angel Moroni visited Joseph. The house is pretty small. It is hard to imagine a large family living there. From the back door, you can see the woods where the Sacred Grove is. Down the road near the apple orchard, is the Threshing barn, and the frame house that Alvin built, which the family lived in for a little while after Alvin died. The weather was perfect, and as we strolled in the Sacred Grove it was very peaceful. We took some time to reflect on all that has happened there. I sat down on a bench with the sun streaming through the trees, and I listened to my favorite hymn: Joseph's First Prayer.  It brought tears to my eyes. Then we drove back into town and toured the Grandin printing press where the fist copies of the Book of Mormon were printed. The missionaries at all the places we stopped and toured were very helpful, and answered all our questions. We met some that were from Utah, and some even had family in St. George. Next we went to the cemetery where Alvin Smith is buried. We spent a little time walking around the beautiful Palmyra Temple. Next, we drove to The Hill Cumorah. That is a very steep hill. They were setting up for The Hill Cumorah pageant (which we missed by a few days). After that, we drove to the town of Waterloo, and toured the Visitor Center, and the Peter Whitmore Home, where Joseph Smith finished translating the Golden plates. On our way back to Rochester, we stopped and ate at a nice restaurant on Lake Ontario. It was a nice way to end our vacation.

 

Trip to Beth's - Day 6 - June 27th, 2016

Part One
After breakfast we went to the Kirtland Temple. It is owned by the Church of Christ. We went on a special tour from basement to Bell tower. The man leading the tour has lived near the Temple all his life, and he told a lot of interesting stories. The Temple is very run down, but it was one of the most spiritual experiences I have ever had. I can not describe the feeling that overcame me, as I stood where Joseph Smith sat and saw Jesus, Heavenly Father, Moses, Elias, Elijah, and Joseph's brother Alvin. We got to go up to the tower where the bell is. We went in every room in the Temple, and we went down in the basement to the dirt floor, and got to see the original brick foundation. While there, Dave picked up a rock that had fallen from the foundation, and he gave it to me. It is neat to think about who might have mixed that rock into the foundation.... We also went in a crawl space between the first and second floors, and saw the underneath of the beams, and seats, etc. It must have been so beautiful when it was first built. We were not allowed to take pictures except outside, and up in the Bell Tower.

Part Two
We spent a few hours touring Kirtland Village. The Newel K. Whitney store was very special. A lot of revelations happened upstairs in that store. We also visited the Isaac Morley Farm, the cemetery where there is a memorial built for the Smith family, the Sawmill which provided lumber for building the Temple, the Red School house, and one of the homes that Joseph and Emma lived in for awhile. We also saw the Ashery where Potash was produced.

Part Three
We drove to the town of Niagara Falls, and we went on "The Maid Of The Mist".  It took us right up to the Falls. It is one of the most magnificent sights I have ever seen. Everyone on the boat was soaking wet from the spray off the Falls. You could see a double rainbow most of the time. The sound is very loud.  After that, we drove to our hotel in the town of Rochester.