Road Trip '08 - Days 11 and 12

We were so tired after our day in New York City that we needed a day to recuperate. So Day 11 we relaxed at Brian and Lily's, going to see "Iron Man," shopping in tax-free Delaware, and eating Philly Cheese Steaks. It was a much needed rest to prepare for the next day and another drive, this time to West Virginia to see Dustin, Liz, and Eli. Along the drive we passed through Maryland



Laughed over the town Accident, Maryland



And drove through the hills of Wild and Wonderful West Virginia.



License Plates: 28
Gas Mileage: 39 mpg

Road Trip '08 - Day 10

Day 10 was so busy! Brian and Lily took us into New York City. We rode the train in and saw all sites and sounds of the Big Apple. Brian was a great tour guide and made sure that we didn't miss a thing. The slide show shows all of the things that we saw.

Happy Birthday, MOM!!!

(I used this picture since I have NO pictures of my mother alone - the only way she's photographed is if she's with the family)

Road Trip '08 - Days 8 and 9

We hit all of the hot spots of Palmyra, New York on Day 8. We began at the Hill Cumorah (I never realized it was so steep walking straight up!), then went to the Smith Family property. There we saw the replica of the log cabin that they lived in first, then their frame home, then finally the Sacred Grove. It was so peaceful to walk through the Sacred Grove. They are doing a great job restoring it to its original state. After that we went to the Grandin Print Shop where the Book of Mormon was printed. Then it was time to hit the road again. We headed southward towards Philadelphia to visit Dallin's parents. Along the way, we stopped briefly in Scranton (home of The Office). We searched for the sites from the opening credits, but couldn't find anything. Scranton is bigger than I thought!
Upon arriving at Brian and Lily's house, we needed some time to relax. Day 9 was spent relaxing - going to church, eating some yummy barbecue and getting home taught. It helped us recover after our week of nonstop traveling and prepared us for Day 10 - New York City!

# of License Plates: 24
Gas Mileage: 38 mpg

Road Trip '08 - Day 7

Sorry I'm taking so long to get these pictures up! Day 7 we drove up to Kirtland, Ohio to see the sites from the early history of the Church. First we toured the Newel K. Whitney Home and Store along with the Old Sawmill and Ashery. After that, we headed up for an interesting tour of the Kirtland Temple. The Community of Christ owns this property so it was slightly different than the tours we'd had at the other sites, but still just as interesting. Our tour guide, Kevin from Australia, showed us all three stories of the temple. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside.
After that we headed even more northward. We stopped at Lake Erie since I had never seen any of the Great Lakes. Then we drove through Pennsylvania and New York to get to Palmyra. When we got to the Palmyra Inn, the only hotel in town, they only had two rooms left - both suites with jacuzzi tubs. So we stayed in style that night! Woo hoo!

# of License Plates: 31
Gas Mileage: 40 mpg

Road Trip '08 - Day 6

Day 6 was pretty uneventful. We spent the whole day in the car. Biggest events of the day: driving through 3 states (Illinois, Indiana, Ohio) and beating our record on license plates (37).




# of License Plates: 37
Gas Mileage: 41.6 mpg

Road Trip '08 - Day 5

Day 5 was busy and eventful. We began the day by doing more around Nauvoo, including visiting the Printing Shop and John Taylor's Home. That afternoon we drove to Carthage to visit the jail where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were martyred. That was a sobering experience to be where the Prophet lost his life. It was a time for reflection. Then we went back to Nauvoo and finished up seeing the last few things we had missed. We went to the Family Living Center and learned how to make clothes, bread, candles, rope, pottery, and barrels. I don't know how those pioneers did it all!! That night we went to a show at the Cultural Hall called "Rendez-vous at Old Nauvoo." It is put on by the senior missionaries and they entertained by showing what life was like back then.

# of License Plates: 0
Gas Mileage: 33 mpg

Road Trip '08 - Day 4

Day 4 was another full day in Nauvoo. We started the day out by going through a session in the Nauvoo Temple. It was BEAUTIFUL! That was one of my favorite parts of the trip. After that we changed and headed back down to Old Nauvoo for a ride behind the oxen in our covered wagon, then another ride behind some ponies in carriage to Inspiration Point. We spend the rest of the day exploring around Old Nauvoo, as can be seen by the pictures.

# of License Plates: 0
Gas Mileage: N/A

Road Trip '08 - Day 3

We headed out of Liberty early and took the back roads to peaceful Far West, where the Saints lived in Missouri and planned to build a temple. Then we went on to the beautiful Adam-Ondi-Ahman. Because of all of the flooding in the Midwest, we decided to take a more southern path to get across the Mississippi. We crossed at Hannibal, Missouri, the home town of Mark Twain. We drove through town and hoped to see some things, but they were frantically building the levee and there was already water throughout town, so we decided to get out of there quick, and crossed the river into Illinois. Upon getting to Nauvoo, we checked into Motel Nauvoo and began our tour of that amazing city. There was so much to see and do, I can't write about it all. Check it out in the slideshow:

That night we went to "Sunset on the Mississippi," a variety show put on by the missionaries. Unfortunately, there was too much water on the Mississippi, so they moved the show up to higher ground. We walked back to the motel and watched moon rise over the temple. A great first day in Nauvoo!

# of Different State License Plates: 13
Gas Mileage: 36 mpg

Road Trip '08 - Day 2

Day 2 was a busy and eventful day! We got up early and were on the road by 7am. We weren't too sad to say goodbye to the Blue Spruce Inn and it's sketchy accomodations. Our first stop of the day was Winter Quarters, Nebraska, where the pioneers stayed for the winter before going onto Salt Lake. There we toured the Visitor's Center, saw the Mormon Cemetery, and looked at the Winter Quarters Temple from afar (the gates were locked since it was Sunday). Then we headed across the river to Iowa and Council Bluffs, where Brigham Young was ordained 2nd President of the Church. We then travelled the the wetness of Iowa and into Missouri. We drove through a downpour, but other than that, things weren't too bad in Iowa despite all the flooding we saw on the news. Next stop: Independence, Missouri. There we toured the Visitor's Center and saw the Community of Christ Temple. We also stood on the hill where Joseph Smith received revelation about the gathering of Zion to Missouri. Our final stop of the day was Liberty, Missouri, where Joseph Smith was imprisoned for many months. It was sobering to see the terrible conditions he was forced to live in. By this point, we were completely beat, so we stayed the night in Liberty, amidst reports that there was hail the size of golf balls. We didn't see any and our car didn't have any damage, so we were safe.

# of Different State License Plates: 31
Gas Mileage: 35 mpg (stupid ethanol-enriched gas)

Road Trip '08 - Day 1

I know many of you have anxiously been waiting for updates on our Church History Road Trip. Well, we finally have some internet in this hotel, so here are some updates. I'll do my best to do as much as I can, but things are moving kind of slow.

Day 1

We left the house at 6am and headed for Wyoming to the Mormon Handcart Museum at Martin's Cove. There we saw where many of the Saints crossing the plains were stuck at the Sweetwater and watched a movie about it. We saw some old wagons and handcarts. After that we headed towards Casper and then back down towards Nebraska. We passed Chimney Rock, where the pioneers would stop and carve their names. Dallin and I both remembered it from playing the computer game Oregon Trail as kids. That night we stopped in North Platte, Nebraska to try to find a hotel room. Everywhere we stopped was full. Finally we found the last room in North Platte. Who would have thought North Platte was such a happening place? We later found out that it was "Nebraska Land Days" and everyone in the county was there for the fun.

We also got extremely good gas mileage that day - 43mpg on the first tank and 44 mpg on the second.
To entertain ourselves, we played the license plate game and wrote down all of the states we could see. Day 1 Total: 27

Flashback Friday

Thanks, Mom, for reminding me about Flashback Friday. I nearly forgot! This week's flashback is in honor of Father's Day. This is my dad and I at a Daddy Daughter Party from when I was a Merrie Miss in Primary. Nina was our teacher and we planned an exciting Western themed party. We worked for weeks on a silent, Western movie and I think we barbequed at the Ashton's house. Both daddies and daughters dressed up in their best Western wear for an exciting night, as you can see from my dad and I in the picture. So Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Shoot Your Gun

To relieve our sadness after the MTC, Dallin, Dustin, Brian, Amanda, and I loaded up in the Jeep and headed to the far side of Utah Lake to shoot the guns. We shot at the target and shot at the clay pigeons with the shot gun. It was a ton of fun!

Farewell, Elder Coffman

The big event occured on Wednesday - dropping off Andrew at the MTC!



It was a chilly day, but some remained happy.



Others were not so happy



Here is Elder Coffman getting pinned by his mommy:




There were tears from everyone, but the missionary. He must have been too excited!



For more info on Elder Coffman and his "domination of Arizona" check out his mission blog at acoffman.blogspot.com

Dustin's Big Bash

Monday was Dustin's birthday. Not just any birthday, the big birthday. The big 3-0. Boy, was it a party! We all went to Tucano's for a meaty-dinner and enjoyed Dustin's dancing when they sang happy birthday to him.



Dallin proved his eating skills by dining one-handed so that Sleeping Beauty would not need to be awakened from her sleep.



Then we headed back to our house for cake and ice cream. The candles nearly started a fire there were so many of them!!



Savannah tried to sneak an extra piece



Everyone had a great time scoializing and seeing old friends!