Vacations are waaay better than Staycations!

As many of you know, we've been out east visiting family and touring historic sites since September 24th. We have had a blast. There is so much to do and see out here but not even time to do it and see it all. I guess we'll have to visit again sometime. This is going to be a long post, almost an itinerary, so sit back and get ready for the whirlwind. That's almost what it felt like to us, so enjoy. We'll try to get some more pictures up soon.

Gettysburgh:

We arrived in Richmond, Virginia where Mom and Dad picked us up. We headed straight to Gettysburgh. That is an amazing place and is waaaaay bigger than one would imagine.

Valley Forge:

We were heading straight to Valley Forge, but some city in Pennsylvania with Hershey kisses for street lamps on Chocolate Ave stopped us. We were too late to see any attractions, so we ate at The Grill on Chocolate Avenue. Best burger I've ever had, soft and tender....mmmmm, got hungry just thinking about it.

We stayed the night in a city called King of Prussia which is where the Valley Forge National Park is located. In the morning we went straight to the park for another amazing experience. The wind was blowing up on top of the hill where the camps were and it gave us a good insight to how cold it must've been in the middle of winter for those soldiers.

The Farm:



We knew that Jason's brother-in-law (Jason's sister's husband) grew up at "The Farm" in upstate NY, but I was never able to picture it. I never thought of Dan as a farmer, but now he will always be in my mind Farmer Dan. Erica got to go to the Circus for the first time ever while staying at The Farm. We also had some of the best Ice Cream ever and the portions were perfect for a BYU offensive lineman. That's one picture we should've taken but didn't. Our week stay was a blast but the best part was being with family. We're so grateful for the great examples of Krys, Dan and Dan's extended family. Thank YOU!

Sharon, Vermont:

We were lucky to be centrally located to early early Church history sites. We drove to beautiful Sharon, Vermont and visited the birthplace of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The home Joseph was born in sat on the border of Sharon and Royalton but Sharon gets the braging rights. The site is beautiful and there are still remnants of the old turnpike road that settlers travelled on in those days as well as the foundations of the cabins where Lucy Mack Smith's family had lived.

It was impressed upon my mind the influence of our ancestors on the people we become. The Lord has a plan for my life and the life of my posterity. These plans are a continuation of the plan laid out for my mother and father. The miracles in the life of Joseph Smith were preceded by miracles in the lives of his forefathers. How grateful I am to live in a time when I can know of the life and testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith

Palmyra:



On our way out of New York we stopped in Palmyra (we drug Dan, Krys and family along for that part). All the visitor centers are great, especially the one at the Hill Cumorah. Seeing the homes the Smiths lived in was an eye opener and it's no wonder they were so close as a family (you'd have to be in that close of quarters).

The Sacred Grove is much bigger than I ever imagined it. The clouds were out and rain was falling while we were walking through it but you could hardly tell due to the dense forest. There is an amazing spirit of reverance that exists when you walk through the grove and it was a very special experience.

We stayed the night in Palmyra and then went to the building where the Book of Mormon was first published. It's amazing that the building is still there. They walked us through the entire publication process. 5000 copies was an amazing feat. It's amazing the shop was able to support other publications during the process. If we still published like that today, the unemployment rate wouldn't be quite so high.

We had lunch at the Historic Palmyra Golden Arches and then parted ways with Dan, Krys, Scottie and Hazel. That's a tough bunch to say goodbye to.

Kirtland:



Kirtland is a special place for us because it is where Jason's ancestors became a part of the Church, giving us the legacy we have today. The difference at Kirtland was that the historic sites weren't all run by the church. The temple itself as well as a couple other sites are owned and maintained by the Community of Christ church which was established after the martyrdom of Joseph Smith. So instead of missionaries guiding you through, there's a tour guide that talks about the history of the temple and how it came to be what it is today.

Kinsley:

We left Kirtland a little later than we had planned and headed down to Dayton to see brand new Kinsley and new mom Melissa (ok ok, we wanted to see Jesse too, uh, well, sort of).

 

Unfortunately we didn't have as much time to visit with them as we would have liked but Kinsley is beautiful and we enjoyed watching Conference with them Sunday.