PALMYRA--THE CRADLE OF THE RESTORATION

Palmyra New York.
This is on my Top 10 list of favorite places in the world! I love the feeling I have here when I think of great things that happened down these roads, in these homes, on these hillsides, in these groves. As we drove in, I felt like a kid about to see Disneyland. Did I say I love this place? I couldn't wait to show Denny the Hill Cumorah. As a family, we spent the greater part of two summers as cast members in the Pageant. Jonathan and Steven were in the Work Crew. It is OUR Hill Cumorah!

This view is from the top looking into the bowl where in 3 weeks there will be a stage and 10,000 chairs and a truckload of energy.

View from the bowl looking at the four-tier stage (which isn't set up yet!).

This is the monument on top of the hill depicting Moroni inviting the world to read the words of the Lord in the Book of Mormon.


As cast members, this open-air shelter became our home by day. We ate here, sang the Song of Cumorah here, recited the Standard of Truth here, and loved every minute!

Next to the hill is a beautiful Visitors Center.

Inside is the Christus. We are facing a spectacular wall of windows overlooking the countryside of Palmyra.

The Palmyra Temple is 2 miles from the Hill Cumorah. It is just like the Spokane Temple, only really, really, really muggy!

The Smith Family home near the Sacred Grove. It has been redone since our last visit to look exactly like it was when Alvin built it for the family in 1823.

In this room upstairs, Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith and told him about the Book of Mormon which would change the world. I love this room!

This is a view across the Smith farm into the Sacred Grove.

This is the Sacred Grove. I took this picture because this tree is old enough to have witnessed the miracle that happened here.

The Sacred Grove is much larger than I remember. Denny and I felt like we were the only ones there. You could sit and bask in the reverent spirit there and not see or hear anyone. We spent an hour there and could have spent all day.

On to the Grandin Printing Store where the first 2,000 Books of Mormon were published.

Next stop, the Peter Whitmer farm where the Church was organized on April 6, 1830. It was out of our way by 30 miles but we were so glad we went.

The whole day we spent in Palmyra. It was a day I will never forget because I could see Denny become excited over seeing places he's heard so much about. It was his first trip, my fourth.

Our Maine Bed and Breakfast Experience

This has been a trip of firsts. Certainly near the top of the list is that last night, for the first time, we stayed at a Bed and Breakfast. I admit, I was nervous. I like to be in control (just ask Denny) and there were many questions. What would it cost? How do you find a good one? Is it like staying at Aunt Edna's? Will the breakfast be good?

We decided that if we're ever going to experience a bed and breakfast, Maine is the place.

Read on...

The breakfast was fabulous. This is after we had fresh OJ and rich hot chocolate and Maine blueberry coffee cake. The crepes are filled with fresh strawberries!

We found this cute little farmhouse on our Garmin. We searched for something close to where we were, and drove right to it. The price was right!

We had an upstairs room with a quaint little bathroom. The shower curtain circled the tub and had a tendency to "suck in" as we showered. (we, as in singular!)

Then there was the floor. It sagged in every direction. The bed had blocks under the legs to level it! We felt like we were in a funny house at a carnival!

This little pond was right out our window, complete with paddle boats. We didn't use them. The croaking frogs added a "homey" touch to the night air.

Outside another window was this rope swing. We didn't use this either!

The jury is still out whether we will ever opt for a bed and breakfast experience again. When it was all said and done, we were at Aunt Edna's! Thanks Edna, for the great breakfast! We hope we didn't keep you up late with our laughter!

We drove nearly 565 miles today--all the way from Bar Harbor Maine to Syracuse NY, most of it in the rain. As the sky cleared, we were treated with this sunset. We are headed west, FINALLY! It feels so good! Tomorrow we'll be at one of my favorite places in the world, Palmyra, NY. We will start a new chapter of Church history sites. Denny is feeling sick as I write this. Maybe we drove too much today.

Maine----Vacationland

Maine!

Here we are doing our "Stop The Rain" Karate chops. Don't laugh. It worked!

As we drove deeper into Maine the clouds disappeared and for 2 days now, we've had the most gorgeous weather imaginable.
We decided to take the coast highway (Hwy 1) so we would be sure to see every nook and cranny of the small towns. This is a typical street as we passed though whatever town this is.

Our first stop was Kennebunkport, made famous by the Bush family. This is their estate and we stumbled upon it as we drove around. Actually a woman on a beach told us about George senior's

85th birthday party and we realized we were near the home when the Secret Service cars were putting up road blocks. Funny that we found ourselves with the other locals waiting for his skydiving jump! We caught it all on film! From this point we watched Barbara playing with their dog Millie on the front lawn. With binoculars we could see "W" and Laura and kids!

While we watched the Secret Service boats, we posed!
Then, the entire Bush family piled into this bus and headed for the Church lawn where George Sr. would land. "W" is sitting in the back.

Here he is, in all his 85 year old glory! We should all be so brave.

As we left Kennebunkport, I snapped a few more pictures of homes along the street.

Cool beach "cottages".

Jules, you would have loved this one...right on the beach.

We had a lobster roll in this little bay.

As promised, we stopped at L.L. Bean. Denny and I both bought items for our mission.

I have been having trouble trying to put space between these pictures so I will just have to "make do"! This is a bridge with an observation room on top. We went to the top and took the following photos:

Denny's binoculars are coming in handy today!

Next stop, a lobster pound (as they call it) restaurant. You order by choosing your live lobster and they cook it in the boiling pots you can see in the picture.

We chose 2 nice ones!

They are put into a net bag and lowered into the pot. You should hear them scream! (Just kidding--they don't scream!)

In 20 minutes, you have dinner!

We loved eating our Lobster outside in the sunshine!

This was our view! Just up the street is the road into Bar Harbor, our destination.

Acadia is a National Park and the crown jewel is Cadillac Mountain, the highest elevation along all the east coast. The views were spectacular, as you can see.

At the top of the world!

We stayed for sunset and it didn't disappoint!

Then, into the town of Bar Harbor to walk around and take it all in.
It has been a perfect day with perfect weather. We sat on a bench eating ice cream taking this scene in.

We got crazy and opted for a bed and breakfast tonight. The home is quaint and old and very Julia and Logan. Denny is showing the downward slope of our floor. Hope the breakfast is good!

Next stop, Palmyra, NY. I can feel the horses galloping!

Boston

Today we did a whirlwind tour of Boston and we feel pretty good about it! How can you see Boston in a day, you ask? Just stick with us! We were told not to try to drive in Boston and this time we listened. We drove to Salem (20 miles to the north) parked, and took the train in. It was a great decision. We walked everywhere and had a great time. Tonight we're dead tired but Denny and I feel like today was as close to perfect as it gets. Could it be we're ready for the Amazing Race? NOT!

First stop was the Old North Church of Paul Revere fame.

Here he is.

One by land, two by sea...

Inside the church.

We took a tour through Paul Revere's home a few blocks from the church. It's not every day you get to go through a wooden house from the 1600's. Some of the furnishings were original to the Revere family.

We walked through town to get to the "Cheers" bar, where everyone knows your name! I had a Shirley Temple and it was perfect!

Tonight we're just across the border into Maine. Tomorrow we'll see the coastline all the way up to Bar Harbor. Did you know Freeport is the Land's End headquarters and the store is open 24 hours a day? We're FOR SURE stopping! The weather has turned cold (low 60's) and we've had rain parts of every day. We're due for some sunshine!