Well, Bryson and I were so lucky to be able to go on a trip (WITHOUT KIDS-Thanks Mom, Dad, Lori and Kara!) to see some of Bryson's family and also to see many of the church historic sites in Kirtland, OH and Palmyra, NY. It was absolutely amazing! To start off our trip, we flew from Boise to Indianapolis (it was a lot cheaper) and then rented a car and drove 6 hours over to Pittsburgh to pick up Bryson's parents (it was cheaper for them to fly in there :). Then we all drove down to West Virginia to spend the 4th of July with two of Bryson's sisters and their families. Can you tell we are excited?
The next day, we drove with my in-laws to Kirtland, OH where we met up with another of Bryson's sisters and her cute boys and went to the church sites there. Here we are in front of the Newel K. Whitney store (obviously).
One of the rooms upstairs from the store is where the School of the Prophets was. That was a really neat room to be in.
The next morning, we visited the Kirtland Temple (now owned by the Community of Christ church . . . the tour there was very different from our visits to the other sites - something was just missing). It was still so beautiful. Here are my wonderful in-laws. :)
After that, we drove up to Niagara Falls and loved seeing that!
Bryson served his mission (a few years ago. . . :) in Buffalo and Rochester, NY. So, we were able to drive around a little of Buffalo to see where he lived and we also ate dinner at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo. It is the place where Buffalo Wings were invented.
And they were DELICIOUS!
Afterwards we drove to Palmyra where we stayed in an 1800's style Bed and Breakfast. It was true to the time. :) Bryson's oldest sister and her family (the ones from West Virginia) were there, along with his parents. We all shared one bathroom.
Our first stop of the morning was the Sacred Grove. This is where Joseph Smith had the First Vision. It was amazing. The Spirit there is so strong. I had such an incredible experience just walking along the path and feeling like I was in a temple.
We toured through the homes of the Smith family. Here we are in Joseph's bedroom. It's not the original home, but was built on the same foundation, so really we are in the same space where the Angel Moroni appeared.
We also toured the Grandin Building where the Book of Mormon was first published. There were many miracles that led up to the publication.
We went to the top of the Hill Cumorah and then toured the visitor's center--so neat! I forgot to add a picture of that.
We also drove out to Fayette and visited the Peter Whitmer farm. This is where the church was first organized. It was a very special place to visit.
Friday morning, Bryson and I were able to attend a session at the Palmyra temple. It is such a beautiful place. One thing that was neat about that temple is all the windows have stained glass to look like the Sacred Grove, but one window in the foyer is partially clear and you can see right out into the actual Grove.
From Palmyra we drove back to Pittsburgh where Bryson's parents flew out of the next morning. We then drove back to Indiana (and got stuck in some massive NASCAR traffic in Kentucky) and stayed a couple days with Bryson's sister and her family (the one that met us in Kirtland earlier in the week). It was nice to have a relaxing day after all that we did! On the morning we flew out, we got a great intro to Crossfit by Bryson's sister who started her own Crossfit gym. I was really sore for a few days!
And here we are in front of the Ohio River.
