Our trip to New York/Palmayra/Sacred Groove/Hill Cumorah

Another trip we made this summer was up to New York.  Nate had been as a youth, but neither my mom nor I had ever been!  It was another item on our “living in Ohio” bucket list.  My cousin, Patrick lives there, so we got to stay with their family.  It was so fun to reconnect with him since it has been so many years apart.  We left early Sunday morning and arrived around dinner time.  My brother, Branden even flew to NY to stay and sight-see with us.  We had a wonderful BBQ dinner outside and then headed to one of the Finger Lakes.  It was a beautiful time with the sun setting on the lake.  We skipped rocks, and let the littlies play at the park.  Even though the sun was set, it was still SO hot and humid.  In fact, that whole week was so hot!  It didn’t help that my cousin lived in a really old house with no A/C.  Really, everywhere we went those 3-4 days had no A/C.  We tried to be good sports, but living with A/C these last 7 years has totally spoiled me.

Anyways, on Monday we headed into the heart of Amish country and got some yummy Amish baked goods. 

We then went to another Finger Lake to play at their splash pad.  It was just what we needed to help cool down in the heat of the day.  Thatcher, of course, loved it!  I wish we could have just hung out there all day.  On the way home, we stopped at another Amish Market and got goodies and supplies to make sub sandwiches at home.  After Thatcher’s nap, we decided to head back to yet another Finger Lake to cool down again.  We stopped and picked up pizzas to eat at the lake.  Even though it was 6pm, it was still so hot, so the water felt so good to swim in.  The thought of getting out was not pleasant.

The next day was a big one.  We had a whole day of Church History sites to visit.  Our first stop was the Smith Log Home.  We got to see many houses that were some original, some replicated.  We also saw cool barns and gardens.  It was set up exactly how I would have pictured it.  This lead right into the Sacred Grove.  It was so quiet and spiritual.  I only wished I could have sat and enjoyed it longer; it was just so hot, even in the shade!
We then headed to the Original Church Publication Building.  It was where the first Book of Mormon was published.  I learned a lot of very interesting details I had never heard before.  It was one of my favorite stops! 

We had a BBQ dinner at a local park and let the littlies run off some “pent-up-in-strollers” wiggles.  I loved the picture I captured of Thatcher eating the watermelon.

Our last stop on our Church History tour was the Hill Cumorah. We went saved our seats for the Pageant and then went into the semi-air conditioned Visitors Center.  Before the show started, the actors started walking around.  The first one we saw was King Noah.  His costume was amazing!  Thatcher, unfortunately, did not think the same.  He was terrified!  The picture is so funny to look back on.

It was finally time to get to our seats to watch the Pageant.  I was so excited to see it, and it DID NOT disappoint.  The music, the light show, and all the special effects were so amazing.  It kept Thatcher’s attention and he even kept pointing out Jesus (which he learned to say on this trip).  When the show was over, we had made a last-minute decision to stay at a hotel 30 min away, but on the way to Niagara Falls.  We had to say goodbye to the Mitchell’s, but I could not have been more excited to sleep in AC.  It was a nice, quick drive and we all got to take showers/baths to clean off the day’s constant sweating.  Our next day would consist of seeing the Niagara Falls and driving home.  We were all very grateful for a full night’s rest.

 

 

I love Thatcher's face--he was terrified