Upstate New York

We spent a few days in Northern New York.  We didn't stop by NYC at all (that will have to be a trip of its own someday).  Now, this part of New York is what most of New York is like: green, spacious land!  It was so beautiful! 

Palmyra Temple: What an astounding temple!  It's small, but it has many unique features.  Such as, all the windows are stained glass depicting the Sacred Grove.  Also, it is the ONLY temple with a window you can see out of.  That window has a direct view of the Sacred Grove.  It was wonderful to be in it and able to enjoy its beauty!

Smith Log House: We saw the Smith Log Home (below)- where Joseph lived when the Angel, Moroni appeared to him.  I could hardly believe that over 10 people usually occupied that home at a time!  It was very small!

The Sacred Grove: We walked through the Sacred Grove - where Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph.  It was so peaceful in there!  The bees were humming and the birds were singing, just as the song goes.  The mosquitos were also taking over due to all the rain, so we didn't stay still in there, but we did enjoy walking around!  This Grove has such significance to our religion.  Just as it is named, it truly is Sacred.

Grandin Printing Shop: Probably one of my favorite sites!  It is the original building and many artifacts most likely used during printing of the first copies of the Book of Mormon were on display.  The neat part was the many missionaries in there who had so many neat stories to tell of how miraculous the printing of the Book of Mormon was!  It was stories like these that reminded me over and over that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us! 

Eerie Canal: You sing songs about it.  You hear of how hard it was to build.  You hear of the ingenuity of it.  And now I've seen it!  See how green it is there?!?

Chill and Grill: Jared came to Palmyra when he was 15 years old.  One of his favorite memories was eating at "The Chill and Grill."  It became a tradition on this trip.  Their burgers were delicious and their ice cream was the best EVER!  And it was HUGE!  My two scoops equaled half of a small!  They had peppermint patty ice cream!  I fell in love!

The Whitmer Home: In the Whitmer's home, the church was organized - starting out with a handful of members.  Now our church has about 14 million members!  So neat!

Hill Cumorah: The city of Palmyra is small.  Pretty much all of the city's traffic is in the summer from tourists.  That meant that the Hill Cumorah pageant was one of the main attractions (it's only held for about 2 weeks each summer).  That being said, we spent a lot of time there saving seats!  Jared started getting a bit bored (as you can tell)!  The Hill Cumorah is pictured behind us.  We drove to the top and saw the monument of Moroni.  How neat to think the plates containing the words of the Book of Mormon were buried here!

Hill Cumorah Pageant: The pageant is filled with families from all over North America who audition and then "camp" in Palmyra for a three weeks.  It was inspiring talking to some of the cast members beforehand.  They were so happy to be there and be a part of this pageant!  It was very well done - as it told highlights from the Book of Mormon and how it was brought about.  So glad we were there when it was going on!

Canada: For about 45 minutes of our trip, I, Kourtney, was in a DIFFERENT country!  Yes folks, I finally left the country!  I had to show my passport (although they didn't stamp it, and I'm only slightly bitter).  It was fun to see speed limit signs in kilometers and to see Canadian flags everywhere!  We really just went for a better view of Niagra Falls though!

Niagra Falls: Look at all that water!  Because of ALL the rain, the water was flowing more forcefully than normal.  We were even getting wet from this point!  The mist was so thick that we could hardly get a decent view of the falls!  Pretty astounding!  

New York was wonderful!  It is a place filled with lots of history and significance to me!  I am so grateful we were able to go to these sites!  

Pennsylvania

After the D.C. area, we drove to Philadelphia, where we spent a couple nights.

Gettysburg: On the way to Philadelphia, we stopped at Gettysburg.  I loved the 360* art piece depicting the battle and the timeline they presented with it.  The museum there was well done! The grounds were huge, and the monuments scattered all throughout the battle sites were very neat!  Each American History site held miraculous stories that made me realize how much God had His hand in preparing this nation to be free!  Gettysburg was just one example of how miracles helped turn our nation into what it is today!

(a portion of the 360* painting)

(One battle ground monument at Gettysburg)

Hershey Town: That night, we also stopped in Hershey.  Yes, it's a city.  Yes, it is named after Mr. Hershey, the one who makes wonderfully, delicious chocolate!  We went on the Chocolate Factory Tour at Hershey World.  We didn't do any of the amusement park stuff, or the "make-your-own" activities, but it is a place with lots of fun stuff!  I was surprised to learn of Mr. Hershey's story.  His wife and he tried to have kids for many years, but couldn't so they opened a boarding school for young children who didn't have access to school or a stable home-life and they completed funded each child.  He donated his entire estate to this school when he passed away and the school continues to bless thousands of children each year!  Another neat fact, he originally opened a store called, "Just Caramels."  Oh, the irony!

(We found the kisses wall with every kiss ever made.)

(Chocolate made fresh that day tastes way better than what we buy in stores!)

(Look at that Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookie!!  It was pure deliciousness!)

Liberty Bell: We spent an entire day in Liberty square.  We saw the Liberty Bell first.  Behind the bell, it a view of the actual building it used to ring from - Liberty Hall.

 Liberty Hall: I actually walked in the building that the founding fathers did.  It was here that they wrote the Declaration of Independence and also where they signed the Constitution.  Another sacred place where God guided the men who did such brave acts.  Being our nation's capitol at the time, this was also the building in which the first senate and house were held in.  Cool stuff!

United States Mint: FYI, you have to have a picture I.D. to go inside here!  It was fun to see the process of how US coins are made.  We went on a day where it wasn't actually in use (most days it is); however, it was crazy to see the SIZE of the building and how complicated coin-making is!

Valley Forge: We spent the afternoon at Valley Forge Camp looking at the grounds and reading/seeing and watching what it was like to live there at the time the camp was in use.  It was a difficult time for the soldiers and many died of illness and poor health.  I can't imagine the freezing conditions, but I thought it was neat that George Washington encouraged the men to attend religious meetings each sabbath and that this "kept their spirits higher."  Don't we make a cute Martha and George?!

 Harmony: This might possibly win for my very favorite place that we visited on this trip.  Harmony, Pennsylvania is to this day a small town (not even called Harmony anymore).  But the Spirit I felt at this site was incredible!  It is true that remarkable portions of our Church's history took place in Harmony.  This is the place where Joseph met Emma and they fell in love.  This is where Joseph and Emma first lived in their own home.  It is where Joseph translated over half the Book of Mormon.  It is where the Aaronic Priesthood was restored by John, the Baptist.  It is where Joseph and Oliver were baptized.  What a remarkable piece of history!  I loved it!  There isn't much there yet, although the church already is in the planning phase of restoring the site.  Now, only this monument and a few signs designate it's significance.  We did go down to the Susquehanna River though where they were baptized and near where John, the Baptist appeared.  It was calm and quiet and still.  The Spirit testified to me that it was a sacred place.  I could've spent an entire day here enjoying the peace I felt there!

Pennsylvania is quite a neat place!

Good Morning Baltimore (and D.C.)

After a wonderful 8 days in Tennessee, we said goodbye to Jared's grandparents and headed off to Baltimore, Maryland with Jared's mom, and 2 of his sisters. We flew into the Baltimore airport and drove around town a bit before calling it a night.

While in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area, we

--Took a tour of the capitol building.  It is a very ornate building with many neat items within it.

--We went to the National Botanic Gardens.  If I worked in D.C., I would eat lunch in here every day.  It was so beautiful!

--We went to a few Smithsonian Museums.

(Smithsonian: Natural History) I loved all the animals, especially the sea animals!

(Smithsonian: Air & Space) Jared was really interested in this museum!

(Smithsonian: American History) I loved the fun things they had for all the different time periods!


--We also saw the National Archives (where you can't take pics), but where you get to see the original Constitution and Declaration of Independence.  Pretty remarkable!

--We ran up the steps at the Lincoln Memorial.  The view from here is wonderful!

--We got DRENCHED in rain as we walked by the White House.

-We spent a day at Mount Vernon (George Washington's home). This was one of my favorite places around D.C.  His grounds are incredible and he was such a brilliant and honest man!  

--We went and toured the Washington D.C. Temple Visitor Center and walked around the temple (the temple was closed for cleaning).  The Visitor Center was one-of-a-kind!  We had the very best tour guides too!  (Thanks Petramalos!)

--We went to the National Zoo.  I LOVE zoos and I was so happy that despite the rain, the animals were all out and very entertaining!  

Our time here went by so fast, but we sure didn't waste even one minute!  I have never walked so much than we did when we were in D.C., but it was well worth the tired feet!  I learned so many new facts and really loved our time there!