It's September already!!! I can't believe it. We have been so busy this summer trying to fit in all of the sightseeing that we didn't do last year because it was so miserably hot & humid. We are in such a great historical place. I'm not sure we could see everything even if we tried. Every time we turn around we hear of someplace else that we should go visit.
I'll start by sharing what we did during shut down. Of course we went to Virginia & surprised Dad at church on Father's Day. I'm not sure we have ever spent Father's Day with him so it was wonderful. We enjoyed being with Laurie, Shawn & Tanya's families & especially loved seeing Mom again.
We decided that we would go to New York City because we were scared & would never make the trip just to go there. Our good friends from the Temple met us there & if it hadn't been for them I'm not sure we would have braved the subway. That in itself was an experience & then coming up from underground & looking up & seeing the Angel Moroni was awe inspiring. A friend told us not to walk around with our cameras & looking up because then people would know we were tourists. Oh well, we blew that advice. You just had to look up! Everything was so tall. Another friend told us we had to have a hot dog from one of the carts on the street because that was a New York experience. I fully intended on doing that but the smell of BO from the subway combined with the smell of hot dogs was not appetizing at all, so I passed.
We went to the Broadway show, "Phantom of the Opera" (which was amazing), on another day & did so much walking. The blocks are a normal length one way but if you go the other way they are very long. Add that to not knowing where you're at & how to find where you want to go & it is very hot & I could just feel myself melting. Another thing that was amazing was the cars & the masses of people crossing the intersections. I saw so many near misses. I'm surprised we didn't see anyone hit or at least an accident of some kind.
We spent one day going to Ellis Island & the Statue of Liberty. What an awe inspiring & spiritual experience. We felt even more grateful for our ancestors.
We found a Branch in New Jersey & they asked us to speak. It was fun to visit. The church is true wherever we go & we can always find friends. That's an amazing thing about the gospel.
Our friends that met us in New York invited us to their time share in the Poconos mountains in Pennsylvania so we stayed there for a couple of days & had a great time. It was especially nice after being in NYC. Nothing against the big city but my country brain feels more at home with peace & quiet.
Actually, when we came back to Boston our subway wasn't nearly so frightening as it had been a year ago. We have been to a couple of Red Sox games which was so fun to be in Fenway Park & see the green "monstah".
I had been feeling so homesick about a month ago. Then Angie came to spend 5 days with us & it was so wonderful to have her here. We had a lobster roll when she got off the plane & took her to see the Temple all lit up. On Saturday we went to Woodstock, Quechee Gorge & Rutland, Vermont, where we spoke. On our way home we went to the Joseph Smith Memorial in Sharon, Vermont. We love it there. There is such a spiritual feeling & a feeling of reverence for the Prophet. They also had an exhibit of the Hubble Space Telescope images. It was one of the most awe inspiring things I have ever seen. We've heard of "world's without number", but this exhibit really made it real for me.
Monday we went to the Old North Church in Boston where Paul Revere watched for the lantern signal from the steeple; went to Mike's Pastry (famous) where we had to have a couple of cannoli's; went to Quincy Market & rode on the duck boats. Tuesday we took her to Lexington Green where the Revolutionary War started; the old North Bridge in Concord; we went to Rockport to do some fun shopping & see where the movie, "The Proposal" was filmed & then went to Gloucester for a lobster dinner. Wednesday we went to Plymouth & saw the Mayflower II; Plymouth rock; John Alden's home & the gravesites of John Alden, Priscilla Mullins & Myles Standish. Then we did a little more shopping & took her to the airport. It almost wasn't hard to say good-bye to her because we did so much & had such a good time.
We've gone to Longfellows home which is now an inn; Louisa May Alcott's home; the schoolhouse of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" (yes, she was real); lighthouses, beaches & I'm sure I'm forgetting places we've been.
It sounds like we're on a sightseeing mission doesn't it! Well, we are loving it here & are trying to make the most of it on our time off. We went to the Temple Tuesday & there was a check from the Missionary Dept. to pay for our expenses home. What a shock! We knew our time was growing short but we were trying not to think too much about it. Whenever I think about going home I get so excited! But - we want to stay focused & do the best job that we can at the Temple. We are still having some amazing spiritual experiences & are loving our mission.
We send our love.
No comments:
Post a Comment