New Apt and Valley Forge

Our stuff has come! We are pretty much settled into our place. The movers came on Monday and slowly I slowly unpacked the rest of the week. It feels good to be in our new place instead of staying at the hotel!





Saturday was an awesome day and Terrill and I had so much fun together! I woke up and ran 6 miles. Then Terrill and I played Tennis (it was soo hot!!), we decided to cool off by the pool. Later in the day we went to Valley Forge (where the soldiers during the revolutionary war stayed for the winter and got trained to win the war). It was beautiful and we learned a lot of new things! Let's just say our current living conditions today are WAY better than what they had to endure. It really gives a greater appreciation for what these soldiers went through to gain the freedoms we enjoy today!

On the shuttle with the crazy bus driver!

These are the huts the soldiers would stay in (sometimes 12 soldiers all together!)

This is George Washington's temporary residence while the soldiers were stationed here. It was built before the soldiers came to Valley Forge and was considered to be very nice for it's day.

New York City

The start of my fun adventure - on the NJ transit train

So Terrill has been on a project in Chicago for a little while and he usually flies out on Monday and comes home Thursday night. Well this week they scheduled a bunch of meetings on Friday so he didn't get home until late last night. Yesterday was my off-Friday and since I don't really know anyone or where anything is, I decided to head out to NYC to see one of my old roommates; Tiffany and her two little kids. It was so nice to see a familiar face!

It was a fun day for me because I took the train in and I hadn't ever really done that before by myself. I always rely on Terrill getting us around. So let's just say I talked to a lot of strangers who helped me know where to go. I took the NJ transit into Penn Station and then the Subway up to her house (1.5 hours). I had to change trains once while in the Subway.

I only got lost once coming back and it ended up being okay because I got a cool pic of New York. There was also a man on the Subway singing profanities about who knows what and I couldn't understand why I was the only one that noticed. People didn't even flinch an eye....okay so I must be a tourist!

Tiff and her cute kids! Emma and Austin

We went to a local park

This is when I got lost and didn't know where I was going. I figured I would take a cool pic of the city.

Overall the day was great! I enjoyed being independent and learning a few things. I loved seeing my old roommate and her kids. She is so awesome, thanks Tiff for having me over and letting me play with you guys!

Since we arrived, Terrill left almost right away for work so I have been alone in our hotel room. Usually I love the free time being able to read and do my thing, but this week I have felt pretty lonely because I am so unfamiliar with everything and don't really know anyone. So I was SO happy that Tiff was available to hang out!

Road Trip Day #6 - We have arrived!!!

We are here...I really can't believe it! 6 days of driving, site seeing and having a ton of fun! It has really been a great trip and Terrill was wonderful with all the driving he did! Thanks!!! This morning we headed out to Niagara Falls which was beautiful. Although, I will have to say that I think the Canada side has a much better view!

There is a constant rainbow by the falls. Also, the other side with all of the buildings in Canada.

Then we were on our way to Palmyra. We stopped at a ward there for sacrament meeting and then headed out to the church sites. The sites that are there are the Smith family farm, the Sacred Grove, Hill Cumorah, and the original printing shop of the Book of Mormon. I think these sites were my most favorite of all of the church sites I have seen. It was so peaceful and beautiful. The spirit was very strong. It amazes me at what small living quarters they lived in back then. The Smith's had 9 kids with only 2 bedrooms for all of the kids. When Joseph saw the vision with Angel Moroni, it was in the room where is 4 other brothers slept! I had no idea! The farm is on a 100 acres of woods, orchards and groomed land. It was truly breathtaking! The Sacred grove was so peaceful and quiet. The spirit was strong as we tried to picture the boy Joseph kneeling in humble prayer and having Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appear to him. After we finished walking through the Grove, we drove to the Hill Cumorah where Joseph obtained the plates from Angel Moroni. It was beautiful. After this we headed out to the printing shop where the first editions of the Book of Mormon were published. This was so fascinating. It took 50 days to complete one Book of Mormon and cost $1.75 which was two days worth of wages back then. It took 12 women to bind the book. The print shop still had original flooring. Unfortunately I totally forgot to bring in the camera so I have no pics of the print shop :(


Beautiful Sacred Grove


The Smith's Farmland


This fire place is where Joseph hid the gold plates from the mobs...this home still had original flooring and walls. The fireplace was also original.


Palmyra Temple - The missionary told us that when you are in the temple you can see the sacred grove from the inside of the temple.


This is Joseph's bedroom where the angel Moroni appeared to him and told him about the gold plates (Book of Mormon)


At the top of Hill Cumorah


We have arrived in our new state!!

Road Trip Day #5 - Chicago, Kirtland and Toll Roads!!

Let's just say that we probably passed through about 10 - 15 tolls today! So annoying. Terrill and I were discussing how much money it would be to put in the infrastructure to have all the machines and manpower running the toll booths and we were wondering how long it would take to pay it all back with the meager .60 cent toll we paid! The only way to figure out this equation is if we knew on average how many cars came through each day. We will research that and get back to you :)

We spent the night in Chicago! In the morning we started the day off with a run. Terrill wanted to show me some of the sites near Navy Pier so we ran there from the motel. Then we wanted to find the GIANT silver bean in the middle of Millennium park. After running 4.5 miles and talking to 3 people we found it! After we found the bean and took some pictures we started to run back to our hotel when I am sorry to say I started to doubt where we were going and if we were at all close to our hotel (sorry Terrill). So I asked someone and sure enough we were about 7 blocks in the wrong direction, but it was great because it tacked on another 1 miles to our run to make it a total of 5.5 miles!! Yah!!!

Navy Pier

View of the city from the pier

We found the bean!!

Yikes

Wait for me Terrill!!

At 9:40 on the dot we left for Kirtland. Needless to say we had some hold ups along the way, which included traffic and the lack of being able to find a place to eat in Gary, Indiana (that place is super ghetto!!) We finally broke down and stopped at McDonald's/Dairy Queen.

We arrived in Kirtland at 5:30, just as they were starting a tour. We first watched a cool video about the prophet Joseph Smith and what was going on in Kirtland at the time of the establishing of the church. We then had the nicest elderly missionaries teach us about the various points of interest - Newel K. Whitney store, Joseph and Emma's living arrangements, the school of the prophets, and the saw mill. It was fascinating to see how they lived back then. They told us that Kirtland was the place where the most revelation has ever been given to the church, which to me is so cool! It definitely gives you a greater understanding and appreciation for what the saints endured, being able be there today!

The school of the prophets where much revelation was given to the brethren of the church.

Joseph's original table

Beautiful Meadow!

Now we are in Buffalo, NY. We saw a lot of fireworks during our drive. Happy 4th of July everyone!! Tomorrow we are headed to Palmyra and Niagara falls, we are stoked!! We will end up in our new place of residence, Langhorne, PA! Yah!!

Road Trip Day #4 - Nauvoo

Today Terrill and I started the morning by going for a run in the streets of Iowa. One of the things I love about running is that you can start right from your front door and explore the area around you!!

For breakfast we had a homemade omelet, oranges and muffins...delicious!! At about 9:45 we were on our way to Nauvoo. Terrill and I have been reading a book about Joseph smith to get a little more acquainted with the history at the time of Nauvoo. I feel like this helped us to really enjoy the experience today.



Activities in Nauvoo included:

• Exploring the visitors center
• Doing a session in the Nauvoo temple
• Visiting Wilford Woodruff and Brigham Young's home
• Visiting one of my ancesctors homes
• Going to the Joseph Smith Mansion house and cemetery

Seriously, we got stuck behind this tractor!! Haha!

Nauvoo Temple

Joseph Smith Home

This is my great, great, great, great Grandfathers home...Lauren Farr

It was such a great day and we really enjoyed it together. It makes you have a greater appreciation for the early saints and all they had to endure!

Now we are in Chicago. Terrill has been on a project here for a few weeks so it has been fun to hear about where he works and what his daily routine is. We are staying on the 30th floor in the city. Tomorrow we plan on running to Navy Pier and Millennium Park.

Tomorrow we will be on our way to Kirtland, OH and then onto Niagara Falls, NY!!

Road Trip Day #3 - Somewhere in Middle America

Today consisted of driving, sleeping, eating, reading and admiring the landscape. We drove 1,089 miles from Salt Lake to Des Moines passing through Omaha for those Counting Crows fans. We started at 5:15 AM and arrived at Wells Bed and Breakfast at 10:30 PM.

Highlights of the day include:

1. Driving along with thousands of bugs hitting our car. The we heard a loud splat, only to see a florescent green fire fly smashed into our windshield, yet still continuing to glow!
2. Seeing the Beautiful scenery in Wyoming.
3. Although we have heard mostly negative things about the landscape of the state of Nebraska - it was beautiful!!
   
4. Eating breakfast at Subway (surprisingly they have really yummy breakfast & low in calories!!)
5. Having the chance to relax with each other by just driving, sleeping and reading.
   
6. Passing through the birth place of John Wayne. (one of the few anti communist in Hollywood)

Wyoming

Nebraska

Sunset

Tomorrow we are on our way to Nauvoo and then Chicago!!