Before I can properly move on with my bloggering episodes, (and I do, indeed, plan to move on soon), I feel compelled to add a nice tribute to a very fun trip we took at the end of last summer. Timely? No. Worth a whole lot of writing at this point? Probably not.
Nevertheless (aside: that may be the first time I"ve had occasion to use "nevertheless" on this entire blog, btw)... so anyway, nevertheless, I am putting up pictures of our trip to the far outreaches of northern New York: the LDS Church history site of Palmyra, and the nearby world-famous waterfall we all know as Niagara Falls (but some of us occasionally misspell it as Niagra -- please tell me it isn't just me??)
A little background about our trip, then a whole smattering of pictures for your enjoyment, kay? First, remember that hurricane that hit NY at the end of August last year? Well, yeah, our basement got flooded (really just our landlord's basement, since we don't officially have access even though we know where the key is), our road was closed, and our power was out for a couple of days. But we missed most of the drama, because we had already scheduled this little three-day weekend to Palmyra and Niagara. Perfect timing.
And now for the pictures... Below: a welcome sign, to prove that, yes, we were really in Palmyra. And yes, Palmyra is right on the Erie Canal. That's right -- the famous Erie Canal that connects Lake Erie and the Mighty Hudson River, making a navigable route from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. There's a bit of trivia worth knowing up front, eh? The Erie runs right through the middle of Palmyra, fyi.
Oh, and you can ride a boat on the Erie, for not very much $$. We didn't, but it's definitely a possibility, in case you wondered. Looks like fun...
We stayed at a darling little cottage called "The White House." I place extra emphasis on darling, because it really was just that...
Living room (where Brian watched part of some basketball games, and did some work in the late hours of the evenings)...
Cute kitchen. I made us a chocolate cake and we ate the whole thing in the three days we were there. Slightly gluttonous, I know. But sooo good.
Bedroom, one of three...
You don't need the complete house tour, do you? I mean, there's lots more to see here besides just our cute house. So, moving on...
Just half a mile from our place, we visited the Smith Farm and home, where Joseph Smith, Jr. and his family lived when he had his first vision in the Sacred Grove. I've been there before; so has Brian. But this was a sweet time to bring the kids along to share some church history...
Inside the tiny Smiths' cabin...
Look how small our Natalie girl was!! And so very cute and cuddly! NO WAY would she sit still in an old stone sink and mug for the camera at THIS age and stage, but look at her back then, in the Smith's (replica) stone sink, little doll...
Heading into the Sacred Grove... That's me and the kids, little dots off in the distance. Brian was lagging behind, taking pictures of every antique artifact and sign. Just because he likes to do that kind of thing. ;)
Samantha, standing at the base of the Hill Cumorah monument...
The town hall. Er, I mean, the village hall. (There is a difference between a town and a village, according to New Englanders/New Yorkers. I have yet to figure out exactly what that difference is, but clearly the sign in my pic says "village hall," which means it is NOT a town hall.)
A cool picture inside the Grandon Store/Printing Press, where the first copy of the Book of Mormon was originally printed. I thought it was remarkable to see how many languages the Book is now printed in -- every book up there is in a different tongue...
The old-school type-set materials at the printing press. You can see Spencer was loving the tour...
Another village highlight was the darling little park on Main Street, complete with an old-school merry-go-round and metal slide. Brought back some memories and made me feel old when my kids asked for a demonstration of how to work the merry-go-round, since they've rarely ever seen one! ha!
Nearby, we also visited the Whitmer Family Farm, in Fayette, NY, where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was officially organized on April 6, 1830...
(Aside: You may have noticed, this blog has not been very dedicated to my faith, thus far. But rest assured, my faith is very much a part of me, and is a very fulfilling part of my life, every day.)
Proof, that we were there, visiting this special place, with our kiddos...
Next stop. Anybody recognize this??
Absolutely amazing, breath-taking, wonderful, spectacular, and whatever else you'd like to call it. I love, love, love Niagara Falls!
And I love the memories I have associated with all these less-than-professional pictures of this world-famous destination...
The Superman bridge. Am I dating myself again? Please tell me you all remember when the little boy falls off that bridge and Superman saves him JUST in time?? Still gives me goosebumps. (Fictional goosebumps, of course.)
(Sad, small side-note about that bridge... we didn't remember our passports for this trip. So we didn't get to cross over the Superman bridge into Canada for the even-more-spectacular views of the Falls. Oh well, maybe next time?)
Next up, "us," at the top, with our "here we are at Niagara Falls" picture, even though you can't really see the Falls and Nat is obviously wondering why we're taking sooo many pictures in the bright sunshine.The kids' sunnies are the highlight, eh? :)...
"I want to go on one of those boats," said Samantha. So we did. And it was totally worth it! Maid of the Mist, it's called. We got a little stuffed duck in a raincoat, and a postcard in their gift shop; we liked our ride that much...
Getting down to the boat was a bit of a height issue. I do not normally have an aversion to heights, but really, doesn't that look awfully far down there?? In a big column-structure thing built specifically to haul "boatloads" of people (pun intended, ha!) down the cliff to the Maid of the Mist?? Yeah, it made me squirm, just a bit. Guess I'm getting wimpy in my old age...
View from the boat... Stunning. And so very loud. And wet. And memorable.
We want to go back again... maybe when we do, I'll blog about it a little more quickly? :)
4 comments:
What a fun trip! Glad you got it up here, even if it was late. I never realized Palmyra was near any river let alone one famous. I love the pic of Natalie in the sink, such a cutie. And I will remember Spencer's fear of owls and not tell him there are a couple that live in Pete's trees across the road. Someday I hope to make it to Niagara Falls (Yes, I had to check that I spelled it right, in case you are wondering I had to fix it.) maybe someday when I convince my husband that traveling across the country is fun. :)
Looks like you guys have been busy. I loved Niagra falls too when we went. We have also taken that trip to Palmyra. Of course, we did all those trips before we had children so I am sure it would be much different today.
Oh Kam, I'm so VERY glad you took time to put up this post!! It was SO FUN for me to read this and see the pictures and 're-live' the wonderful experiences I have enjoyed in those memorable places in times past! We've been to Palmyra three times, I think, and to Niagara Falls at least twice, and we've had such GREAT TIMES all over in that part of New York!! I just LOVE it there!! We didn't ever ride in that little Boat near the Falls like you guys did, but it sure looked FUN! We didn't even THINK about going on that boat because we figured it'd cost a ton. I'm sure glad YOU guys got to go! What a memory maker. I, too, absolutely LOVE the Niagara Falls--especially the Canadian side!! It's so spectacular!!
Wow--Thanks for posting all these fun pictures. I, too, have felt a very reverent feeling in the Sacred Grove---and the sunsets from the Hill Cummorah are just SO memorable! We took over 30 pictures of the sunset from there last time! Dennis was really fascinated with the Erie Canal, and it's sure been fun to be reminded of all these exciting places! (keep on back-logging, babe... I LOVE it!!) Lots of Love to you, from Mom
I am so glad you shared this trip with us. It sounds GREAT! What a cute little cottage you got to stay in. How perfect is that. I can't stop thinking about the cake you baked.
I loved hearing you reflect on when WE were there together. I, of course, did not remember those details of sacrament meeting. I do remember it being very powerful to be there and compare the church to it's small, humble beginnings.
How fun to take your family on Maid of the Mist. I'm glad you have NEW memories of riding along in that boat. I would love to go there again. Maybe that could be our girls trip?
P.S. I can finally write a comment because I am finally looking at your blog while NOT nursing and I have free hands. Always love reading along though.
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