All in Pictures (Part 1: Nova Scotia to Palmyra)

One final look at where they hold the Hill Cumorah Pagent then a mad dash to Kirtland, Ohio to see the Kirtland Temple before they close. Part two coming soon... (I hope!)

Cowboy said that being in the Sacred Grove was like being in the temple. Amen to that.

Sweetie Pie leads the way in.

Princess at the little bridge to the Sacred Grove. Anticipating something special.

Maybe the Golden Plates were buried near here.

Pa and I wondered about where Moroni came. Was it here?

Oh dear, do we really need my picture?

It's all true!

Cowboy, Pa, Princess, and Sweetie Pie.

Here's Cowboy! Happy to be in such a special place.

"Hello down there!" The statue of Angel Moroni atop the Hill Cumorah.

"Hello up there!" It stopped raining for us to enjoy a walk around the Hill Cumorah. Here's Princess viewing Moroni.

Oct. 16th. Off we go in the pouring rain. Brockville is a great place for us to cross the border. They get so much LDS traffic at Hill Cumorah Pagent time that they "get" why people from Nova Scotia moving to Lethbridge would drop down to the U.S. on the way. We had no trouble at the border and the nice officer wished us well. Praying again. This time that the weather would clear up for Palmyra.

The blue Larentians of Quebec. Here we go on day two. We made it to Brockville, Ontario, all set to cross into the U.S. for a busy day zooming to Palmyra and Kirtland. Driving through Montreal was exciting. As usual we prayed for courage and safety and it was a scary fun ride. Brockville is where my credit card company decided my card shouldn't be out of Nova Scotia and so blocked it! We went to use it and it was declined! How embarrasing! I phoned card security and told them it was just me travelling and gave them my itinerary so they would quit that nonesense. I wish they would just call the cell phone and ask instead of blocking without any warning. Crackpots! OK I know they mean well.

Sleeping Beauty...Our detour made for a long days drive but we arrived at our destination of Edmonston, N.B. around ten at night so my precious schedule was preserved. It pays to pre-book the motel so there's a place waiting for weary late-night travellers.

Well, I think they are cute. Imagine all the little fairies hiding under them. Maybe they aren't toad stools but I like them anyway.

None of this car troble cost a penny! Not the towing or the repair work. We actually saved money on gas since the car was towed to Moncton. While we were waiting in the van I got to see these funny little toad stools in the grass. Aren't they cute?

We arrived at Kia not long before closing. We need a miracle. It's almost closing time and if we have to stay overnight in Moncton it will ruin our arrangements for the whole trip. We must be at the real estate lawyer's in Lethbridge by a certain date and staying overnight in Moncton could mean missing our side trip to Nauvoo! We prayed. A very wonderful mechanic stayed past closing time and fixed the fuel pump and we were back on track! Thanks to him and especially Heavenly Father. Miracles do happen!

While they were looking at it I phoned my Kia dealership back in Halifax. They informed me that only a Kia dealership had the right tools to fix it so off we dashed to the Kia garage in Moncton about and hour away. At least we were going in the right direction. See my car on top of the tow truck saving gas?

What's my brand new car doing up there? In Sackville, N.B. we stopped for gas. As my tank neared the top the person gasing up behind me informed me that fuel was pouring out the bottom of my car! Yikes! We pushed the car away from the pumps and I called my Kia roadside assistance. They said they couldn't transport it to be fixed until someone from the fire department came and said it was fine to move. So I phoned the local department and told them what happened and requested someone to come and give me the all clear. Well! Moments later we heard sirens! Here comes the entire volunteer fire department with two engines and all hands in full gear!!! Good grief! One of the guys owned a towing company and quickly gave me the OK to drive over to his garage to fix my car. It turns out their fire department just got a brand new $300,000 engine and all the guys were dying to take it out on a call. The Keystone Cops couldn't have done any better. I am very sorry I have no pictures to prove it but astonishment erased any thought of capturing the kerfuffle.

Bon Jour New Brunswick! A quiet drive is about to get very lively!

Nova Scotia border flags. Bye now. Will we ever see you again?

Farewell to Emily the Dragon seen here peeking out of the lake near Fall River. For a close-up of Emily and her bio try googling "Emily Returns to Miller Lake."

Oct. 14, 2008. Bye-bye to beautiful Nova Scotia on a georgeous fall morning. Pa's leading the trek with the boys in the van and Princess is my moving buddy in the little red Rhondo.

Best Laid Plans

When I started this blog I thought it would be very simple. Every evening I would tell about our day. I think it was foreshadowing when I said, "What could go wrong?" ARGH! Now I know the answer to that question. 1) Motels with no Internet connection, 2)Motels with glitchy, useless Internet, 3) Motels with only plug in Internet that Peter needed to use for work. 4) Total exhaustion at the end of a long days drive which resulted in little more than prayer and collapsing into bed. I am sorry for offering a blog and not coming through with the goods as promised. We are in Lethbridge now. Yay!!! Our stuff arrived yesterday and we have been madly unpacking ever since. It is like Christmas opening package after package. Most things you are delighted to see and some thing you wonder what you were thinking when you packed that oddity. Peter just got the Internet connected this morning so if there is anyone left at all I pledge to "give 'er" as they say in Nova Scotia. Thanks for watching! Love Shari

Wow

We're in Nauvoo! We came down Mulholland in the dark and there at the end of the street- the bright , huge awe-inspiring temple brilliant as a beacon. Gulp. Magnificent, Humbling. Thrilling. We stopped in Dubuque, Iowa to pick up Princesses friend, Prince Charming. He is her best friend and is not LDS.They've gone off now for a walk and photo op. He can't help but be impressed. I'm glad we arrived in the dark. The effect of the beaming temple is overwhelming.

About yesterday: The Hill Cumorah was very special as we considered that Moroni turned the Gold Plates over to Joseph somewhere around there. Princess said the Sacred grove felt like the temple to her. Then we had a long drive to Kirtland. We got there just in time for the last tour of the Kirtland Temple. We watched a nice little movie in their visitors centre theatre. Then the screen went up, big velvet curtains opened, and there through a huge window was the Kirtland Temple. What a great effect. It was dramatic and touching. We went over to tour the temple itself. You had to climb a steep, narrow winding staircase to get upstairs. This scared the daylights out of Cowboy and he wanted to come down. So I helped him come down holding his hand and guiding him one step at a time. He liked the main floor better. Princess was glad she got to be there and think of all the special history of the place but then she went to the LDS visitors center to feel the Spirit and feel better. I will be interested to hear her impressions of the Nauvoo Temple when she comes back from her walk with P.C. Pa, Cowboy, and I are going to the first session in the morning at 8:00. P. and P.C. are going to look after Sweetie Pie while we go. Our motel includes free breakfast at Grandpa's Cafe. That's where I met Pres. Faust, but that's a story for another day. I think I have to go back down to the temple and see it all lit up one more time. What a blessing!!! Love Shari

Day Two

We crossed over into Quebec first thing Wednesday morning. The trees were afire with autumnal splendor! (I think I ate a thesaurus for breakfast) We enjoyed a bright and beautiful day with no gas leaks! Yay! The adventure part of the day was white knuckling through Montreal. We dipped down under the St. Lawrence River into a long, exciting tunnel, lights flashing by as we thundered alongside cars, pick-ups, and transport trucks. Sheesh! We emerged into the Montreal spaghetti of freeways full speed down narrow lanes cheek by jowl. Yee Haw! This time Princess offered up the prayer and we felt confidence. We got to our destination in Brockville, Ontario right on schedule. A perfect day right? Where's the fun in that? We bought gas and went to check in to our motel. When we came back out to go for supper the price of gas had gone down 8 cents. Darn, just missed it. That's funny. Then Princess and I went to the mall and my credit card was declined! Yikes what's that all about? I had put my plastic money in my pocket with my motel key card and I thought it had become de-magnitized. It turns out that when the credit card company saw my last purchase was so far from Nova Scotia they put a block on it. Whew. I will get it unblocked in the morning and we will be aok again. So now we are nestled all snug in our beds dreaming of tomorrow's special excursion to Palmyra and Kirtland. My moving buddy is being kept awake by the glow of the computer so g'night now. I'll tell you all about day three after it happens. It's easier that way. Love Shari ps I have pictures but the downloady thingy isn't working right now. I prefer looking at pictures. Does that make me dumb?

What a Day!

Well about three hours down the road we stopped for gas in Sackville, New Brunswick. When my (new)Rhondo was almost full, the lady gasing up behind me said, "Your car is leaking gas underneath." Sure enough it was leaking like a diaperless toddler. When it stopped dripping we pushed it away from the pumps and I call Kia roadside assistance. They said that because it was a gas leak I would have to call the local fire department to come over and look at it and say it was safe to be towed. So I called and ask if they could send someone over. I told them it leaked about a quart at the pump and we moved it and now had another little spot under it about the size of two hands. They said they would send someone right over. I was expecting to see a guy show up in a pick-up to give the all clear but no. They sent every firefighter in town in full gear along with a couple of big, bright, red engines, sirens screaming all the way!!
O brother! I later found out the town just treated the volunteer fire department to a brand new $300,000 truck and they were dying to take it out for a full tilt woo woo. Talk about boys and there toys! To shorten the story, the car ended up getting towed to the Kia Dealership half-an-hour away in Moncton, New Brunswick. It was a mad dash to get there before they closed. Having to stay overnight in Moncton would have thrown off the whole expedition. We all prayed, among other things, that Heavenly Father would soften their hearts and they would help us now instead of having to wait til the morning. He answered our prayers. The mechanic kindly stayed late and fixed the fuel pump for us and we were on our way. We didn't get to Edmonston, N.B. until 10:30 at night and it was through driving rain but we're back on track and having a wonderful and very thankful time. Did God let us down? No! He truly did lift us up!

October 14th Good Morning Big Day!

Today's forcast: High of 21 celcius with a 30% chance of rain. Good enough! It's about 6:30am and while Pa is still enjoying the sleep of the prepared I am up happily dashing around setting out packed suitcases and gathering up assorted liquids that the movers won't take and wondering what to do with the food we didn't get eaten. Hmmm...what to wear... ah, jeans today and tomorrow and dress pants to go through the Sacred Grove, Hill Cumorah and the Kirtland Temple. I have enjoyed visiting the Sacred Grove on a few occaisions when we lived in Ontario and while passing through on previous cross-continental excursions. Yesterday I felt a hush in the rush with a reminding impression that we will soon be visiting one of the most sacred places on earth. What could be more sacred than a visit by Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son Jesus Christ? I can't think of one. I want to take time to prayerfully recognize this as a family that as we enter we may feel the Spirit of the place to the fullest, that we may feel strengthening, healing, unity, and have our spiritual focus renewed with a greater determination to keep our covenants more dilligently and love God and everybody like we're supposed to. What a blessing and opportunity! Every day needs to be Thanksgiving Day! How else can we fit in all the thanks the Lord deserves from us? Love, Shari

Last Night in the Old Bailey Boarding House

Sorry for the flash photo Sweetie. What a good sport to smile through the blinding light. We spent Thanksgiving packing, laundering, dropping off more at the Goodwill, and eating up remainders out of the freezer. When we get to Lethbridge and are reunited with our long missed youngest son, that will be a heartfelt reason for Thanksgiving. We'll put on a mighty feast then! I hope I can get some sleep tonight. I could use a good night's rest 'cause it's a long way to Edmonston, New Brunswick, our first motel stop of the trip. I think I will be laying awake for some time sorting out what's left to do. I'm suffering from a case of Procrastinators Come-uppance . Everything will be (yawn) just fine. Trust in the Lord. Ho hum, g'night.....ZZZZZZZZZZZ. <<<----(That right there is why Princess is bringing earplugs on this trip!)

Sunday Stroll

Sweetie Pie (note the Christmas sweater)

Cowboy enjoying the sunset

Princess spots a loon (Correction: I thought she said "loon" but it was the full "moon" that she was pointing to.)

Princess skipping rocks

Pa has a go at it - sideways!

I LOVE Canada!

One last family walk in Nova Scotia before we say good-bye and hit the road (sigh). Magical beauty.

Up In Canada

Hi everyone (silence except for lone cricket). Well, we've been living in Atlantic Canada for twelve years now but that's about to change on Tuesday because we'll be singing "Farewell to Nova Scotia" (OK, so I'll probably be the only one singing) anyway, we are heading west to my hometown of Lethbridge. We will be stopping at Palmyra, Kirtland, and Nauvoo along the way. This will mean driving through Chicago! Yikes! I'm glad we are the praying types. I thought I would like to invite any friends and family that might be interested to join us by blog. I will even include pictures if I can figure out how. How hard can it be? About the blog address; RameuptomDynomite is pretty weird but I tried about thirty different normal ones and they were all taken so then I got serious about originality and finally got something no one else thought of or wanted. Maybe they could do a Napoleon Dynamite II wherein they find their long lost sister Rameumptom. OK now I'm just getting silly. More to come soon. Love Shari