One More Post On Nauvoo

Statues of Joseph and Hyrum on horseback.

This was our first view of the Temple! Stunning! Takes your breath away!

The window at Carthage Jail.

Emily at Mt. Rushmore. How did that get in here?

Matt took this picture. Good job Matt!

Nauvoo Part 2

Just 'cause they look so cute together.

Mike and two special big brothers.

A most sacred spot. I love the glow in this picture because beyond the dark deeds that occurred here, this place is where Joseph ascended to his glorious eternal reward. Hyrum too.

Nauvoo/Carthage Part 1

Dad helping Mike down the stairs at Carthage. He still hasn't gotten over the stairs thing.

Michael solemnly points out the bullet hole in the door.

Emily feeling the reality of what occured in this room in the Carthage Jail.

Em and her friend Nick. He is studying aviation in Dubuque, Iowa. We picked him up on the way. We are on a horse drawn wagon ride to check out the sites around Nauvoo.

I look funny. See how the leaves are still green? Just that much farther south I guess.

Kirtland

If you peek in the window of the Kirtland Temple you can see the steep staircase. Mike was scared of it so he and I came back down while the others continued upward. It was nice to see but the feeling wasn't there for me. We went over to the LDS visitors centre and felt much more at home. Em heaved a big sigh of relief.

Palmyra in the morning and Kirtland in the evening. What a rush! (In every sense!)

The Community of Friends had a nice movie presentation in their visitors centre. Then the movie screen pulled up and curtains parted to reveal a huge picture window and low and behold, there was the temple. Very cool. They said that Joseph's great-grandson thought of the idea.

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