We were released from our duties as missionaries in the New York Rochester Mission on the 2nd of October. It was a bittersweet moment for us. We of course were anxious to get home to friends and family (and sleep in our own bed) after 18 months away, but we were sad to leave the good people of Palmyra and the other missionaries serving there who we grew to love. We'll also miss the historic sites we were privileged to serve at for a year and a half: The Smith Farm and Sacred Grove, the Book of Mormon Publication Site, the Hill Cumorah and the Whitmer Farm. We will miss meeting and teaching the wonderful people who came by the thousands to experience those special places. They have inspired us and changed us. We will also miss living 300 yards from the temple - what a blessing that was!
We will miss the narrow country roads of Western New York, the big red barns and old white farm houses that we drove on and by nearly every day. We'll miss the fields of corn and soy beans and the orchards and vineyards stretching as far as you can see. We'll also miss the beauty of the Finger Lakes, the grandeur of Lake Ontario and the amazing and ubiquitous hardwood forests. We'll miss the fire flies at night and the walks in the Grove early in the morning. We'll also miss the ice cream and onion rings at Chill and Grill and the sandwiches and all the other goodies at Sauder's. We will not miss the mosquitoes...
Our mission was a fantastic experience and hopefully we did a little good along the way. Personally, we have been greatly blessed. We appreciate all the prayers on our behalf and the unfailing support of our wonderful family. They made our mission possible. All of our posterity (six children, five spouses and 18 grandchildren) made the considerable effort to come and visit us, as did many other friends and family. Thank you!
During the past 18 months, as we have served and studied the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith's life and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, our testimonies of those sacred events have been immeasurably strengthened. It's all true! If anybody wants to know more, let us know - we love talking about it!
Now to our trip home...
We didn't take the most direct route. In fact, we headed east, rather than west. Ed was on a quest to visit his last state of of the 50, so Maine was on the agenda.
So, Monday morning, 3 October, after washing the last of the towels and sheets, cleaning the toilet and sweeping the kitchen floor, off we went. Along the way we stopped at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass. We've both always loved his paintings and it was very cool to see many of the originals and to see his studio. We crossed into Maine at Kittery (yeehaw - got all 50!) and spent the next couple of days moseying up the coast to Bar Harbor, stopping along the way to see the lighthouses and beautiful coastal views. The weather was delightful, with warm temperatures and clear blue skies for most of the trip. I warned you I'd have some more lighthouse photos, so here goes (click or tap on them to enlarge):
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| Nubble Light (Cape Neddick) |
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| Lobster Floats |
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| Near Kennebunkport |
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| Bush family compound - Kennebunkport - pretty nice place... |
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| Cape Elizabeth Light |
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| Portland Head Light |
Of course even when there's not a lighthouse nearby, October in New England is pretty spectacular almost everywhere you look.
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| Random field somewhere in Maine |
We stopped to visit Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain's home/museum in Brunswick, Maine. He was a Civil War general (played a major role at Gettysburg) and one of my heroes.
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| Somebody's nice digs near the coast |
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| The amazing Maine Coast |
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| Pemaquid Point Light |
These kinds of views were around almost every corner...
Bar Harbor is at the entrance to Acadia National Park, which is the most visited National Park in the country. I see why - it is one pretty place!
"Thunder Hole" is a narrow inlet, with a hole carved out at the end by thousands of years of waves pounding in. When a wave comes in and is funneled into the hole, there is a huge "whump" that can be heard for more than a mile. Pretty cool!
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| Overlooking Bar Harbor from Cadillac Mountain |
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| A spot for our next family reunion... |
After a couple of days in and around Bar Harbor, it was time to head west. So into New Hampshire and then across Vermont we went. Colors were amazing in New Hampshire, but not so much in Vermont - the drought there muted the colors significantly.
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| Random Cemetery - there are lots - people have been dying around these parts for a long time... |
Some serious welding of old car parts going on at this little out of the way spot in the middle of New Hampshire...
We took a ferry across Lake Champlain into New York. It was a beautiful evening for a cruise (after a mad dash along country roads through hill and dale to make the departure time!)
We stayed a little north of Lake Placid, near where the Alpine Events were held during the '32 and '80 Olympics. The Adirondack Mountains are the first mountains we'd seen in 18 months, so it was fun just from that standpoint. They're not that high (Mount Marcy is the highest point at 5344 feet), but they start from zero, so they qualify in my mind as real mountains! As you will see in the next images, we hit the fall colors at the absolute peak. It was unbelievable! Probably a good thing it wasn't sunny - not sure our eyes could have handled that kind of intensity!
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| Entrance to the Alpine Events Venue |
We took a gondola ride to the top of the ski runs. Some amazing views.
We also checked out the Olympic ski-jumping venue. They were actually having a sans-snow competition, so some of the best jumpers in the country were there. These are some pretty crazy folks...
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| 90 Meter Hill, with jumper just launching |
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| 120 Meter Hill |
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| Jumper's view down the 120 Meter run |
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| 90 Meter Hill from top of 120 Meter tower |
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| No, I don't think so... |
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| Some nice Views from the jump tower |
We checked out the bobsled/luge venue as well. I've always want to ride a bobsled and could have, but $85 for 45 seconds seemed a little steep, especially when you don't get to drive...
After leaving Lake Placid, we stopped at Saratoga National Historical Park (huge victory for the good guys during the Revolutionary War). There happened to be a British reenactment group camped out, so we checked them out. We didn't tell them we were rooting for the other side... 😖
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| Does she look British, or what? |
We stopped back in Palmyra, picked up all of our worldly possessions, managed to stuff them all in the car and headed further west. Our first stop was at the Church history sites in Kirtland, Ohio, which we visited five years ago, but really enjoyed again having studied so much history in the past 18 months.
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| Kirtland Temple |
From Kirtland, we headed for Dayton, Ohio. Along the way we stopped at several ancient Native American mound-builder sites which were interesting.
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| Hopewell Cultural National Historical Park |
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| The Great Serpent Mound |
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| Miamisburg Mound |
From Dayton, further west to more Church history sites in Carthage and Nauvoo, Illinois.
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| Carthage Jail and statue of Joseph and Hyram Smith |
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| Joseph, Emma and Hyram Smith graves in Nauvoo |
We were able to do a session at the beautiful Nauvoo Temple.
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| Nauvoo Temple |
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| Bronze of Joseph and Hyram - "Calm as a Summer's Morning" |
It was pretty weird to walk into our home, but we found things in very good order. Gabe and Kara Causse, who lived in our home while we were gone, took great care of things, for which we are very grateful. Thanks Gabe and Kara!
Well, it was an amazing 18 months! Days never to be forgotten! We will always cherish this time, the many wonderful lifelong friends we have made and the opportunity to serve. Our hearts are full!
