Last summer we decided upon this summer’s family vacation location:the East Coast. The purpose was manifold. First, we had two nieces and a nephew living in Boston whom we had never met! We wanted to visit them (and their wonderful parents). Second, we wanted to visit some of the early historical sites for our church (located in Ohio and New York). And third, we wanted to go to my birthplace in New York City.
Planning began early, and it all revolved around the Hill Cumorah Pageant, a performance about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, performed by volunteers in Palmyra, New York for a week and a half each summer. Since Palmyra is a small town, and the pageant draws throngs of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from across the country, stressing the rural area’s accommodations, we booked early. Then planned everything else around it. Tim insisted on driving, which gave us the flexibility to stop in a few other places to visit family and see various historical sites. As a bonus (and as per tradition), we invited Tim’s parents and siblings to join us for the adventure. Lucky for us, they took us up on it.
We kicked off our trip on the Fourth of July in Lehi, Utah, with a visit to my family. Not pictured: fireworks. Jack and I enjoyed them from inside our car because he couldn’t handle the noise. quite a show, though.
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- Visiting “the boys”. (The graves of my two younger brothers who have passed away).
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- Games galore.
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- More games.
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- Cousins taking care of cousins.
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- Bedtime reading.
For the next three days, we trekked across the U.S. to the Midwest, staying in a few places for the night and hopping out for a minute to get a picture of Egbert, Wyoming. Just because.
We landed in South Haven, Michigan, where Tim’s extended family lives. It’s a beach town on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. My kids were in heaven, playing with cousins, frolicking in the fresh water, and eating bounteous amounts of food provided by Aunt Lori (and Sherman’s).
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- Aunt Chris and Dick
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- Catching fireflies – unheard of where we live.
Family time was abundant and my kids so enjoyed being with their cousins(and 2nd cousins) that they declared we should move to Michigan. If only…
After a few days of bliss, we moved further eastward to begin the church history portion of our trip. Continued in Kirtland, Palmyra, and the Priesthood Restoration Site.