After Brandon returned from his mission we enjoyed 7 wonderful (and busy) weeks with him. Dan and I really wanted to take Brandon on a special vacation before he headed back to BYU. We creatively sandwiched a 5 day trip between multiple play performances, end of school events, and Bailey's 16th birthday.
In the months prior to Brandon's return we debated at length about where to go on his post-mission vacation. We changed our mind at least 5 times. Hawaii? No, Mexico. No, what about Boston? Or maybe Florida? We finally settled on a mini-repeat of a church history the rest of our family took in August 2011 (when Brandon was on his mission) to church history sites in Ohio and New York. We were so impacted by our visit to these sites which are sacred to us that we really wanted Brandon to have the same opportunity to visit.
So, the end of May we flew Ohio and began a whirlwind 3 1/2 day trip through church sites and other points of interest.
We landed in Ohio at midnight and drove an hour to Sandusky, Ohio . . . the home of the amazing Cedar Point amusement park. We had spent three days there with the rest of the family in 2011 but this time we had exactly one day to take in all 18 headliner rollercoasters. It was a wild day, I must say.
When we entered the park we realized that it was full of thousands of middle schoolers on their end of school field trips. The lines were annoyingly long. So, we coughed up the extra money for Cedar Point's "VIP" pass, which gave us a special entrance onto all the rides. Not cheap, but worth it give our time constraints and desire to ride every rollercoaster!
The Millenium Force is my favorite rollercoaster ever. It wins awards as one of the best steel rollercoasters in the world, with a 93 mph speed and a 80 degree drop.
Here Brandon and I are on Top Thrill Dragster preparing to be launched 400 feet straight up into the air at 120 mph in 3.8 seconds. Seriously - it is terrifyingly fun!
We loved it!
And, one of our last rides was on the brand new Gatekeeper, which felt to me like flying. It was amazing. Dan passed on this one, afraid all the loops and spins would mess up his equilibrium.
I have to admit that by the end of the day we were all a little woozy. But it was so worth it!
The next day we drove to Kirtland, Ohio where we toured Historic Kirtland, the Kirtland Temple, and the Morley Farm before driving to the John Johnson farm in Hiram, Ohio.
We ate dinner that night at an Amish-run restaurant with the most amazing pies. I had to sample each of our pies. . . berry pie, banana cream, and apple streusel. For the record, they were all delicious.
The next day we drove 4 1/2 hours to Palmyra, NY. We visited the Smith family farm, which includes the log house and the frame house they built, and the Sacred Grove which runs behind the farm.
We also spent some time at the Hill Cumorah Visitors Center and we walked around the Hill Cumorah, which is an amazing experience.
We watched some threatening, dark clouds roll in as we walked around the Hill Cumorah and rested at the top of the hill, looking at the valley. But we left just before the lightning and rain hit.
The next day we attended church and then changed and drove to the Martin Harris farm. As we drove we saw more menacing clouds.
By the time we drove a mile down the road to downtown Palmyra, where we planned to tour the E.B. Grandin Print Shop (where the Book of Mormon was published), the rain was dumping on us with such ferocity that we could barely see outside the windows of the car.
We parked and waited for the rain to subside, but finally ran through the ankle deep puddles to the store to dry off.
And we learned that Midwest summer rainstorms are intense but brief. When we left the printing store visitors center the sun was shining as we drove the 45 minutes to the Whitmer farm in Fayette, NY. The drive is beautiful and took us through lots of Amish farms. We shared the roads with many horses and buggies.
This is the log house where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was organized in 1830.
Our last day in New York we attended a session at the Palmyra Temple and then took time to took around the temple and the beautiful grounds. A nice temple worker explained to us that this is the only temple with a big, clear glass window to the outside on the main floor. President Hinckley requested that the window be installed overlooking the Sacred Grove. Just beautiful.
And then we hopped on a plane and flew home to the rest of our kiddos. It was a short and wonderful trip with our son, and it was priceless to have many hours to talk with him without any interference. Great memories . . .
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