Disclaimer

The following two posts are mini-novels of our trip to New York. If you want a detailed description, please read in full. If not, please skim through the pictures. Enjoy!!!

New York City

June 11th

We left our house 4:00 am to be able to catch our 6:05 am flight. Keith's sister, Sarah, was nice enough to make sure we got there on time. Just as they were starting to board the first class passengers an announcement was made that our flight had been cancelled due to hazardous weather conditions in Dallas, TX (where we had a connecting flight to NY). In fact, they had closed the entire airport. We spent about 2 hours in line and on the phone trying to get a new flight out that day so we wouldn't have to go home again. Lucky for us we were put on a 1:15 pm flight out to Chicago. Now all we had to do was wait.

FYI, if you're ever stuck for hours on end at the airport in SLC, there is a free shuttle that takes you right to Temple Square. Keith and I ate breakfast at the Nauvoo Cafe' inside the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Who'd have thought our vacation would start visiting there? The missionaries who drove the shuttle were very nice and fun to talk to.

We made it back to our gate to catch our flight....that had been delayed another hour which meant we would most likely miss our connecting flight in Chicago. AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! I think at this point I just wanted to turn right around, go home and get some sleep. After we landed at O'Hare International Airport I found the nearest restroom while Keith headed to the AA desk to sort out our next flight. I had barely made it to the women's room when he called me on my cell....they were doing a final boarding call for our flight. We hadn't missed it!!! My bladder would just have to wait!

Finally at quarter to 11 New York time we landed and got in a taxi headed for our hotel, the Millennium Hilton on Broadway. All day long I had suffered from a terrible case of motion sickness and being in the backseat of a NYC taxi was about all I could take. I about lost it as we pulled up in front of our hotel. I thought all the bad luck was behind us. We were there, we had made it...and because we had checked in so late they had given our room with a king size bed away. I couldn't believe it. We talked to the manager and were given free breakfast at the hotel restaurant for our whole stay. It turned out to be a pretty good deal. One, I found out I could still handle sleeping in a smaller sized bed with my hubby :) And two, it was a full buffet every morning with eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, cereal, etc. and normally cost $20 a person. It was a good thing, too. We hadn't had our first experience of paying for food in NY yet!

We collapsed onto our queen-sized bed at about midnight, just grateful to have made it there.

June 12th

Our first full day in NYC!! After a good nice sleep Keith and I were ready to get going. Our plans had been messed up a little bit. We had planned on doing some sight seeing the night before, so we had to make a few adjustments. The Millennium Broadway Hotel was on 44th St. between 6th and 7th Avenues. After some discussion we decided to walk up 5th Avenue and check out all the different shops.

First we came to St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was gorgeous with such awesome architecture and colors. I was impressed that even though there were hundreds of people inside the huge building that there was still a measure of reverence. The people, some tourists and some there to worship, all spoke in hushed tones and acted respectful to the purpose of the church.

Now, for any of you who know me well, I am NOT a shopper. I am one who knows what I need in a store so I can get in and get out. I still enjoyed going in and out of the endless concourses of shops and stores along 5th Ave. We stopped at the American Girl Dolls store to check things out because Rachael has requested one for her 8th birthday. I did walk into Tiffany's just long enough so I could say I'd been there. My favorites had to be the NBA store (yep, I'm still a tom boy) and FAO Schwartz. There's no way I could let the chance pass by to play the famous piano made popular in the movie "Big." People have asked me what I played and for some reason the first song that came to my mind was "We Thanks the O God for a Prophet," go figure!!!

As you reach the north end of 5th Avenue there is Central Park. By then we were starving so we decided to grab something from a street vendor. We spent $14 on 2 hot dogs and 2 waters, OUCH! Keith had wanted to go rowing while in Central Park so we made our way to the lake and hopped aboard our rowboat. It was fairly quiet and peaceful for a park inside one of the biggest cities in the world! The best part was, I never had to row! We took our time floating on the lake, then realized we'd better head back so we would have plenty of time to change and eat dinner before we saw Wicked! So, we took our first subway ride. Note to any of you who ever plan on visiting NYC. By an unlimited pass for the subway for the time you are there. You may not think it will be worth it, but it is and we learned that the hard way. Friday night was our one and only fancy dinner in the city. We were lead to a place called Bond 45 by the hotel concierge. It cost $90 for a plate of smashed chicken parmigiana and Chilean sea bass. And you had to pay for water unless it was from the tap, which was nasty tasting. I was very unimpressed. Still I didn't let it get me down. I was on my way to see a Broadway show, something I have wanted to do since I was a little girl. It was what I had been been the most excited for since we started planning this trip. I was not disappointed. It was unbelievable. The cast was so talented and I was surprised at how comical the show was. The Glinda (Galinda) character was amazing. I was so grateful to Keith for letting me choose to see Wicked even though it wasn't his first choice!

June 13th

Saturday morning we had set aside time to attend a session at the Manhattan Temple. What a unique experience!! No fancy temple grounds, flowers or acres of landscape. You walk right off the loud, busy streets into a tranquil peaceful world. I wasn't aware of it, but the building not only houses the temple, but the ward building for the area as well. The 4th, 5th, and 6th floors were dedicated and used for the temple worship and the 2nd and 3rd floors contained the chapel and church classrooms. Just a little different but the spirit sure felt the same.

We had planned to try and get 1/2 priced tickets to a second Broadway show and so after the temple we headed down to Times Square to see what the pickins was like. There were so many different choices! There was Chicago, Phantom, Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, Shrek the Musical. How do you choose? Well, I didn't have to, it was Keith's turn. And after much deliberating, he decided on Guys and Dolls! There was about an hour until showtime (it was a matinee) so we decided to grab some lunch at a deli called Roxies. Again, we were shocked at the prices! I am just a cheap person and could not handle putting out $25 for a turkey sandwich or a salads. They even added on an extra $4 if you shared a plate, so we decided to order dessert instead, we're on vacation, right? Just so you know, it was the BEST cheesecake I have ever had...peanut butter fudge. I can almost taste it!Guys and Dolls was fabulous. Our seats ended up being 4th row center. I couldn't believe our luck! Keith liked this show even better than Wicked. The production was amazing. The orchestra was on stage behind the cast on a 3 story building. They were hidden during the performance. I was a little disappointed in the actor who played Adelaide. Many of you are familiar with Lauren Graham from Gilmore Girls...she just didn't have the singing or dancing ablility you would expect someone in a Broadway show to possess. Still it was a blast to go see! Later that night we got a little lost on our way to Greenwich Village. It was a little frustrating. It had started raining and I personally was ready for the day to be done! We had an awesome slice of pizza and headed back to the hotel for some rest and relaxation.

June 14

Attending church in a Manhattan ward was a little different then I had anticipated. The chapel was packed and a member of the high council spoke who looked younger than Keith. Speaking of looking younger, you would not believe the number of people who we talked with that thought we were young college students or on our honeymoon. We'd tell them where we were from and they always asked if we attended BYU. Imagine their surprise when they learned that this trip was for our 10 year anniversary and that we have 4 kids! Still, you gotta be flattered.

Later that day we headed out for the Empire State Building. Talk about lines in that place. There's a line to go through security, a line to buy your tickets, a line to ride the elevators up to the 80th floor and once more to the 86th floor. Then you have employees trying to sell you little extras while you wait, such as maps, postcards, fast passes. Still, the view from the top was worth it. I felt like Debra Kerr and Cary Grant, only with an extra hundred people or so. Oh, and did I mention, this was the only place where you had to wait in line to get out, back down the elevators. We also decided to fit in a free ride on the Staten Island Ferry. Man can they fit a lot of people on those boats! We got a great view of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty! Then we got right back on to head back to the mainland. I hate to admit it, but by the end of everyday I was beat. So much to do, so much to see!

June 15th

The last full day in the city! It was dedicated to 3 things, the Statue of Liberty and Liberty Island, Ellis Island and collecting the souvineers we wanted to take home.

I learned a lot visiting Liberty and Ellis Islands. We took the audio tours at both places and there are many interesting facts that I never knew. For instance, did you know that in most places the Statue of Liberty is only as thick as two pennies? Or that once the immigrants got off at Ellis Island they had to submit to a number of tests and requirements like having your eye pried open with a shoe button hook to look for a certain disease? I sure received a change of perspective while visiting.

Last thing was back to Times Square to get a few things for our kids. There are quite a few amazing stores there as well. The biggest toy store in the world, which happens to be a Toys R Us was a popular attraction! It is three stories high with a ferris wheel inside the building, not to mention the full size Barbie dream house, a life size T-Rex and multiple life size figurines made out of legos. Our kids would have been in toy heaven! And for those of you who were wondering, I did get my hoodie from New York :)

Upstate New York

June 16th

Tuesday morning we packed up and headed out to get our rental car. Thanks to some advice from our bishop, we were brave and took the subway with our luggage in tow. After a few minutes at Alamo Rental we headed over the George Washington Bridge and got the heck out of the city. Can you tell that I was ready to put Manhattan in the rear view mirror? It was about a 5 hour drive to Palmyra and it was nice to sit down and put my feet up after all that walking the past few days. We drove through some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen. It's a good thing that my favorite color is green because that's all there was for miles around! We stopped to eat in Scranton, PA which might interest you fans of "The Office" and while there we redirected our course off the main highways and took a back road approach so that we would pass through Fayette, NY. Fayette houses the Peter Whitmer farm which is where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized and where some of the translation of the Book of Mormon took place. I was so excited to start this leg of our trip and was glad we had planned it so that we ended in Upstate New York. The foundation of the house was original and had been rebuilt to look as it had back in the days of the Restoration of the Church. It was a thrill to think of the 60 or so people who sat in that very room and listened to a Prophet of God who stood practically where were were standing. Unbelievable stuff!

We made it to Palmyra and settled into our hotel which was right in the heart of the Church History sites we were planning on visiting. By the way, have I mentioned how nice it was to sleep in everyday, not have to change diapers, make dinner, do laundry and take care of my kids for 10 days? It was extremely nice!

June 17th

It's safe to say that this was the day Keith and I were looking forward to the most since we decided to go to New York. Wednesday morning we were up bright and early to visit the Sacred Grove. We even got there before the visitor's center opened and had a few minutes to read our scriptures and sit and think about land we were on. I had a small case of butterflies. The missionaries led us on a tour that started with the home that the Joseph Smith Sr. family moved into when young Joseph was 10 years old. It was in the upper room of this home that the Angel Moroni appeared and spend the night teaching and informing Joseph of the gold plates and the responsibilities that were being placed on his shoulders.

Just down the road is the frame house that Joseph's older brother, Alvin started building before his death. The family moved into it and it was there that Joseph and Emma were living when he received the record on the gold plates. We were able to see a few of the places he hid the plates. This home was 80% original. I got goosebumps walking through the rooms.

Once you walk out the front door of the frame house, a quarter mile away sits the entrance to the Sacred Grove. There were tears pouring down my cheeks before we walked in. There was no mistaking that we were walking on sacred ground. It also was special that Keith and I were the only people there, we had the grove to ourselves. We sat on a bench and read the account of the First Vision from Joseph Smith History and spent the rest of the time praying and walking around. What a wondrous place!! We were amazed to discover that by the time we walked out of the grove we had been in there for 2 hours.

After that experience we decided to grab some lunch. There is a specialty dish that originated in the Finger Lakes region called the Garbage Plate. We decided to try it although it did not sound appetizing. The bottom layer is baked beans next to macaroni salad topped my a layer of french fries. Next came the two patties of hamburger and cheese with all the fixins of a normal burger. The top layer was a picante chili sauce. It really didn't taste bad as long as you ate the layers by themselves. I never did try a fork full of it all together. Yummy!

Up next came the Hill Cumorah. They have a great visitor's center where you can view the movie "Joseph Smith, the Prophet." It was nice to watch it without our kids around causing distractions. Then we got to walk up the hill to the monument. It is one steep hill!! Good thing you can also drive up to see it as well. It's where they have the pageant each year. The missionaries told us that each night they set up 9,000 chairs for the people who come to see the performance. That's one of the reasons we went a month before the pageant started! One of the nights we were in Palmyra we came back to see the monument lit up. I had a stark realization of what it might have been like the night the Prophet received the plates. The woods there are so thick and dark and you can hear every little crack of a branch and the wind blowing in the trees. I imagined myself as Emma Smith, waiting all alone in a wagon for 2 hours for Joseph to return, knowing that he was conversing with angels. Or to be Joseph and know that there are people in those woods waiting for you, ready to kill you to get what you possess. Keith had to convince me to get out of the car. It was an interesting experience to say the least.We also stopped by and spent some time on the grounds of the Palmyra Temple. I learned that it was built on the land that was originally owned by the Joseph Smith Sr. family.

June 18th

We set our sights on the rest of the Church History sites that day. Keith and I were disappointed to discover that the home of Martin Harris, one of the Three Witness to the Book of Mormon was a private residence and we were not allowed inside. Bummer. We were able, with a little help, to locate the headstone of Joseph's older brother Alvin. It was interesting the see the old stone had been surrounded by a newer one to preserve it. You could see the same engraving on both sides.

The Grandin Building was our last stop. It was interesting to hear the story of the printing of the Book of Mormon and learn new facts. The price of the book when it was first sold was $1.25 which equalled two days wages! The floorboards in that building were original. Imagine standing on the same floor where Joseph Smith walked! When the LDS Church purchased the building they added onto the back of it so it the middle of the rooms sits the original back to the Building, which is cool. For those of you in Utah, there is a museum in Provo, the Crandall Printing Museum, that has a replica of the press used to print the Book of Mormon. Our family has been there and it's worth a visit. That night we took a ferry ride on the Erie Canal. It included dinner and a Murder Mystery Dinner theatre that left a lot to be desired. Still the ride was great, very relaxing and a great way to chill out at the end of the day!

June 19th

Goodbye Palmyra, Hello Niagara Falls! About a 45 minute drive took us over the border into Canada to see the famous Niagara Falls, our last stop on our journey! The falls themselves are indescribable. They are huge, powerful and larger than life. You get soaked just from walking next to them. Every night they light up the falls in bright prismatic colors which looked very cool! Other than that, the city is a tourist trap full of casinos, wax museums, amusement parks, shops and attractions that have absolutely nothing to do with the Falls. We did see a fun IMAX film about the history of Niagara and that night ate a the Rainforest Cafe'.

June 20th

Keith and Sammie are ready to go home. It was a fantastic vacation, better than imagined, but we missed our kids, our own bed and not having to pay to have decent water to drink. Lucky for us, there were no problems with our flights this time although the 5 1/2 hour one from Baltimore to SLC was rough. And yes, our kids were dying to see us! We had a great reunion, tons of fun giving them gifts from our trip and listening to their tales from while we were gone. Thanks so much for the trip, honey! I've never had a funner time and I can't wait for the next one!!!