We go to Nauvoo and Cyrus gets married
We took a great family vacation last month to see my brother, Cyrus, marry his wonderful fiancee, Kendra. We got to drive to Nauvoo and visit church history sites along the way.
Note: If you want to skip the travelogue and just see pictures, skip to the slideshow at the end of this post.
We drove across Kansas (which was almost as boring as Nebraska, but not nearly as boring as Nevada is), and stayed the night in Kansas City, MO. I finally got to taste Kansas City BBQ and greatly enjoyed it. From there, we went up to Independence, MO and on to the temple site in Far West. MO.
We took a little detour over to Hannibal, MO--Mark Twain's birthplace. I have a bit of a fascination with Twain and have wanted to visit Hannibal for over 15 years. Steve indulged me and I checked it off my list. What a pretty little town and right on the river. It's no wonder the boy Samuel Clemens wanted to be a steamboat captain. His house was so close to the Mississippi he must have heard the men and the boats all day long. He probably played on the river much of his young life. We listened to "Tom Sawyer" in the car on the way to and from Hannibal. That made the experience all the more poignant.
Next, it was off to Nauvoo, the "city beautiful" that the Saints built out of swampland. The reconstructed temple is breathtaking and the views of the Mississippi are incredible. I can't imagine how it must have been for the Saints to leave the beautiful refuge they had created. We took a wagon ride around the old city.
We had such a great time visiting cousins and family. The sealing on Friday was absolutely the culminating point of our trip. What a beautiful experience! We are so happy to have Kendra and her delightful family as part of ours. We are also very happy Cyrus and Kendra gave us an excuse to go to Nauvoo.
The reception was in Champaign, IL on Saturday. So Saturday morning, we tried to cram in a few more sites before we left, including a visit to Carthage Jail. It was a moving experience to be where the prophet was martyred, and I'm glad we squeezed the visit in.
Back on the road, we planned to check into our hotel, change clothes, and then go to the reception. We soon realized that we would be lucky to make it to the reception at all. As we passed through each little town and the speed limit slowed from 55 mph to 35 mph then back to 55mph, our frustration mounted. We were definitely going to be late, and stopping at the hotel first was out of the question. Steve sent me to the back of the van to change the children into Sunday clothes the best I could. After all the kids were changed, he asked if I wouldn't mind handing him his suit. What? His suit? He was driving...what would he do with that? Why, put it on, of course. While I was changing the kids, he had managed to begin changing his own clothes. He drove straight and true, and I had no idea he was...ummm...indisposed.
I handed the suit up to him and proceeded to change my own clothes. At least I had the privacy of tinted windows. He was dressed before I was. What an amazing talent. And the car didn't swerve once. I believe I'm a lucky woman. And, we got to the reception very close to on time.
The lovely reception was held at Kendra's parents' house and included a favorite for all the kids--a bouncy house! Those should be a requirement at any LDS reception. The next morning, Sunday, we all attended church with Kendra's parents and hit the road again. We drove across Illinois and Iowa, ending our day in Omaha.
Monday morning, we went to the Winter's Quarter visitor's center where the kids got to dress up as pioneers and try out a handcart. Then, we had a long drive across Nebraska and finally to home. Still, I was so grateful to be in a van going 70ish miles/hour not in a covered wagon or pushing a handcart, especially when the rain was sheeting down. Perhaps that perspective made the 2,000 mile journey very easy to do.
Robert's and Daniel's families spent the night with us in Denver before heading to their own homes. It was great to have that extra time to visit with them all. And then, after everyone left on Tuesday, I discovered that our sewer had backed up into the basement...but that's for another blogpost. (Or not. The details are quite yucky.)
There are pictures...lots of pictures. So I put them into a slide show for those of you who want to see our journey. Be forewarned; there are 51 pictures. Enjoy them...or not.
Note: If you want to skip the travelogue and just see pictures, skip to the slideshow at the end of this post.
We drove across Kansas (which was almost as boring as Nebraska, but not nearly as boring as Nevada is), and stayed the night in Kansas City, MO. I finally got to taste Kansas City BBQ and greatly enjoyed it. From there, we went up to Independence, MO and on to the temple site in Far West. MO.
We took a little detour over to Hannibal, MO--Mark Twain's birthplace. I have a bit of a fascination with Twain and have wanted to visit Hannibal for over 15 years. Steve indulged me and I checked it off my list. What a pretty little town and right on the river. It's no wonder the boy Samuel Clemens wanted to be a steamboat captain. His house was so close to the Mississippi he must have heard the men and the boats all day long. He probably played on the river much of his young life. We listened to "Tom Sawyer" in the car on the way to and from Hannibal. That made the experience all the more poignant.
Next, it was off to Nauvoo, the "city beautiful" that the Saints built out of swampland. The reconstructed temple is breathtaking and the views of the Mississippi are incredible. I can't imagine how it must have been for the Saints to leave the beautiful refuge they had created. We took a wagon ride around the old city.
We had such a great time visiting cousins and family. The sealing on Friday was absolutely the culminating point of our trip. What a beautiful experience! We are so happy to have Kendra and her delightful family as part of ours. We are also very happy Cyrus and Kendra gave us an excuse to go to Nauvoo.
The reception was in Champaign, IL on Saturday. So Saturday morning, we tried to cram in a few more sites before we left, including a visit to Carthage Jail. It was a moving experience to be where the prophet was martyred, and I'm glad we squeezed the visit in.
Back on the road, we planned to check into our hotel, change clothes, and then go to the reception. We soon realized that we would be lucky to make it to the reception at all. As we passed through each little town and the speed limit slowed from 55 mph to 35 mph then back to 55mph, our frustration mounted. We were definitely going to be late, and stopping at the hotel first was out of the question. Steve sent me to the back of the van to change the children into Sunday clothes the best I could. After all the kids were changed, he asked if I wouldn't mind handing him his suit. What? His suit? He was driving...what would he do with that? Why, put it on, of course. While I was changing the kids, he had managed to begin changing his own clothes. He drove straight and true, and I had no idea he was...ummm...indisposed.
I handed the suit up to him and proceeded to change my own clothes. At least I had the privacy of tinted windows. He was dressed before I was. What an amazing talent. And the car didn't swerve once. I believe I'm a lucky woman. And, we got to the reception very close to on time.
The lovely reception was held at Kendra's parents' house and included a favorite for all the kids--a bouncy house! Those should be a requirement at any LDS reception. The next morning, Sunday, we all attended church with Kendra's parents and hit the road again. We drove across Illinois and Iowa, ending our day in Omaha.
Monday morning, we went to the Winter's Quarter visitor's center where the kids got to dress up as pioneers and try out a handcart. Then, we had a long drive across Nebraska and finally to home. Still, I was so grateful to be in a van going 70ish miles/hour not in a covered wagon or pushing a handcart, especially when the rain was sheeting down. Perhaps that perspective made the 2,000 mile journey very easy to do.
Robert's and Daniel's families spent the night with us in Denver before heading to their own homes. It was great to have that extra time to visit with them all. And then, after everyone left on Tuesday, I discovered that our sewer had backed up into the basement...but that's for another blogpost. (Or not. The details are quite yucky.)
There are pictures...lots of pictures. So I put them into a slide show for those of you who want to see our journey. Be forewarned; there are 51 pictures. Enjoy them...or not.
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Comments
A bit of trivia...I was born in Champaign, IL.
And I had no idea Lindy was from Champaign. Wow.