Yorktown and Jamestown

We slept in a tiny bit, got all ready and headed out. We got to Yorktown by just a bit after 9, slowed down a little by kids who didn’t get up and get going well. Yorktown was fabulous. I think the movie explained it very well. Then we bought a cd that took us on a driving tour. We drove around while we listened to explanations and dramatizations of what we saw. We got out a few times to explore things. I think it was amazing. We also loved the gift shop, partially because it made us think so much of the soldiers who fought the Revolutionary War and especially George Washington, who is really a hero of mine. This was wonderful stuff.

Then we went to Jamestown. It was pretty good, but I don’t think I enjoyed it as much as Yorktown. Still, it was very enjoyable. Kaleb told us all about it. He really, really knew his stuff. I was so impressed. He has gotten into history and can really do this.

Jamestown Settlement

Monument at Jamestown. Everyone needs and obelisk here and there.

Then we paid quite a bit of money to get into the Jamestown settlement where they have rebuilt things. That was also great. We saw the real stuff and then did things that helped us really picture it. I always think that is worthwhile. We had thought about going to Williamsburg, where they do re-enactments, but it is so expensive we decided not to. We then heard that by just driving there you can see some things, so we decided to try that. We went in a few circles, and got there as it closed. Too bad.

We had rearranged our hotels a few times because we were trying to get in touch with and meet Julianne’s cousin, Cindy. So when we left we worked our way towards a hotel where we could be somewhat close to them to meet them. As we went we worked out with them to meet them at a Cheesecake Factory near our hotel. Julianne’s mom found it online and we went by. All the gps’s were mixed up and put it on the wrong side of the street, so we went in many circles trying to find it. We finally did, and pulled into the mall where it was, only to find out that there was no parking tall enough for the motorhome. I decided to just drop Julianne and her mom off and we would go to the hotel. As we got going to the hotel we figured out that it was far enough away that we must have dropped them off at the wrong Cheesecake Factory. So we had to turn around and get them. I had to keep paying tolls every time we went back and forth. We finally found them and got to where our hotel was an hour later than we should have. The Kids and I got out at the hotel and let the ladies go meet the cousin. This hotel did not have enough big rooms, so we had to spread out over three rooms. That left me trying to get kids to sleep and take care of them in several different rooms. It had me feeling a bit ragged, and I think it turned out to be a super stressful night for the whole family. I have been trying to laugh about it, but I think I will need a good night’s sleep before I can really laugh. I am still waiting for Julianne and her mom to get back. I don’t like having kids spread out in all these rooms and I can’t really make sure they are doing well. But I am sure it will all work out okay.

Mountains and Crabs

Monday morning we had a wonderful breakfast at the hotel and then tried to go swimming. The pool was closed because someone had had an accident in it. That was two pools in a row our kids were ready for but couldn’t use. The lady at the hotel desk saw their disappointment and called around to find a nearby hotel who would let us use the pool. I walked there with the younger kids and they swam until Julianne came to pick us up. We went to the Grand Old Opry. That was fun. 

at the Grand Old Opry

The museum I was planning on going to has closed. But we walked around the building, took some pictures, bought some things, and went to the Opryland Hotel, which was cool and amazing. We had a fun time and it was great to say we have been there.

At the Opryland Hotel

Walking around the Grand Old Opry area

 Then we loaded up and had a long drive with a few little stops here and there. 

The common scene of Mom and Grandma making lunch for the family while we drive

We ended up going through the Appalachians, which is why we chose this route. I have always wanted to see this other great mountain range. It was beautiful. As we drove I saw place after place that I have heard about in song. Places such as Rocky Top, Oak Ridge, and we were going through the Smoky Mountain Range. It truly was beautiful. We finally got to a campground near the Swananoa River. It was a beautiful place. The kids played in playgrounds. We walked over the river and to the lake. Jacob chased ducks. We just overall enjoyed the incredible scenery. Then we slept well. We have eaten so well as Julianne and her mom have worked so hard to make dinners for us.

Jacob and Sabrina playing at the KOA in Swananoa

The next morning I woke up early and started driving while everyone else slept. I saw the smoky part of the Smokey Mountains. The cool Atlantic and mountain air meets the warm Gulf air and in the morning it looks like the mountains are covered in smoke. It was a beautiful sight. What a wonderful drive we had. As we drove through North Carolina and into Virginia, Julianne’s mom told us mission stories from when her dad had served a mission in this area. It was a great thing for the kids. We twice experienced some weird crowded traffic in North Carolina. I am not so sure about driving habits there.

We got to our camp as early as we could because we had reserved a fun campground. It is a Jellystone campground, and sure enough Yogi bear was there. The kids did swimming and water slides and a big bounce house thing. Cindy bear came by with a hayride for them to go on. They were having so much fun. Then we went out to their little part of Chesapeake Bay and went crabbing. What a great memory. BJ found a crab basket there (this is a dock owned by the campground and licensed for their guests to use it). We put some chicken in and he threw it over. Then we used our own little crabbing line and tried to catch the crabs with it. Several crabs grabbed on and we almost landed them. But we never quite did. If we had a net with us we would have gotten them. BJ pulled up his basket and was amazed to find a large crab in it and two large fish. The fish had gone so crazy that they had sliced themselves up. We were all amazed. BJ was ready to cook and eat his fish. After a while we figured out that he had pulled up someone else’s basket and that the fish were the cut up bait they had put in. We put that large crab back and tried the other one. It had a small crab in it, but it got away as we tried to catch it. We kept trying our little line and kept almost catching a bunch of crabs. It was fun to see them going after the line and chicken and grabbing onto it. Many times we saw crabs swimming away with our chicken, almost as if they were mocking us. BJ pulled up his cage again and found a little crab in it and this time he got it. Everyone had a lot of fun, but were also disappointed that we never landed one with our crab line. The area here is beautiful. BJ and Tashara watched an outdoor movie while the rest of us went to sleep.

After the Hay Ride with Cindy Bear

The family crabbing at Chesapeake Bay

The crabs and fish we thought we caught

enjoying Chesapeake Bay while crabbing

Again the weather was supposed to be a bit bad when I checked it last night, but was perfect the whole day. Not too hot, not too cold, no rain, just nice. We are definitely in different country. Everywhere we drive we were seeing civil war memorials and plantations, and now we see Revolutionary war things everywhere. This day has been full of memories. I am so glad we have come on this trip.

blessed

We have been very lucky weather wise. The day before we left there were still tornado warnings in the parts of Kansas we were going to drive in and sleep in. Because there had been such devastating tornadoes in the days before this had me very afraid. But late the night before the weather forecasts looked like it might move out of our way. We decided to monitor it along the way, knowing we had a few choices for our routes. But the storm moved and moved before us, always staying out of our way. Everywhere we have been thus far we have hit beautiful weather (other than the tail end of the winds hitting us a little the first day, but not badly), and they have told us of the horrible storms the night before. In Danville, MO, they told us that the night before they had all huddled in a tornado shelter for over an hour during the horrible storm. But that storm keeps staying just ahead of us. Hopefully that will just continue. Tomorrow it looks like we might catch up with it a bit, but I have thought that every night and every night we haven’t. I feel blessed.

Missouri and more

The next morning we went to Richmond and saw where David Whitmer was buried, and talked about the Book of Mormon and the Joseph Smith history. 

We talked about how the papyri and mummies came through there. We went to the place Joseph Smith was on trial before he went to Liberty Jail. It is the place where Joseph Smith rebuked the guards. That is a moving story to me.

The site where Joseph Smith rebuked the guards. A jail once stood here

The David Whitmer Home

We drove for a while more to Columbia, MO, where I went to Mizzou university and found a few newspaper accounts of the mummies and papyri that I have been looking for. 

At the University of Missouri, where I found good stuff in the archives

Then my family picked me back up and we drove to Danville where we went to a very nice little campground. Before we made camp we drove to a beautiful little wooded state park where we went on a nice little hike to a gorgeous waterfall and a cool cave. We had a picnic there, went back to the camp, showered, visited, and slept. It was a good night and I finally slept well.

Spraying for chiggers before our hike

on the hike

   

The next morning we left while most were still sleeping. We drove through St. Louis and went to a little branch on its eastern outskirts. It was such a tiny branch. We increased attendance by nearly 25%. They had an organ with music pre-programmed, a very handicapped woman who led the music from a wheelchair as best she could with limited ability to move her arm, and a powerful spirit. It was testimony meeting, and you could tell there was such a sweet and strong spirit of love and unity there. It was a different kind of meeting than any our children have gone to. Yet it was a sweet and wonderful meeting. I loved it.

 From there we went to a little pavilion by a park and ate. Then we loaded up and started driving. We drove out of Missouri into Illinois (church was a few miles into Illinois), then into Kentucky. Just before Kentucky we found a town called Metropolis, which had a nice little Superman museum, a huge superman statue, etc. We took pictures in front of the statue and had a bit of fun doing it. 

 We have been very lucky weather wise. The day before we left there were still tornado warnings in the parts of Kansas we were going to drive in and sleep in. Because there had been such devastating tornadoes in the days before this had me very afraid. But late the night before the weather forecasts looked like it might move out of our way. We decided to monitor it along the way, knowing we had a few choices for our routes. But the storm moved and moved before us, always staying out of our way. Everywhere we have been thus far we have hit beautiful weather (other than the tail end of the winds hitting us a little the first day, but not badly), and they have told us of the horrible storms the night before. In Danville, MO, they told us that the night before they had all huddled in a tornado shelter for over an hour during the horrible storm. But that storm keeps staying just ahead of us. Hopefully that will just continue. Tomorrow it looks like we might catch up with it a bit, but I have thought that every night and every night we haven’t. I feel blessed. We also heard about a civil war reenactment. We tried several times to find the place, but eventually gave up and continued on our way. We pulled over and had a dinner in a nice setting. I am amazed at how beautiful all the places we drove are. This is an amazing country we live in.

Still moving along in the RV

Starting Out and Missouri

The day to leave on our big trip finally arrived. Julianne stayed up all night cleaning and doing all sorts of things that didn’t need to be done. It kept me from sleeping much, so that I only got about 2.5 hours of sleep, which was dangerous. We had the younger 4 sleep in the motorhome that night. We left at 4:30 that morning, and drove for a long ways. We went through Utah and Colorado. As we cleared the great divide the poor motorhome could only get up to 25 mph. Colorado was beautiful and things went spectacularly for us. We hit Kansas and it was not quite as beautiful but I loved the rustic conditions. We drove from 4:30 am until 11 pm (10 pm Utah time), and traveled about 1000 miles. We slept at a truck stop. It was really a pretty great day and went quite well. Our good ol’ motorhome did us well.

Driving along in the RV

The next day we left pretty early. I started driving while everyone else slept for a while. We drove to Wamego, Kansas and had a nice breakfast at a little park in this quaint little town. The streets and homes were the perfect picture of rural America, and we saw friendly families everywhere. After breakfast we went to the Oz museum (we had watched the Wizard of Oz in the motorhome last night). We had a great time there. It was just plain a fun thing to do while in Kansas. They had a hurricane machine that for now if we paid for it the whole proceeds would go to the tornado victims in Moore, OK. It was a great first stop.

At the Wizard of Oz Museum

In the tornado machine

We drove for a few more hours and finally got to Missouri. It was not too hard to find the visitor’s center near the temple lot. We had a very nice time at the center, and I think the kids were touched. Then we went to the temple lot and talked about it just a little bit. Mostly we listened to a man from another church talk about it. Then we tried to find a few other sites. I had a hard time finding it and the kids were very impatient with it and I got impatient with them. We ended up driving to find what we were looking for Eventually we got it all worked out so we could have something of a reasonable experience while there. We went to the Whitney and Gilbert store and looked over at where the printing press was that was destroyed and then told the story of the girls who saved the Book of Commandments along with the story of man who saved some as well. It was a good experience. 

The family walking around the Independence Temple Lot

The Gilbert and Whitney store in Independence

Then we drove to Liberty Jail. To me that is a very profound place. The visitor’s center was great, and then we found a room there and we had some spiritual thoughts together. I am always so moved by the revelations received there. Joseph was in so much suffering, and yet it resulted in such profound things. It is so convincing that the Lord will use trials and difficulties to bring about great things for us. If we are willing to submit to his will we will learn and be refined. It is a great thing, if scary.

Liberty Jail

Kaleb in front of the window to the Liberty Jail dungeon

We went to our RV camp. It was nice enough, and we had a nice night for the first while. In the middle of the night Sabrina and Alexia woke up terrified that they had chiggers and tics. I was up with them for two hours before we got it all taken care of. It was a long night. I sleep on a little tiny part of the floor. It makes for a long night too.