On our way back from Canada we stopped by in Palmyra, New York for a few days to visit the historical Church sites there. We left Canada Saturday morning around 5:30am. The reason we left so early was so that we could drop Ben and Young Fe off at the airport. I don't think their flight left until 9am, but apparently customs in Canada takes at least 3 hours. After dropping them off we made our way towards New York.
It was really foggy and we could only see a few feet in front of us. Shinsuke was gracious enough to do all the driving from Canada to New York. Also, I was super tired and ended sleeping most of the way so he didn't even bother to ask me to drive. We arrived in Palmyra around 10:30am. By then the fog had cleared up, but it was still pretty cloudy and gray.
Our first stop was the Palmyra Temple. We both did a session there and by the time we got out the sky was cloudless and blue. We decided to drive into town and find someplace to eat lunch. There weren't many choices as Palmyra is a pretty small town. In fact, there were only 3 restaurants: a pizza place, an Italian/pizza place, and Chinese takeout. We ended up going to the Chinese restaurant. Though, the food was nothing compared to the food we had eaten in China Town.
After eating we went to where the first 500 copies of the Book of Mormon was published since it was just across the street. The tour was really neat and I hadn't realized how much effort went into publishing a book in those days. Next we drove down to the Joseph Smith Farm and the Sacred Grove. We had a great tour guide and I learned a lot from it. I don't think I realized how much Joseph had to be in tune with the Holy Ghost in order to keep the Plates from falling into the wrong hands. After the tour of the farm we had a chance to walk through the Sacred Grove. Most everything was still brown but it was still very peaceful.
Our last stop of the day was the Hill Cumorah. We watched the new movie they had about Joseph Smith's life through the eyes of his mother Lucy. Then we went and climbed to the top of the hill. Shinsuke and I read Moroni's account about the battle that took place there.
We were both pretty exhausted so we drove to our hotel (the Microtel Inn in Victor, I think), unpacked, then ate dinner at Denny's before turning in. We attended church at the Palmyra ward then stopped by the Sacred Grove again. It was a really nice day so we decided to take a walk. We both had a really nice talk about our trip so far and the baby on the way.
The Whitmer Farm is 40 minutes away from Palmyra but we decided to go anyway and I'm glad we did. Again, there was a lot that I learned and it also put things into perspective. For us it was a 40 minute drive, but when people traveled there for the first church meeting it took a lot longer! For anyone who is planning to visit Palmyra I would recommend attending the church there at the building next to the Whitmer farm. Also, spend some time at Seneca Lake. It was where the first members of the church were baptized and it's really beautiful. Shinsuke and I only spent a few minutes since it started to rain shortly after I got there, but it looks like there are walking trails that go around the lake.
We went back to the hotel and spent the rest of the day just resting. We were exhausted and had no desire to do anything else. Monday morning we left for Kirtland, OH so we could see the temple there. When we got there we discovered the the tours were closed on Monday. We walked around outside for a little bit before returning home.
I really enjoyed Palmyra and we are hoping that we can take our parents to go see it sometime. I would like to go again late spring or summer when the Sacred Grove is greener. Coming up next, Vacation Part 3: Indiana!
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