Our travels that day led us to Seneca Fall, NY. We went there to meet my sisters Alicia & Laura, and Laura's husband Connel. Laura and Connel live in Cleveland as of this past January and Alicia was visiting them as a graduation trip.
You know, the really nice thing about traveling with sisters is that when you call them the morning of the trip and tell them that you neglected to make reservations soon enough and plans need to change and that they now need to drive 2 more hours beyond the original plan they just say "okay!" and are still happy to see you when they get there!
We chose Seneca Falls because it was the closest, non-KOA, campsite to Palmyra, our actual destination. And oh what a serendipitous selection. You see this campsite was minutes from the Peter Whitmer farm, a location Aaron and I had never been in our previous 3 visits to Palmyra and that I didn't know we were near until I saw a sign while we were exiting the highway. And of course, Seneca Falls is the birthplace of the Women's Rights movement. I was very excited to visit both places!
In addition, Seneca Falls itself is a darling postcard-worthy American town. Completely adorable, but sadly, a victim, like most other towns in that region, of shifting economics which have left it economically depressed. The tour guide at the visitor center stated bluntly that people who live there either work at McDonalds or bring their money with them. I find towns like this remarkably heartbreaking.
Now, not only were we near places I was thrilled to visit but our campsite cost $13 for all six of us. Thirteen dollars! What a deal!
Here I am making breakfast. Tessa woke me up at 6:30 after sleeping like a log all night. I thought I'd be awake by myself for a long time but Auntie Laura was up and at-em and ready to hold the baby. (yeah!) This picture shows two funny things...Connel is drinking out of a paper plate. We forgot cups so used our boyscout training to fashion a vessel out of paperplates. The coolest. The other thing you'll notice is Laura taking pictures. That pretty much illustrates her whole weekend, she puts Aunt Paula to shame!
Here are the girls taking a stand!
Yeah for the ability to vote and have legal possession of your children!
Auntie Alicia and Tessa mingling with the crowd.
Last October I bought Tessa a "passport" to the National Parks. The "passport" is a booklet that you take with you and get stamps at National Parks across the country. Tessa got her 2nd and 3rd stamps here. The 3rd was for the
Erie Canal National Historic Corridor. We missed our chance to get an Underground Railroad stamp but time was short.
The group in front of the David Whitmer home (reconstructed)
Aaron and I hadn't ever come to the David Whitmer farm because it seemed so far out of the way of the other Palmyra sites. I now realize we were missing out and highly recommend it! This is one of the main sites where translation of the Gold Plates took place and the location of the organization of the church.
I had just taught a Relief Society lesson on the organization and destiny of the church. In it we discussed how Joseph Smith told early members of the Church that their understanding of the destiny of the church was like that of a child. One of the sisters in my ward pointed out how true this was by discussing all that the Church currently does just in
humanitarian work world-wide. The church's network enables it to be first responders to many of the devastating natural disasters and to the local tragedies that occur daily; they also work in dozens of programs to bring drinking water, measles vaccinations, wheelchairs, and medical knowledge to third world countries. Do you think that the handful of Saints in the mid-1800s struggling against mobs and persecution could comprehend that!? How amazing and miraculous our world would seem to them!
