Did I ever mention that my family takes the most awesome road trips ever? Well...we do! I know everyone has their own style of vacation that works for them, but of course, I'm partial to mine ; ). This year, we were planning on going up to Oregon, Washington, and then Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. That is, until my sister called and asked if we would be interested in going to Boston. Years ago, my dad had promised me that he would take me to New York City, so when Diane asked this, he said that we would all be interested if she would be interested in going on a side trip to The City. From there, it all kinda spiraled out of control and the trip evolved into a 14 day extravaganza that would include visiting Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, Maine, Connecticut, and Canada. I'm SO not complaining, though! I think that there are SO many places/things to see/do and I want to see them ALL! Ok...so maybe not ALL, but certainly as many as possible. I was especially excited that I would get the chance to visit 2 states that I had never been to (Maine and Vermont) and a new country: Canada!
We booked flights for the evening of May 25th, which was the last day of the school year. After a very eventful day, we made our flights and landed in Boston on Saturday morning. Diane flew separately, since she was coming from Salt Lake City. After flying all night and getting minimal sleep, we ambitiously picked up our rental car and set off to see Boston! I was the driver and driving in Boston was definitely an adventure in certain areas of the city, but we made it out alive!
The JFK Presidential Library and Museum
Bunker Hill Monument
The USS Constitution
The Freedom Trail
To keep this post from being even longer than it's already going to be, I'll just list some of the cool things we saw on the Freedom Trail. The Freedom Trail is a red brick path that is inlaid in the sidewalk and leads to a bunch of the cool historical sights around Boston. Some of the things we saw were: The Boston Commons, Old State House, Old North Church, Old South Meetinghouse, Paul Revere's House, and the site of the Boston Massacre.
Also, in Boston, we found the Cheers bar!!! We ate dinner there and had the most amazing Boston Cream Pie ever.
Mmmmmmm...
Next, we drove to Maine! We visited a town called York, which is right on the beach and is home to one of the most photographed lighthouses and beaches in America. It really was beautiful!
Diane and I rolled up our pant legs, shed our shoes and took a few minutes to play in the Atlantic...the very cold Atlantic!
Us with Nubble Lighthouse in the background.
Next, we went to Salem, Massachusetts and visited the Witch Trial Memorial and then we went to the House of Seven Gables and took a tour of it. I had visited the House about 10 years ago, but it was closed, so we couldn't take the tour; this time, we got it and it was awesome!
Then, on to Plimouth Plantation (we usually spell Plymouth with a "y", but they spell it with an "i", so there you have it). We got to visit an Indian Village, as well as the Pilgrim's Village. In the Pilgrim village, they were 100% in character. They knew nothing of modern times, etc. One of the really cool things about it was that they didn't have any "Do Not Touch" signs or ropes to keep you out of certain areas. Diane and I took full advantage of this and behaved like children; it was awesome! My parents were off being educated by the Pilgrims and Diane and I were:
laying in the beds,
playing with firearms,
hiding in baskets,
staging fist-fights,
sailing to far-away lands,
putting on puppet shows,
and attacking each other with said puppets.
Don't judge us! : )
We also saw Plymouth Rock and the replica of the Mayflower that is down on the water.
Next, we went back to Boston and got to do a session in the beautiful Boston Temple!
Then, we went to Lexington and Concord where we got to visit Minute Man National Park and the homes of various authors, among them Louisa May Alcott. We loved seeing Old North Bridge and Paul Revere's capture site, as well Walden Pond and Henry David Thoreau's cabin.
Old North Bridge
Henry David Thoreau's Cabin Replica at Walden Pond
Walden Pond
Vermont!
We only did a couple of things in Vermont, but we also drove through alot of the countryside and it was absolutely breathtaking!
The first place we visited was Joseph Smith's birthplace.
While in Vermont, we had the opportunity to tour the Ben & Jerry's Factory. It was actually super cool! The whole factory was full of bright, happy colors, and it was just a fun thing to do!
The following day we went to Montreal, which is in Quebec, the French speaking province of Canada.
The first thing we did was grab some lunch at a little cafe. It was kind of cool to see that thee menu was all in French and that their Diet Coke was Diete Coke! Not surprisingly, Diet Coke is delicious in any language! ; ) We got to see Notre Dame Cathedral and take a carriage ride through Old Town Montreal. The architecture was beautiful and it reminded me alot of the buildings I saw on my trip to Ireland and Scotland. We walked around the city and saw tons of cool stuff, including the Epcot-esque dome used for the world's fair. Later, we decided to get some tarts and maple ice cream, which was delish! Pretty soon after that, we headed to their outdoor market place, Marche Jean-Talon. While we were there, a crazy storm picked up and it poured so hard that the streets flooded within minutes and the water was spraying several feet into the air, out of the street vents. The rain was so hard that people's umbrellas were actually breaking! It was crazy! We were SO lucky, though, because this was the only time, during our entire trip, that it rained much. We had a fun day in Montreal!
On our carriage ride
In front of the bank
Notre Dame Cathedral
Our yummy tarts and maple ice cream
Enjoying our desserts at the cute sidewalk cafe
The outdoor marketplace had mainly flowers and fruit.
This is when it had just started to rain. "Singin' in the Rain"
The streets were crazy flooded and this picture was taken from the subway station, where everyone was waiting out the storm. We loved Montreal and I definitely consider my first venture into Canada a success!
On the sixth day of our trip, we did a bunch of church sites. First, we visited the Peter Whitmer Farm, where the church was organized on April 6, 1830. It was really cool to stand in such a sacred place where something so important happened. After that, we drove toward Palmyra and ended up driving right through Seneca Falls, where a bunch of Women's Rights rallies were held. So, we decided to stop and take a few minutes in the museum there. I'm really grateful for the sacrifices that women, in those days, made so that I could do things like vote, get an education, and hold a job. It was a cool, albeit unexpected, experience. Ok, so back on track to Palmyra: we visited the Grandin Store, where the Book of Mormon was first printed and sold. We got to see how it was printed and published and see some original artifacts. Next, we visited the Smith family log cabin and frame house, saw the Palmyra Temple, which is now built on what was part of the original parcel of land, purchased by Joseph Smith's family. We also took the opportunity to visit the Sacred Grove and it was, not only beautiful, but super peaceful. Visiting Alvin Smith's grave and Martin Harris' Farm was awesome as well. Afterward, we went to the Hill Cumorah and got to go up the hill and see the monument there. It was amazing to have the opportunity to see the places where so many things that have had such a great impact on my life occurred.
In front of Peter Whitmer's cabin
In Seneca Falls, NY
The Grandin Store where the Book of Mormon was first sold
Inside the Smith family's cabin...this is the room where Joseph Smith was sleeping when the Angel Moroni visited him three times to tell him about the plates
My mom and me in the Sacred Grove
Atop the Hill Cumorah
The next day started with a trip to the Palmyra Temple, where we were able to do a session together.
Then, it was off to Niagara Falls! My expectation for this was sky high and the Falls exceeded that expectation.
We rode the Maid of the Mist, which takes you right down by the Falls. It was awesome!
The Falls were amazing!
At night, Mom, Diane, and I went to Canada to see the Falls all lit up. It was well-worth the late-night visit. So beautiful!
The next day, we went to Cooperstown, which is an adorable, little town. We saw Doubleday Field and the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Baseball Hall of Fame was SO awesome and, although I'm not an avid baseball watcher, I had a lot of fun!
We also visited FDR's Presidential Museum, Library, and home in Hyde Park, NY. It was probably the lamest one Presidential Library that I've ever been to, but it was still worth seeing.
That night, we stayed in a hotel that was right by George Washington's Headquarters in Newburgh, NY. One of my favorite events from the American Revolution happened while he was staying in Newburgh. You should Google it and learn about it! : ) By the time we got to the hotel, however, we were too tired to go see the Headquarters, so we visited it early the next morning.
Awesome!
Then, we drove to New York City! We returned our rental car, since we would be using public transportation throughout the rest of our trip. This was my first time in NYC and it was definitely sensory overload.
Our first day there, we saw Times Square,
the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island,
the 9/11 Memorial and museum,
Dylan's Candy Bar, which is owned by Ralph Lauren's daughter and is supposed to
be like Willy Wonka's Factory. It was really cool!
We also saw Broadway plays! Mom and I saw The Phantom of the Opera,
and Diane and Dad saw Mary Poppins!
It was a great night!
The next day was a museum day and we visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met), The Guggenheim, and the Natural History Museum (featured in A Night at the Museum). The Met was awesome and had some of my very favorite pieces of art, but the Guggenheim was ridiculous. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, but I really don't consider anything I saw there to be art. Just sayin'.
The Natural History Museum was pretty cool, though and made up for the Guggenheim. Ti get to the Natural History Museum, we walked all through Central Park and I was amazed at how huge and green it was; it was also super busy! It was my first time seeing it, so I was pretty excited!
A beautiful mosaic at The Met
Amazing stained glass at The Met
I have always LOVED this painting: Washington Crossing the Delaware
The Guggenheim : / Blech!
Central Park!
By an Olmec in the Natural History Museum
We visited the Intrepid
We got to take a two hour harbor cruise at sunset and it was incredibly beautiful! As we were walking over to where we were supposed to catch our boat, it started raining. Fortunately, it was a fairly brief rainfall and then TWO beautiful rainbows appeared. This picture only shows the top one, but they were both amazing!
Manhattan
The Statue of Liberty at sunset during our harbor cruise
After the harbor cruise, we caught the subway so that we could make our way over to Serendipity! That's when it happened: I saw my first subway rat!!! haha I was so excited, which was quite amusing to a man that was also waiting for the train. He chatted with us and thought it was cute that I was so excited about the rat, since-as he said-people are usually just annoyed by them. I aim to please! ; )
We finally got to Serendipity and I was ecstatic! We had tried to get dinner there a couple of days before, but the wait was about 2 hours and we really didn't want to wait that long. This time, thee wait was only 15 minutes AND when we got there, we had our first celebrity sighting! Topher Grace and Mandy Moore were there with a couple of friends!
We were seated upstairs and the food was delish! And, of course, you can't go to
Serendipity without also getting a...
FROZEN HOT CHOCOLATE!
I got the peanut butter one and it was so good!
In case you can't tell, I have always wanted to go to Serendipity and it was way exciting for me!
By the time we left Serendipity, it was pretty late, but the Empire State Building is open until about 3 a.m. so we headed over. I was nervous that it would suck since it was dark and we wouldn't be able to see all the details of the city, but when I walked out onto the observation deck and saw this...
...I was in awe and very glad to get this night time view. Pictures cannot even come close to doing the view justice. Wow. So, if you're in NYC and have the chance to get an after-midnight view of The City, do it!
Love it! After this extremely full and long day, we went back to our hotel and were all asleep within minutes.
The next day, we had to say goodbye to Diane, since she had to go back to work. We chilled in the hotel room until she left for the airport and then we went into The City. We made this day pretty laid back and only did a couple of things. I got to go into Grand Central Station for the first time, which was pretty cool. It was so odd to see people in business suits and dresses with high heels running, yes, running to catch the train.
Then, we went to Lincoln Square to see the Manhattan Temple and the Metropolitan Opera House, which were both beautiful.
Grand Central Station
Manhattan Temple
Metropolitan Opera House (in person, that chandelier was amazing!)
Next, we did something we had not planned on at all. We went to the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. It was on our New York City pass, so we decided that we'd take a look. Instead, we spent a few hours there and loved every minute of it! It was definitely the victorious underdog of the trip! We took tons of pictures, but I'll only share a few since this post is already monstrous! ; )
My dad with Jackie Robinson and Mickey Mantle
Me with The Beatles (notice I'm even wearing a Beatles t-shirt)
My mom with Justin Bieber ; )
Afterwards, we went to Junior's for dinner and cheesecake. I also got to try one of their famous Eggcreams! It was a fun day and so nice to have a little break from running around like crazy all day!
The next day, we got up early in preparation for another very full day. We went to Radio City Music Hall and took a tour. We even got to meet one of the Rockettes!
Mom and me with Sarah, the Rockette
Since we saw a night time view of the city from the Empire State Building, we caught a daytime view from the top of Rockefeller Center.
St. Patrick's Cathedral
Carnegie Hall
Tiffany's!!!
We went to FAO Schwartz and Mom and I played the big piano from the movie "Big"!
F.A.O. Schwartz
We took a carriage ride through Central Park!
In front of Rockefeller Center, where they put the ice skating rink and Christmas tree in the winter.
Th New York Public Library (those are the steps the Ghostbusters run down!)
Finally, we saw a Yankee game at Yankee Stadium! Dad loved it! Mom and I had fun too, but...
we. were. freezing! : )
The next day was our last day to go sightseeing and we had seen nearly everything, so Mom and I went out just to see a couple of odds and ends that we had missed. We saw:
Trinity Church, which is in National Treasure and also where Alexander Hamilton is buried.
The New York Stock Exchange Building
And the Federal Building, which is the site where George Washington took the Oath of Office as America's first president. Awesome! Mom and I decided to grab lunch at Junior's, but this time we went to the one inside of Grand Central Station, rather than the full restaurant we went to before. Finally, we went to Times Square to finish up our souvenir shopping and then we headed back to the hotel where we took the rest of the evening to get packed and ready to catch our early morning flight home.
We had an amazing trip where we saw so many incredible things! Never, in my life, did I think I would ever have the opportunity to see all this cool stuff! I really feel so lucky! At the same time, we were SO exhausted and grateful to be going home. So, until next time, New York...
"Give my regards to Broadway!"
