Come on Ride the Train!

My dad, a life-long train fan, treated all of us to a tour of the area this morning on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Dad, this post is dedicated to you!

Here we are boarding the train:

All aboard!

In our seats, getting ready for our tour to begin:

Mom and Dad Reed: (As you can see, we relocated partway through the trip to get a better view and a little more space for Grace =) )

Grace & Grandpa watching the scenery:

Our Family:

The train ride also included an audio tour which explained the history of the area (especially the canal). It was super interesting!

As you can imagine, a 4-hour train ride was a bit much for Grace, so we did some other things to keep her entertained, like read books...

...snuggled...

...sang...

...and danced!

("Reach for the sky, so high, so high!")

(Her signing "swim")

Here's some of the scenery we saw. It was so beautiful and green!

We passed a swamp where they had eagle and heron nests. Cool huh?

A bend of the river:

Dad was real chummy with the staff, who even held up the train to let him step off and take this picture!

Here we are with one of the crew members after our ride:

And back at the Station:

Thanks for the great time, mom and dad!

Palmyra Trip--Part 7: Niagra Falls

On our way home from Palmyra, we decided to make a stop and see Niagara Falls. We had originally planned to do the Maid of the Mist tour while we were there, but after (what felt like) hours of traffic and a crazy time parking, we settled for a quick walking tour of the Falls. =) And still, the drive was worth it, because IT. WAS. BEAUTIFUL. Definitely something that everyone should see at least once in their lifetime!

The toe bridge overlooking the falls:

A panoramic view:


The American Falls (the U.S. side):


Family photo:

Grace hung out with Grandma Susie and Grandpa John...

...while Travis and I went on the toe bridge to get a better view of both of the falls.

The view from the edge of the bridge (from the spot where we're standing in the above picture):


After seeing the falls, we ate dinner at a little cafe just down the street before finishing the long drive home.
Grace thought the airplane ride at the cafe was pretty fun...

...especially with Grandpa! =)

We had such a great family vacation, and look forward to touring more of the East coast during the rest of our time here in Ohio!

Palmyra Trip--Part 6: Palmyra Temple & Hill Cumorah

Dustin and Bridgette were good enough to babysit Grace for us so we could go to the temple with my parents (BLESS THEIR HEARTS!). It was so special to be in the temple with my mom and dad, who were actually the witness couple for the session. It's always so good to be in the House of the Lord.

The Palmyra temple was beautiful inside and out. It overlooks the Sacred Grove, and uses the Grove as it's theme, incorporating tree-themed stained glass windows throughout, as well as stained glass pictures and oil paintings of the Grove and the First Vision.

Here we are in front of the temple:

The Hill Cumorah Visitors Center, which had some neat displays on the Restoration and the Prophet Joseph Smith:

The Christus:

Inside the Visitors Center:

I just thought this stained glass portrayal of the retrieving of the Book of Mormon was so beautiful!

A replica of the gold plates and fascimile of original transcripts of the Book of Mormon:

After touring the Visitors Center, we headed up the footpath to the top of the Hill Cumorah:

We climbed, and we climbed, and we climbed! =)

At the top, we found the Hill Cumorah Monument and plaque:

The Monument:

In front of the Monument:

The view from the top of the Hill:

Though the climb was steep, it was worth it to be able to stand on the same hill where the Book of Mormon was buried and finally retrieved.

Our trip to Palmyra really made the events of the Book of Mormon and the Restoration so much more real and personal to us. We had a great time!!

Palmyra Trip--Part 5: Camping at the KOA

When we weren't touring, we were kicking back at the KOA (where we camped in style!). The weather today was HOT, so we took advantage of the campground's pool to cool off a little. This was Grace's first time swimming in a real pool, and she LOVED it--just swam and swam! She's going to be a little swimmin' girl when she gets older, I can tell!

Here she is, splashing with dad...


...and doing some doggy paddle:

Grace and I swimming together (I have to admit that I'm super excited to teach this girl how to swim!):

Our Family (aka the water babies):

After we cooled off, my parents and I introduced Travis and Grace to shuffleboard...and they became big fans! =)

Here's Travis learning the way of the shuffleboard...

...and Dad showing him how it's done (Travis actually picked up the game really fast and did a great job):

And Grace did a great job of inspecting our pucks for us :)

Round 1: Jenny and Travis win!

Round 2: Travis and John win!

We had a great time camping with my parents and the Grimmetts at the KOA, and were so glad that they all joined us for our big trip!

Palmyra Trip--Part 4: The Book of Mormon Publication Site

Later in the afternoon, we drove into Palmyra and met my parents for a tour of The Grandin Press--Home of the Historic Book of Mormon Publication Site:

A period Bible and Book of Mormon:

The Palmyra Bookstore (this would have been the place to not only buy the Book of Mormon, but also any other literature of the day):

This plaque was on the counter:

Heading up the stairs to view the rest of the building!

A few pages of the Book of Mormon manuscript:

The Printing Room:

(Mr. Grandin placed the Printing Room on the 3rd floor because it was the one with the most light, as you can see by this next picture:)

A sweet senior missionary guide explained to us that in the 1800's, they used a pully system, such as this one, to bring materials into the building...

...from the cellar below (the materials having been brought there from the very nearby canal, on which they were shipped).

It was really interesting to learn about the entire process for making these first editions of the Book of Mormon--from printing to binding to the finishing touches of even painting gold letters on the cover. And to understand how much the Book of Mormon meant to the Saints--that they'd spend 2 days worth of wages on it. Definitely a tour worth seeing...and seeing again!