Kirtland Trip

This past weekend the Miami LDSSA students (plus me and Chip) traveled up to Kirtland, Ohio to see several church historical sites. We packed so many activities into the 24 hours we were there! We saw a couple of movies at the Visitors Center (my mom knows all about Mormons and how much they like their movies.....), toured historic Kirtland village, took a tour of the Kirtland Temple and their visitors center, and went to the Isaac Morely Farm and the John Johnson Farm. Whew, we were busy.

Kirtland is only a half hour away from Cleveland, in a beautiful part of Ohio. The leaves were changing colors while we were there. Bright orange, yellow, red and green mixed together to make gorgeous fall foliage. It was also freezing when we were there. Hey, wait a minute, wasn't last week (when we were at the Renaissance Festival) 85 degrees outside? Yes... yes it was. Ohio is pretty ridiculous.

Casey and Rachel in the Newell K. Whitney Store

It was pretty neat to explore Kirtland as it appeared in the 1830's. Several sites had the original buildings still standing, and we were able to see how residents enjoyed everyday life back then. Something interesting to note was the use of color in many homes. Floorboards, doors, fireplaces and fabrics were all bright and colorfully painted, depending upon the family's wealth and resources.

Our group had a ton of fun being together. We had a little surprise when I arrived at my hotel room to discover that the sofa bed I had planned on sleeping in came with a mysterious stain....

The look on Rachel's face says it all......needless to say, I decided to play it safe and sleep in another bed that night. Sketchy!

On the way home we stopped in Akron, where my sisters used to go to school. We ate at the Applebees that Brianna apparently ate at several times a week when she was there. Glad to know our family continues to keep them in business.

All in all, it was such a good time! I felt the spirit of the early Saints as they struggled with hardships, persecutions and countless other trials, all for the gospel which meant so much to them. Every time I go to Kirtland I learn something new. I look forward to going back again in the future!

We Love the Knight Time

This past Saturday Chip, Trey and I went to the Ohio Renaissance Festival. It was a great time, good food, neat costumes, and awesome entertainment!

Ow.

Nice pants, guys. Only at a Renaissance Festival could you get away with those

We saw a real joust, sword fighting, a wedding parade, royal procession, and people eating giant turkey legs! The picture above is from the pirate stunt show. I'm always a fan of anything pirate-related, yarrrrr!

Where did all the water go? And why are we in Ohio?!

Unfortunately the day was also unseasonably hot, so we couldn't stay all day. There was so much more to do and see, like sword jugglers, fire-eaters, the list goes on! We'll have to go back and visit next year.