Back to School

Well, here we go again. I am starting my 18th year teaching high school. This year is a little different since I am back full time and, in addition to teaching chemistry I am teaching astronomy. This is not to be mixed up with astrology mind you. Although I think some of my students were hoping that they were signing up for astrology. I have had to teach myself this stuff and am proud that I am staying ahead of my students. I actually really like it and have enjoyed learning it but I am not confident in answering all the student's questions like I am in chemistry. This week I had to tell a student that he should ask me that question in a couple of weeks and I will have an answer but right now it is just now available in my brain. I don't have the diameter of Jupiter memorized nor do I know the exact distance from the Sun that each planet orbits but I will probably know that stuff when we have our unit on the planets. I do know how to name the phases of the moon and we cleared up the misconception that most of my students had that the phases are caused by the shadow of the Earth on the moon. This is only a semester class so I hope to feel smarter next semester. I found this hilarious ecard that plays "The galaxy song" which I played when we talked about the scale of the universe and the motion of the Earth. If you are interested in what I teach, you can see my class website where I will be posting lecture powerpoints when I have them ready. I know you are all on the edge of your seat waiting for the next installment. Ha!

A little laugh from the past

As you know, I am trying to get all my old home video converted to DVD. I have completed the first decade and am working on the second decade. I thought I would share a little clip of the latest video I made. Merrilee Slade and I were the wolf den leaders when Seth was in cubs. See all the fun you are going to have, Aaron!

Not many people are fortunate enough to have friends like the Crocketts. The Crocketts are an answer to our prayers. You see, at the end of Seth's 6th grade year, Seth's only friend moved to the other side of Utah Lake. We tried to get them together but it was actually quite difficult so most of the summer Seth was friendless. There was one other boy that was his age in our neighborhood but they didn't have much in common. He was way into girls, his parents were divorcing, he was into different sports than Seth, his family wasn't interested in being active in the church and he was starting to make some not so great choices. I was nervous when 7th grade started and this young man had no friends. He was terribly shy but I hoped that through sports there would be someone that he could call his friend at school. He got excellent grades and seemed happy at home so I took the worrying down a notch or two until my visiting teacher, who has a daughter Seth's age, said that her daughter had told her that Seth sat alone at lunch every day and wondered if everything was okay. ... . can you say, "knife to the heart"? That night I sat on Seth's bed and tried to get my quiet little boy to talk to me about how life really is in 7th grade. He was a little embarrassed but acknowledged that he didn't have friends that he could hang out with at school. I asked what about so-and-so? or how about this guy? and Seth had answers like, "he turned into a Goth" or "He has a girlfriend" or some answer that reflected that that boy was making wrong moral choices. He finally said, "Mom, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I would rather not have any friends than those kind of friends. It's okay." I was so impressed by that but I couldn't stop worrying. Friends are such an important thing during that awful junior high stage. That night I was weeping and talking with Keith. The Church Orchard across the street had been sold to Ivory Homes for development and our ward would take the new families in until it was fully developed then the stake would be reconfigured. We decided that we needed to fervently pray for a family to come that would have a friend for Seth. It was a few months of prayers and even a fast on my part that finally brought the Crocketts into our ward. I invited them over for dinner and Seth and Josh hit it off immediately. Josh was a year ahead of him in school but they aren't too far apart in age so they were in the same Sunday school class and Priesthood quorum. Josh is NOT shy and soon had several friends that all met for lunch and Seth finally was not alone at lunch. Soon we realized that we loved the whole family and began eating Sunday dinners together and having raucous games of Dalmuti. Then as the end of the school year was nearing, they generously invited us to come with them to Lake Powell and spend a week on their houseboat. I was absolutely amazed and grateful. We had never been to Lake Powell. I remember being nervous that if we spent that much concentrated time with these people they might not be our friends anymore. They have kids that match up with all of our kids and they all got along so well and by the end of the week the kids decided that we were really one big family instead of two separate families and they came up with the family name of Snocketts. Now, five summers later, those amazingly generous people have invited us to Lake Powell every summer since. We have had some of the best family memories with the Crocketts (not the least of which was our Family Tour). Keith and I even went to Aruba with Nick and Andrea a couple of years ago. We love these people so much! Most of all we love Josh. Seth and Josh are the "Powell Pirates" who love to float the river, cook hamburgers, watch movies, get dates (when Josh can coerce Seth into it), wakeboard, surf, and just hang out. Seth doesn't eat alone at lunch.

Showers and Schauers

Sandra really wanted to see the Manti Pageant again this year so the girls (including Kim and Lacey) and I headed down to see that spectacular show. What a beautiful temple! We got a little shower of rain on us so it was quite cool but not totally uncomfortable. The show still went on. Mom and dad let us crash at their house (only 15 minutes away) after the pageant. I hate that mom is going through this stuff. I can't wait for this to go away and leave her alone. I love you, mom. You are so brave!
On June 27th I was quite privileged to host a baby shower for our Amy. All the sisters helped. Can I just say, "Hooray!" How long have we longed to give THIS shower?! Amy will be a sweet, tender mom and Aaron is already a natural with kids. This little girl is so lucky to be coming to that family.

Austin is 15!

After our trip, the next event that happened around the Snow's home was Austin's 15th birthday. His birthday was the day after we got back and Lettie stopped into town on her way to California for the summer so on that day we had the Aunts and Uncles over for hamburgers. However, our very social Austin needed to have a party with his "crowd" so we planned for that to happen the following week. A lot of his group was out of town but we still had a bunch of great kids. I just have to take a moment and celebrate this kid. This 15th year has been an incredible growing-up year for Austin. He has definitely grown up physically--taller, stronger, lower voice. He has also been able to allow Dr. Jeckel to remain the dominant personality rather than the tempestuous Mr. Hyde. My Austin is such a wonderfully passionate young man. He reminds me of the nursery saying about the girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead. "When she is good she is very, very, good and when she is bad...she horrible" Ha! Austin is definitely the "Big Man on Campus." He is always surrounded by many friends. He can make even the most crusty of teachers crack up laughing. He even won over his orchestra teacher that had pretty much decided at the beginning of the year that Austin was a "no good clown that wastes everybody's time." By the end of the year, that same teacher wrote, "Austin really is a fun-loving guy that is a lot of fun to have around." He can charm the socks off of you if he wants to.
He is also an incredible leader. He can mobilize his quorum like none other. He is a natural at fellowshipping those seldom-participators and he is excellent at getting his leaders to do the activities that he wants to do. He is a "go hard or don't go" kind of guy.
He has been working hard at football again this summer. Last year he spriral fractured his tibia and fractured his ankle not long after the season started. I hope he stays unbroken this year. I mention this because there was a comment from a parent that I need to record. --- I was sitting at a game while Austin wheeled around in his wheelchair on the track with the team, cheering them on (he went to the games even though he couldn't play). A mom of one of his teammates came over and said, "How's Austin doing?" "well, he won't be playing this season." "I just have to say that when David heard that Austin's leg was broken he said, 'Austin is the guy who keeps the team going. He's a huge part of this team.' " I was pretty impressed. The coach last year played him both defence and offence and he was out on the field most of the game. I figured he was important to the coaches but I liked that he was important to the guys and was a rallying factor for the team.
I sure love that young man. I am thankful for all the wonderful extended family that have been a tremendous influence for good in his life.

A Few Pictures

I took over 1000 pictures but here are 1 or 2 from each place we visited. This doesn't even begin to tell the story. You all know that my video camera is my real journal and I have 4 hours of tape to help document this trip. It was a dream vacation!

Day 17, June 14, 2009 488.3 miles
We attended sacrament meeting with the Benson Ward which meets just a few minutes from the Winter Quarters Visitors Center. It is a very small ward. We noticed that there weren’t any youth, only small children. They do have one deacon to help pass the sacrament and the rest of the duties were performed by Elders. When the Crocketts came in 7or 8 minutes into the meeting, one of the men went to get another tray of water. We almost doubled the ward congregation as one of the members put it when we were chatting after the meeting.
The Winter Quarter’s visitor’s center is another well planned and beautifully orchestrated place like the others that we have visited. We noticed, however, that each center has a particular theme that they focus the exhibits on, The Savior, Obedience, Unity, Families. This VC focused on the Temple. We love those couple missionaries and sister missionaries that have given us the tours throughout this journey. They have shared their testimonies and enriched ours. They have taught us the stories. We need to know stories. We learn from the stories–both of those in the past and of those of our friends and neighbors. Our lives are better when we learn another story. I remember when I moved into my present ward, I looked around and realized that I didn’t know the stories of these people. It made me cry. I am happy to say that I have collected many stories and feel much more comfortable...I am still collecting stories.
This log of our 6137.9 mile journey is one of the Snow Family stories. Thank you for reading it so you can share it with us.

Day 18, June 15, 2009 492.9 miles
Keith got as far as Pine Bluffs, Wyoming last night before he was tired of driving. We settled in for nice sleep between two big trucks at a rest stop. Nick drove all the way through the night so he didn’t have to sleep another time in his RV. They were quite done with this trip.
We got up and started on a thorough cleaning including vacuuming and washing every surface while Keith conducted some business. Then we headed for the barn. We cleaned for several hours then I spent the rest of the day trying to catch up on this log while the kids watched movies and played games.
We arrived at our house at 6:10 pm. The End!

Day 16, June 13, 2009 272.1 miles
We were at the Visitor’s Center by nine having already eaten pancakes, showered, cleaned a bit, checked emails etc. There was music and tables being set up in the LDS church parking lot next door to the VC so of course Austin felt obliged to check it out. The told him it was a ward activity celebrating the members cultural background and that we should come back later and eat some food with them. Hmmm. Well, the Crocketts hadn’t arrived yet so we went on a walking tour of Independence and saw the old jail and courthouse, Boggs’ old homesite, the Temple Lot dedicated by Joseph Smith (If we ever build there, we had better have our lamps full of oil!), the Gilbert-Whitney store that still operates as an old fashioned drug store complete with ice-cream sodas. This town is so sleepy. It seems that it should be a metropolis by now considering that it was the first real settlement in Missouri. As we were reading D&C 121, 122, and 123 to prepare for Liberty Jail, Keith noticed that in 123 the saints were told to write down their grievances and petition the government for redress and if that failed the Lord would see to the punishment. Well, the saints got nothing from the government and when they were all safely in Utah, the Civil War broke out. Independence was caught in 3 major battles. It was a split town as far as stance on slavery so neighbor fought against neighbor and this town was completely razed as was all of Jackson, Ray and Caldwell Counties. There were only a few house posts left. This fulfilled the prophesy that Joseph Smith gave when he was being paraded around Independence in shackles. He said that when the saints came again to this place, there would not be a yellow dog left to wag his tail in greeting.
On the way back to the VC from our walking tour we went into the Community of Christ temple for a tour. We were allowed to walk the “peace walk” (a spiraling upward walk with different statues and places to stop and pray) into the inner sanctuary where you can look up into the inside of the Nautilus shell. That was actually very beautiful. They had a beautiful auditorium complete with stage and pulpit as well as media/press boxes. The “shell” was painted with soft pinks and greys and, as I looked up, I felt like I was inside a giant Nautilus shell. They had a large cross center stage which I didn’t understand...After the sanctuary, we were taken past a beautiful Stained glass wall that depicted “the field is white all ready to harvest.” They had rice stalks representing the East and wheat representing the West. It was really stunning. My favorite part of the tour was the Museum. They have so many artifacts that I am sure our church would love to have like the original door to the Liberty Jail, original manuscript pages of the Book of Mormon and JST bible, the original oil paintings of Joseph and Emma, Joseph’s valet set, pocket watch and ring, the petticoat Emma wore in which she stashed the manuscripts and walked across the frozen Mississippi when they were being driven out of Missouri and Joseph was in Liberty Jail.
The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (no hiphen, we use a hiphen) was renamed as Community of Christ in 2001 and the main headquarters and temple but apparently the CofC is a divided portion of the original RLDS. There was a split in 1984 when the church elected its first non-descendent of Joseph to be president who then received “revelation” that woman could have the priesthood (we were all a bit disconcerted to see the portraits on the wall of the twelve apostles which included 4 women and a woman 1st counselor of the First Presidency). The RLDS today call themselves the “Restoration Branch” of the original church that had Joseph III as their first prophet or the Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The Remnant has as their Prophet a blood descendent on his maternal side. Apparently there have been law suites about the use of the initials RLDS by the CofC to the Remnant church. We also saw several other churches that are off-shoots of our church in Independence: Church of Christ-Temple Lot, which owns the actual lot that Joseph dedicated for the temple in Independence and is Thomas Marsh (Defected over cream) and George Hinckle (the betrayer that sent Joseph to Liberty), Church of Jesus Christ, which is of Sidney Rigdon origin, Church of Christ-Whitmerite, which is of David Whitmer and Oliver Cowdery origin. Bummer for them.
After our tour we walked across the street and found the Crocketts at that ward party. We joined in too and had a delicious multicultural taster’s lunch. They also had hot dogs and chips galore. Free lunch!

Next stop–Liberty Jail
We got there first because the Crockets went to Costco so we enjoyed the outer vistor’s center for a bit. When they showed up we took the tour which has an interesting history of the Jail and the circumstances surrounding Joseph’s (and Hyrum, Lyman Wight, Caleb Baldwin, Alexander McRae, Sidney Rigdon–who got out early) incarceration conducted in the outer room then they allowed us to go into the large two story room that encircled the reconstructed Liberty Jail. What a holy place. We walked in onto a balcony that surrounded the jail which is reconstructed in a cut-away so that you can see the construction of the walls and all three levels. We listened to an audio clip and then walked around to the front and listened to another audio clip which reenacted the journal entry of a shop keeper across the street who had witnessed the bringing of Joseph to the jail. He told of how Joseph entered in shackles and had to walk through a gauntlet of jeering, spitting, cursing men and Joseph, dressed in his best clothes, held his head high and turned to the crowd, and, in a very kindly, dignified manner, said, “good afternoon gentlemen.”
We then went down and sat on benches right in front of the “pit” where, for 4 ½ months, those poor men were fed rotten, poisoned food, which froze on their plates. And the place where Joseph received the most beautiful sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. Whenever we are having our own spiritual Liberty Jails we will always have those precious scriptures to get us through. I am amazed at how Joseph’s main concern was for his people who were being violently ejected toward Nauvoo rather than his own awful condition when he cried unto the Lord for relief. I am also impressed with those men that stayed with Joseph through the whole time. Sidney got very sick and was able to get an early trial at which he used his talent for oration to obtain the sympathy of the court and was released. Lyman Wight who was very well liked by both member and non-member was told by many guards and lawyers of the town to just denounce Joseph and he would be immediately freed but Lyman stayed. Poor Alexander was 6'6" and suffered a hunched back for the rest of his life since the pit was only 6' high. Caleb was 47 at the time and was serving as Joseph’s body guard. He was a very quiet sufferer but his immune system never recovered from the ordeal and he was sickly the rest of his life. Joseph’s time at Liberty Jail was the hottest part of his refiner’s fire. Praise to the man!

Next Stop–Far West
Far West isn’t even a city any more– just the historic marker put up by the church due to the devastation from the mob and then the Civil War. However there are the four corner stones of the temple still in place. They weren’t able to get further than that on the temple before Joseph was thrown illegally in jail and the mob forced 12,000 saints to flee in the dead of winter without any of their belongings. Those saints left a bloody trail of tears. I think it is interesting how our country has put up markers along the Trail of Tears for the Indians but we have no such markers–either out of Missouri or out of Nauvoo.
One story about those cornerstones that I read to the families is the one where Brigham Young became concerned about Joseph’s prophecy that the Twelve would leave from the temple site on April 26th to serve missions abroad. Some said that the will to fulfill that prophecy was as good as deed and that they should not risk their lives to go back to Far West from Quincy. However, Brigham was determined and he and headed to Far West. Along the way he was joined by most of the twelve (which to me is a miracle in a day of no cell phones). They went in the dead of night. Apparently the mob was aware of the prophecy and had sent out word that if they tried they would be murdered. Yet they still went. They held their solemn meeting, ordained two apostles and a 70, excommunicated some people, sang hymns and joined in mighty prayer. They were not bothered throughout their meeting. They quietly slipped away and went in their various directions to serve their missions.

Next Stop–Adam-ondi-Ahman
After Adam was ejected out of Eden he traveled the 70 miles northeast to a beautiful spot of earth that had a bluff overlooking a large valley. In D&C 116 the Lord told Joseph that this place was to be named Adam-ondi-Ahman which is Adamic language for “valley of God where Adam dwelt.” It is the place where, three years before his death, Adam gathered his posterity together to bless them and prophesy about what was coming for his descendants. Some journal accounts say that Joseph found an altar that was constructed by Adam himself. Some accounts say that, on another bluff by Spring Hill called Tower Hill, Joseph said that the remains of a ‘Nephite-ish Tower’ was located there. Elder Merrill, the missionary that we were so lucky to meet up with (there isn’t a vistor’s center and the missionaries are just caretakers) said that last June President Uchtdorf and his sons were visiting this place and he had his sons go down across the valley to the river bed. He spoke in a “stage voice.” His sons, when they had hiked back up, reported everything he had said. The acoustics are really good from Tower Hill. Maybe that tower was King Benjamin’s Tower....
The Church owns 3500 acres of that land that an elite group of missionaries take care of. They sublet the farming but the missionaries are to “beautify the area.” They don’t proselyte. They wear work clothes. Their Mission President is Thomas S. Monson. Dad, they need someone who can fix anything...this would be your perfect mission. We stood around with Elder Merrill for quite some time talking about this sacred area where our Savior visited Adam and his righteous posterity and where Adam will come again to have a very large Priesthood meeting.
We had a family prayer on that overlook and sang “We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet” then we went to another overlook where they had picnic tables and we all ate together. I made chicken fettuccini alfredo and Andrea made a salad. While we were eating the fire flies came out! Yea! My children have seen fire flies! Seth even caught one. The kids were all exclaiming and excited. What a perfect end to a perfect day.
We drove to a rest stop just outside of Omaha to sleep. Poor Nick wanted to get a hotel so he drove into Omaha only to find that the College Baseball World Series was going on and he spent until 3 am trying to find a room. Bummer.

Day 14, June 11, 2009 616.0 miles
We took our time getting up. Keith has a nasty blister on the ball of his foot and a weird rash (I think it might be shingles) on his shin. We have worked that poor man hard. He hasn’t complained much either. I think the stress of the Cambridge Catastrophe may have spurred this reaction what ever it is. I really hope it is not shingles. Anyway, we just took it at Keith’s pace. The Crocketts were tired and stressed too. They are tired of the crowded leaky RV and this wet weather. We decided that we love living in the dessert where your towel is dry by the time you want to use it again and your bra isn’t damp all day.
We were ready to go around 10:30 am so we left the Crocketts in the swimming pool and set out on the westward journey. We had intended to drive down the Shenendoah Valley but upon looking up the weather in that area we found flash flood warnings so we opted out. We drove by the beautiful DC temple...wow! Then on to Frankfort, Kentucky where we stopped to stretch our legs by walking around the Frankfort cemetery to Daniel and Rebecca Boone’s grave. Keith is a descendant of Boone’s and therefore so are the kids. We passed Boonesburrough State park, Boone County, Boone River. Daniel Boone is credited for being the first to settle Kentucky and improve it. He died in Missouri and was originally buried there but Kentucky felt like his bones should be in their state so they dug him and his wife up and hauled him over and put up an elaborate memorial. Missouri didn’t like that and claim that Kentucky has the wrong bones. Ha!
We stopped at a rest stop in Indiana. Nick drove until 3am and made it all the way to Saint Louis.

Day 15, June 12, 2009 492.4 miles
We didn’t get to Saint Louis until noon. The Crocketts met us on the steps of the Saint Louis Gateway Arch. That thing is 630 feet high and Keith bought us tickets to ride the “tram” to the top. The tram is a round pod-type contraption that seats 5–barely. Aaron would be almost folded in half in those things. They are very small. Not for the claustrophobic. The view from the top is amazing. They have these platforms for you to lay on your belly and look down. Vertigo! Keith was a bit edgy. “I wonder what would happen if we got everyone up here to run to one side all together then the other, back and forth, back and forth...” I asked Keith as I jumped to the side. “Stop it!” he snarled. We thought it was cool to be able to go up in the Washington monument that honored the father of the country in DC then go to the top of the monument that honors Jefferson and his Louisiana Purchase which doubled the size of our country.
The Crocketts had to go get new tires so we headed toward Independence, Missouri ahead of them. We got to the Visitor’s Center around 7pm so we had two hours to enjoy that wonderful place. The visitor’s center is right across the street from the Community of Christ temple which looks like a giant, metal, nautilus shell. The VC is a beautiful building with columns and big front windows with a large Christus in the foyer surrounded by blue sky. The missionary said that the difference between this background and the background for the Christus in SLC is that in SLC the background represents the creation and in Independence the background represents the second coming. Remember that Independence is where the Garden of Eden was and Christ will return to earth at this spot. One interesting thing the missionary told us is that anything will grow in Independence even tropical plants. They have just enough cold to grow cold weather type plants but not enough to kill tropical plants. The soil is so fertile that they don’t have to worry about letting it lay fallow.
Another one of the stories that we heard was one about Orrin Porter Rockwell. He was held in the old jailhouse in Independence accused up trying to assassinate Lilburn Boggs. During the trial Rockwell, defending himself, said, “I have proof that I didn’t fire that shot.” Then pointing at Boggs, “right there.” The crowd murmured and the judge pounded and asked what did Rockwell mean. “If Ida fired that shot, that man would not be alive and in this here courtroom!” Rockwell was acquitted. The kids liked that story.
The Crocketts needed to find hookups since their generator is kaput but we figured we were fine with a Walmart. We love Walmart’s overnight price!

Day 13: June 10, 2009 0 RV miles, many miles walking!
Washington DC!
We got up early and made it on the 7:55 am bus. Nick decided that he needed to bring his rig into DC in order to save the legs of the grandparents. He was going to drop off, park, pick up, drop off, park.....Keith wanted none of it. We had decided in Chicago that public transportation was a beautiful thing in big cities. I had got online and gotten the trip plan for both there and back so we rode the bus and the subway like pros into DC. It was about a 50 min trip from the park. We had to get off the bus and get on the green line then switch to the blue. This put us out behind the Dept of Ag building and I once again was surrounded by beautiful structures. We walked a few short blocks to the Washington Memorial and got our tickets to go to the top of it. They were sold out until 5:30 but we got tickets. We went from there to the Smithsonian Castle where we watched an orientation movie about all the museums. After watching that, the kids voted to see the Museum of Natural History and the Museum of American History. We took those museums at a pretty fast pace but we enjoyed the Minerals exhibit where the Hope Diamond is (it is smaller than everyone says) and the earrings worn by Marie Antoinette (they are bigger than I ever thought). We liked the space exhibit and dinosaurs and sea life. We wanted to see if there were any exhibits on the Mormon Pioneers and thought there would be something in the American Communities exhibit but there wasn’t. I was a bit peeved. However, we saw Elvis’ guitars, Dorthy’s slippers, and a movie about the entertainment for the troops that Bob Hope was the most prominent part of. My favorite part, however, was an exhibit about Abraham Lincoln. They had his Top Hat! That whole exhibit was very touching and I am even more amazed by that great man. If only all our Presidents could be that great. I have to admit that I wrinkled my nose a bit when I saw the big exhibit on Obama. Not a fan.
After the museums we made our way to the Holocaust Museum (HM). I knew that was going to be a painful one but I really wanted to see that with my family. Also it is next door to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving (BPE) which was interesting to Keith. We arrived at the HM at about 1:00 and went through security to the desk where they pass out tickets to the permanent exhibit. The next tickets available were for 2:15. There were other exhibits available with no ticket required but we decided to walk next door and see if we could get in there for a bit and therefore use our time as efficiently as possible. In front of the BPE we were told to go back around the HM to the back of BPE to get tour tickets. While we were standing at the ticket booth, a hysterical lady came running over, yelling, “Get out of here! There were shots fired!” I thought she was joking or just crazy or playing a hoax because I hadn’t heard anything. I turned toward the HM to see what she was talking about and a couple of seconds later hundreds of people came scrambling out. Two police officers on foot, guns out, came sprinting past us to herd the people. The people were obviously panicked and were stepping on feet and elbowing each other. Of course I was videoing some of this. (Although I needed to save my battery as I had forgotten to charge it) Pretty soon Police cars showed up, blaring sirens and light. They yelled at us to go across the street to this grassy area where they were herding the HM people. We went and sat on benches on the sidewalk just across and ate our snacks while we watch the mayhem. It was sort of weird how we were so calmly watching this like it was just a movie or something. Then the helicopters started circling. We watched a swat team sort of guy come running up and was informed but the policemen already there yelled, “No, No! We got him!” The people just kept steaming out. I was surprised since it didn’t feel that crowded in there when we were just in there. Suddenly the policeman got in is car and began using it to herd the giant crowd. He drove on the sidewalk and grass and yelled, “Get back across the grass, NOW!” He pointed his car right at us and said, “come on people, we need to clear you all out farther, NOW!”
We picked up our snacks and walked away. I lost hope that we would be able to use our tickets. We kept walking until we came to the reflecting pools and memorials that are situated between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. We strolled around the beautiful fountains, ponds, statues as we made our way to Lincoln. We hiked those steps of that exquisite temple in time to listen to a ranger speak about the Memorial. It was very interesting. He told us that the rumor that there is a profile in the hair of Lincoln is bunk but he sees people creep back there all the time. He also showed us some of the symbolism in the memorial like the number of pillars that matched the number of states at Lincoln’s time, the murals that represented emancipation and unity–Licoln’s Legacy. After the talk we sat on the steps and enjoyed the view and debated for a time whether we should go back for our tour of the BPE but we decided they had probably blocked off that building too. We called Heather to see if she knew where the Declaration was displayed (National Archives- which we didn’t get to) and to have her find out what was going on by looking on-line...We love you Heather!
We walked instead across the bridge over the Potomac River to the Arlington Cemetery. That place is very well kept and a deep sense of reverence pervades the whole area. The pictures of the white stones all lined up don’t do it justice. It is awe inspiring. So many lives given for our country. We walked the mile through the cemetery to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Where the guard on duty takes 21 slow, precise steps, makes an elaborate, heel-clicking, quarter turn, waits 21 seconds, then makes another clicking turn and elaborate changing of rifle shoulder (it is always carried on the shoulder away from the tomb), waits 21 seconds then proceeds 21 steps in the opposite direction. We got there in time to see this process a couple of time before the changing of the guard ceremony commenced. The ceremony consists of a pair of officers coming on to the deck. One stops as the other proceeds to front and center where he shouts, military style, to stand and be silent. Then he does elaborate clicking turns and precise steps to the “replacement” and does an elaborate show of checking every detail from gun to buttons to boots on all four sides of the guy. This is where my tape ran out so I didn’t get the rest on video. After the replacement was deemed acceptable the two marched side-by-side to the previous soldier and there was a series of salutes and more elaborate clicking turns and then the “voice” and the “retired” marched off together. The whole process took about 9 minutes. There was a very large crowd gathered on the steps to watch and they really were absolutely silent.
We then trekked over to the White House. It was a pretty decent walk and on the way our Sandra, who wore flip-flops to walk around in, broke her shoe. She marched barefoot the rest of the way. Ha! Now that is a pioneer experience. The white house is beautiful but we had to see it from a distance and through a fence. We found a row of vendors and Sandra went from one to the other asking if they sold shoes. She found one that dug around in their storage and pulled out a bright yellow pair just her size. The other kids got hats that they were very excited about.
The Washington Monument is 515 feet tall and as we walked toward it in order to take our tour we started thinking about our tired legs. You can imagine how happy we were to find that you ride an elevator to the top not climb stairs as we thought. We loved being able to see the places we didn’t get over to like the Jefferson memorial. It was just cool to look over the city from all four sides of the monument. On the way down the ranger showed us the stones that each state donated to the building. They are elaborately carved and are sort of like the quarters in that they have something that depicts the state. Alaska’s was the most expensive and is made of Jade.
We were ready to head for the barn after the monument. I was satisfied with what we saw so we went to get on the subway. We passed several new vans and I decided to ask a guy that had a press pass on what happened at the Holocaust museum. He informed me that an 88 year old white supremist came into the foyer where security check and shot the guard with a 22 rifle. The guard is dead. The other guards shot the guy and he is in the hospital. I was so upset to find that someone was killed. I think I was hoping that shots were fired but no one got hit. I cried. I am so grateful that we were not in that lobby when that went down.
We got on the subway very tired. Luckily we got a seat since it was “peak” time and quite a few people were standing. When we got off the subway at the bus terminal, we discovered that it was pouring rain. People in Utah do not know what pouring rain is. Heather will know what I am talking about as Mississippi has Toilet Flush rain storms. This one was more like being sprayed with a fire hose since it was not a quick storm. Just running from the subway about 100 feet to the covered bus bench got us drenched. We had to wait for about 20 minutes before the bus got there and by the time it did there were little ice chunks (clear not white like normal hail stones). It was a frenzy to get on the bus. I stayed under cover and watched while 15 people tried to enter the skinny bus doors at once. I started giggling with this very large guy who had also held back. They would have gotten in faster if they would have just sprinted one at a time. Ha! Competitive human nature.
It was still pouring when we scurried to our rig. We opened the doors to find we were flooded. The water had gotten on top of the pop out and drained inside. We closed it up and Keith and the kids mopped as much as they could while I hurried to make hamburgers because we were very hungry. After we gobbled those down we put all the wet stuff (we’d left our beds out so we could just fall into them...hmmph) in trash bags and went down to the laundry building. This building also had a hot tub which didn’t sound very good during the hot day while we were walking around but felt very nice after being drenched by ice rain. We took long hot showers after that and by that time our stuff was dry. It was still pouring rain.
The kids had to be a bit squishy for bed since we did not want to pop out. I was just about to fall asleep when we heard the Crocketts roll in. Their rig leaks too. They all had to sleep squishy as well.

Day 12: June 9, 2009 233.6 miles
It was still raining in the morning so it was kind of dark and, combined with the weariness from the day before, we slept in very late. We also decided to do a couple of loads of laundry. We were a bit slow to go. The Crocketts were ready to go before we were. Then the Crocketts needed a supply trip so we headed to Costco. We were disgustingly late trying to get to Philadelphia. Our dear Lettie and Jason (who had expected us on Sunday but now it is Tuesday) had scrambled and sweet talked in order to get us 18 tickets to tour the Independence Hall. Apparently the rule is only 4 tickets per person but Lettie somehow managed to get us all tickets. Today was the first day that I felt like I was on vacation. Someone else was arranging tickets, someone else was figuring the route, someone else was helping up place the RV’s. Oh how I sing praises of Lettie and Jason. Keith and Nick followed the route Jason gave them and Jason hung out in downtown Philadelphia waiting to rendevous with the two rigs. As we drove in behind Jason, Keith slowed to a semi-stop and we all piled out of the RV’s to where Lettie was waiting. Jason led the RV’s to the nearest Walmart and carted Nick and Keith back while Lettie hurried us into the entrance to Independence Hall just in time for our tour. The boys missed it but were able to get into the next tour. Phew! It was so slick! Keith and I kept sending up prayers of gratitude just for that part of the day and it only got better.
First of all, I was brought to tears just to be in that room where the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution were both penned and signed. To me that place is so sacred. I am thrilled to have been able to set foot in the place where the most important events in our country’s history took place. When we got out of that tour we waited around for a tour of Congress Hall while Keith, Nick and Jason took their tour. After that we all met up and walked across the street to see the Liberty bell. Some of us got in but it closed while I was finding a bathroom with Ashlyn. I wasn’t too disappointed since my main purpose in Philly was to see that Hall and my Lettie. Anyway, we went to the Visitor’s center and watched a History Channel movie about some of the young people who had kept great journals of their experiences in the Revolutionary war while Lettie and Jason moved their car. Then we met them at Philadelphia’s tomb of the unknown soldier where an eternal flame burns but no guard is standing. It is in one of the squares that Ben Franklin designed and is really quite lovely.
At this point, Grandma Godbold had had enough so Jason took Nick back to their RV and they headed toward DC. Lettie had found us a place to stay that had a bus terminal that would take us into DC. We would do another two nights there.
Lettie took us on a walking tour of downtown Philadelphia which included the first theater in America, the absolutely fabulous Masonic Temple, the grand City Hall building (although Jason showed us that from a certain distance the Statue of William Penn on top looks like he is relieving himself on Philadelphia) and Love Park. There are many interesting pieces of Art scattered around that place...some are a bit weird and some are stunning...I was impressed by one of the murals we saw. While at Love Park, Jason called and was on his way. He stopped by the side of the road and picked up Keith, Me, Sandra and Austin and took us up to the “Rocky Museum.” I got video of those three running up the steps and jumping up and down at the top—Ha! Way cool. That building is also beautiful and in the park across the street there is a gorgeous Washington memorial.
While we were doing that, Lettie, Seth and Ashlyn went to the restaurant that we were going to have dinner at. It is one of Lettie and Jason’s favorite Indian food places. The Snow’s have never tried Indian Food so we asked them to just order for us. By the time Jason had us back at the restaurant, the food was on the table and we sat down to eat. Talk about VIP treatment. I was absolutely in Heaven! Not just because the food was so good (I am now an Indian food fan) but because someone else was doing all the arranging.
After dinner we walked across the street to the Naked Chocolate Café and bought a large Aztec Hot Chocolate–European Style with whipped cream and sprinkles as well as a chocolate fudge cake to go. We all sipped on that insanely good chocolate while we walked around the corner past more art to More Than Just Ice Cream where Lettie treated us to some ice cream and we sat and divided up the fudge cake, ate ice cream and chatted while sitting on red velvet couches and listening to Jazz music. Now I was in I am telling you that it is worth a plane ticket to Philly just to eat that cake! Lettie and Jason really love their city and made us love it too.
When we had eaten so much that we were bursting, Jason and Keith went to retrieve the rig and Lettie led us on to their house. We went past their beautiful synagogue which had gorgeous stained glass windows. They just live about a block from there. They live in a row house! I was so excited about that. It is just like something out of a movie. They have a stoop and a back patio and the inside is just darling! The kids had a great time with their boppit toy while we waited for Jason to give the signal that we were to head toward the nearest big street. There is no possible way to bring our big rig down their street. Many mirrors would be lost and much scraping would sound. We all piled into the rig and bid goodbye while Keith was parked in the middle of the street. Jason had given Keith excellent directions to get out of town and we made our way without anything exciting happening (yea!) to Cherry Hill Park in College Park, Maryland. We arrived at about 12:30 am.

Okay, we may have to do some research but I wonder if we are the only people crazy enough to drive a 34 foot motorhome through the Holland Tunnel from New York City to Jersey City. This time Google maps gave us the directions to our destination. We have to be so trusting since we have never been to these areas before. Not only that but the directions said “turn right toward Holland Tunnel” not “turn right and in a few blocks you will be in a nightmarish traffic jam full of angry, aggressive New Yorkers that will honk and curse as they squeeze between cars and drive on curbs in order to maneuver from three lanes into two lanes toward a very tight tunnel which is one of the few ways to get across the river.” These people would see 3 feet between cars and think that they should go through then they would get stuck straddling the lanes. Keith stayed in his lane so we didn’t move more that 5 feet a minute with the little cars all scrambling around us. I felt like a big fat caterpillar surrounded by frenzied ants. As we neared the mouth of the tunnel, we soon realized that the width of it was more like one and a half lanes divided into two. We lipped over into the other lane by at least a foot. At first the ants tried to run beside the caterpillar but soon realized that they were in danger of being rolled on by the giant beast and they could loose an eye (or at least a mirror). There is no changing lanes in the tunnel and although a couple of ants were obviously tempted, they did not succumb to the temptation and soon they held back and gave us the space we needed through the nearly two mile tunnel. I was surprised that with all the scrambling we never got honked at or given the New York salute. I think they were two busy trying to watch their mirrors as they were sandwiched between us and the wall. Poor Keith was very stressed as he too had to keep from making contact. We were so surprised that traffic was that terrible at 11:30 pm on a Sunday night. Oh how I would hate to live there. Well we finally got to the marina which is also an RV park and we showered and went to sleep.

Day 11: June 8, 2009 0 RV miles, many walking miles.
New York City
May I start this story by stating that the kids made a friend in Central Park. He appeared to have made the park his home. The kids could not bear to leave him there so we invited him to come home with us. We now have an extra passenger in the RV.
We did not set an alarm clock and woke up around 8, ate breakfast, put on our walking shoes and tour tee-shirts and hopped on the ferry to lower Manhattan. The ferry left right from the marina that we were staying at so it was very convenient and the Crocketts came with us. We enjoyed the ride and had a nice view of the New York Harbor (even the Statue in the distance). We were dropped right at the bottom of Wall street. We knew we were going to need a subway map so we stopped into a “Duane Reed” (the New York Rite Aid store) and picked one up. Then we walked up Wall street and saw the New York Stock Exchange building (which is gorgeous) and of course the Trump building (Keith had to walk through the lobby) then turned on Broadway and saw the big Market Bull. My love affair with the old buildings of the east was then fired as we came to the Old Customs House. We didn’t go in but I made Keith promise that we would.
We continued to Battery Park where we saw the smashed spherical ornament that used to be in front of the Twin Towers. At this point we parted with the Crocketts. They wanted to go out to Ellis Island and tour there but we weren’t willing to invest the time into that. Our friend Michelle whom we met in Palmayra had told us that that tour was neat but required a chunk of time. She had mapped out a wonderful, see-as-much-as-you-can-in-one-day tour for us that sounded just right so we headed a couple of blocks away to the Staten Island Ferry (which is free). This ferry takes you right by Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty so we got some good pictures. On the way we also saw Governor’s Island which used to be the Coast Guard Headquarters and has a small fort complete with cannon on it.
We got off the ferry back in Manhattan about an hour later then headed toward Ground Zero. On the way was that Old Custom’s house. It now holds a free museum of the American Indian but the real attraction for me is the architecture. The four statues out front are sculpted by the same artist that did the Lincoln Memorial. The murals on the ceiling are every bit as beautiful as the murals on those cathedrals in Europe (though I’ve only seen those in pictures).
At Ground Zero we found that it is still very much a mess. We didn’t go into the “visitor’s center” which looked sort of make-shift and cost a bundle but we walked up the stairs to view the “pit” and take pictures. On the way out we asked some construction workers that were just standing around how to get to the subway station for the C train. They were feeling talkative and were very helpful and in addition to directions we got stories of that fateful day back in September of 2001. This event is still very tender in the hearts of New Yorkers. Eyes teared up as they spoke of refrigerated trucks standing by to place body parts in as they cleaned out the debris–“One was for hands and feet, one for torsos and one for facial and head parts.” They said it took them more than 10 months just to clear the debris. “Where did you haul all that stuff?” “We took it to Staten Island, of course, where all the other trash is!” The conversation turned to life in New York and we were told how they used cranes to swing an actual stunt Spider Man through the street right there by Ground Zero. We heard our first “Fahgitabowdit” from these guys which we thought was perfect!
We took the subway to Central Park and got out at 81st street right in front of the Museum of Natural History which is the “Night at the Museum” museum. We only took pictures of the outside. We ate a New York Dowg (hot dog) from a food vendor right there as we sat on a bench in Central Park then walked toward the center of the park. We got on the path called “the ramble” and got to see Bellvedier Castle which is a great look out point and has beautiful places where two brides were getting their pictures taken. Apparently the Castle is now a meteorological station.
We “rambled” around the beautiful park until we came to a boat house. We took Michelle’s suggestion and put the kids in a row boat while Keith and I rested our feet on this giant rock at the side of the lake. We studied maps and called 1800GOOG411 to find out where the Manhattan temple is. We should have done that earlier – then we would have gotten off the subway at 56th and been 10 blocks from the temple. As it was we were several miles from it. We are great walkers though so we weren’t worried.
Soon the kids came rowing up to our rock after being out of sight for a while. The were grinning in a sheepish/mischievous sort of way and I soon realized they were not the only ones in that row boat. They had found a turtle. A 2-3 inch little critter that is lightning fast and seems to have spiderman capabilities. They were all unified as they asked if they could keep him and I was won. (I later learned that if I had said no they had formed a plan for smuggling the little thing anyway–little toads!). Apparently, as Seth was rowing the boat he looked over just in time to see him paddling along and avoided swatting him with an oar. He called the attention of the rest of the crew to the turtle and Sandra scooped him up. They rowed around and plotted (yes, tehy were “plottin’ on me) before coming over to our rock. After they realized that they had succeeded in winning me over they rowed off down the lake for the rest of their time. After the kids returned their boat, they got a clean coffee cup and lid and put lake water in it and took turns carrying turtle the rest of the day. They were giddy. I guess all this time that I have not let them have dogs, cats, ponies etc. made them very delighted of over this small reptile.
We finished walking around Central Park then made our way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I didn’t know what we were going to do if they wouldn’t allow one to drink coffee in the Museum but it turned out to be a mute point since the museum is closed on Mondays. Major Bummer. I was soooo disappointed. I wanted to brag to Heather that we went there. It is a beautiful building though. So many beautiful buildings on this trip. We walked down 5th Avenue and were amazed at the extreme Poshy-ness of that area. Gees! It was fun to walk and people watch and look in the windows and see wonderful buildings. Then we came to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral and I about swooned. I have never been inside a more beautiful cathedral. They had the huge front doors open and people were going just inside the door to peek but I had to walk around in it. The people at the front seemed to manage to keep things pretty reverent in that place in spite of the fact that it was in the middle of all this shopping chaos. Seth stayed at the front with his “coffee” since they wouldn’t let him in. The rest of us walked down the aisle then Keith went to be with Seth while I took pictures. I looked over to see the kids huddled again as they sat in a pew. They had that same sheepish/mischievous look and I wondered if they were going to bring a cockroach on board as well. No, they had just pulled the “For the Strength of Youth” cards out of their wallets and were putting them in with the prayer and hymn books for someone to find. (Roll your eyes here)
We finished walking down 5th then walked the many blocks over to the temple. We had a lot of fun seeing the food places, the off broadway theatres, the buildings, the Real Empire State Building (we thought the look-a-like in lower Manhattan was it but the talkative construction worker set us straight). Finally we looked up and saw the Angel Moroni. We were all amazed at how remarkably prominent this simple white building is in the middle of all those sky scrapers. It is sparkling white. Sandra said, “it is cool how is in the world but not of the world.” We thought the trek was worth it after seeing this very unique temple. However, we didn’t notice how tired we were until after we stood before the beautiful temple. We decided that it was time to get back on the subway. We hadn’t wanted to miss anything by traveling underground but now we were feeling like are “arms were hanging down.”
We still wanted to see Times Square so we took the subway there. We were surprised to find the Square had lawn chairs and pub tables covering the street. We looked around to see what event was going on. I didn’t see it write away so I asked a lady in one of the chairs on the edge what was going on and, in a thick German accent, she said, “oh, I yust sink it is for people watching. You can vind a chair and yust sit down!” Smile. We did take her advice for a while then continued walking around the Square. We soon discovered that they were having “taste of Times Square” festival.
We were hungry but at that point Keith felt urgent to find out if the PATH train ran late enough to get us back home. Otherwise we would have to get back to the ferry by 9:40. So we got on the Subway and went to 34th street. We were walking in the direction of the train when I got nervous and asked a street vendor if we were close to the station. He said yes and just then a young woman in a softball uniform overheard us and said, “I am headed that direction now. Follow me.” How lucky is that! Well it turns out that it was a good thing she came along because we realized that with all of our studying of the map, we had only figured as far as getting across the river. Rachel helped us get on the right train, get off at the right place, then directed us to the light rail station which would take us back to the marina. It turns out she has a boat that she keeps at the same marina we were staying at so knew exactly which trains to take. I don’t think that was luck...she was sent by Heavenly Father just like Michelle was. Well, Keith was so relieved to have the way back figured out that he treated us to an Italian Restaurant before we got on the light rail. It was soooo good. We were very hungry but it WAS very good food. Turtle was placed in the middle of the table.
It started to rain just as we were getting back to camp. It was pouring by the time we fell into our beds and we listened to thunderstorms for most of the night. What a great day!