New York Trip

As most of you know, we went to New York to celebrate our anniversary this year.  We visited Palmyra and NYC.  I took almost 400 photos and it was hard to choose just a few but hopefully I have hit the highlights with the following:

We flew in to Newark, rented a car, and drove the 5 hours to Palmyra the first day.  The scenery was gorgeous.  Just like last year, I think we hit the peak of the fall colors.

Unfortunately, it was Sunday, so Dunder Mifflin was closed and we couldn't stop by!

 

We spent Monday morning at the temple in Palmyra.  It's small but beautiful and is surrounded by more gorgeous scenery.

Our next stop was the Smith Family Farm where we saw the log home, frame house and Sacred Grove.

This is where Joseph Smith lived with his family when he was 14 years old.

Pretty awesome back yard!

The temple is also on the Smith family property and there is a great view from their home.

Frame house they moved into a few years later.

Path leading to Sacred Grove.

Entrance to Grove. It was raining but there were so many trees that we didn't even feel it most of the time.

 Here are some photos from inside the Grove.  I was surprised at how big it is.  We walked around for about an hour and still didn't see the whole thing.  It's probably the most peaceful place I have ever been. 

After that, we went down town and had some lunch at a Chinese place.  Then we went to the Grandin Publishing building where the Book of Mormon was first printed.  They had a couple first editions in there that was pretty cool to see.  It was amazing to me the process they used to have to go through to print something.

Grandin Publishing

Down town Palmyra

Another view

Scott thought I was weird but I thought this was so cool!

Our next stop was Hill Cumorah.  Another very pretty, peaceful place.  We were getting tired by then so we were glad to hear that you can drive to the top!

View from the top

Beautiful monument right on top of the hill

There were paths that you could walk down and look for where the plates were buried......

I felt pretty strongly that they were buried here.......

but Scott thought they were over here for some reason.....

Our next stop was the Whitmer Farm in Fayette.  It's about a 30 minute drive from Palmyra and we were really tired by then and wondering if we wanted to go, but we are so glad we did!  It was our favorite place.  We had a a great tour guide who told us lots of stories we hadn't heard before.

Whitmer home where they finished translating Book of Mormon and church was organized.

There was just a really neat feeling here.

Our last stop of the day was Mark's Pizzeria where we had one of the best pizzas I have ever tasted!  It was so yummy.  Of course, Scott was of a different opinion.  He didn't really like it.  I just don't get it!!

I mean, doesn't this just look so yummy!!!!

We had a great couple of days in Palmyra.  I love the feeling there. I would love to retire there if it wasn't so far away from everyone!

On Tuesday, we headed to NYC! We dropped the car off at the airport and took a shuttle into Times Square.

First sighting of Statue of Liberty on shuttle as we are coming into town. Can you see it?

After we checked into our hotel, we had some dinner and then spent the evening walking around Times Square.  

We ended up at Rockefeller Center and decided to go ice skating!

Yes, this is pretty much how I spent my time, HOLDING ON!

So cute!

I actually let go once or twice, but only if I was standing still!

Scott was much braver.

The Today Show studio getting ready for the next morning, fun!

The next morning we headed to Liberty Island and Ground Zero.

View of the city from Liberty Island

Hot dog from NYC street vendor!!  Check that one off the bucket list.

Ground zero memorial, lots of names!!

That night we ate at a yummy Italian restaurant.

On Thursday morning we went to the Manhattan Temple.  So gorgeous inside and a nice respite from the craziness of the city.

I decided to be brave and let Scott talk me into riding the subway back to the hotel.

It wasn't that bad! No scary people.

 That afternoon we hung out at Central Park and even rode the Carousel!

....and ran into some familiar faces that were also hanging out.

That evening we saw Phantom of the Opera!  It was AMAZING!!!!! 

On Friday we started at the Empire State Building.  I think this was my favorite.  The views were fabulous.  I would have stayed up there a lot longer if it wasn't so crowded!

After that we walked over to Grand Central Station.  That place really lives up to its name, lots of people, but fun to walk through!! Looks just like it does in the movies!

 

On the way back we couldn't resist stopping in Cake Boss!

Yum! Yes, we ate the whole thing.

M&M World was pretty fun too!

 We finished off the day with a performance of Cinderella.  It was MAGICAL!! I have to say, the Broadway shows were worth the whole trip!!

Fun sites around NYC:

Skating rink at Rockefeller Center

Rockefeller Center

Empire State Building

Oh my heck, all the people!!!

Oh my heck, the traffic!!!

We had a great time and we're so glad to be home and sleeping in our own bed!