Trip to Upstate NY

Well, as I have briefly mentioned a few times on this blog, we had a trip planned to upstate New York this month. We made this trip last week, and in spite of a nasty virus that made everyone sick, we had a great time. There are a TON of pictures to share and a few videos, so I won't waste any more time blabbing here. Remember, you can click on any of the pictures to see a larger version. Enjoy!

Day 1 - The Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY

Here we are at the entrance of the Baseball Hall of Fame. It was an absolutely amazing experience! I have no idea what the cow was for, but it looked like a great spot for a picture.

The week after our trip, the Hall of Fame was inducting its two newest members: Tony Gywnn and Cal Ripken Jr. They had a display for each of them at the entrance.



Here are the boys at the plaques of the very first players inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1936. Top left: Christy Mathewson, bottom left: Babe Ruth, center: Ty Cobb, top right: Honus Wagner, bottom right: Walter Johnson.


Joshua at the kids area in the Hall of Fame.


Here are Caleb and Joshua standing next to Lou Gherig's locker. It was his real locker with his actual uniform, glove, shoes, etc...


Here we are sitting on benches taken from a stadium I can't remember, but am sure is historically significant.


This is at the exit of the Hall of Fame. We needed a quick photo with the Babe.


This is Doubleday Field, where the game of baseball was invented by General Abner Doubleday. They still play baseball on the field today.


Doubleday Field

Day 2 - Church Historical Sites: Palmyra, NY

This is the Smith's log cabin. It was rebuilt after 20 years of research to determine the exact location, size, and style of the cabin. They built it in the winter, just like the Smith family did, only using tools and methods that the Smith's would have used. There are no nails, screws, or anything of the sort...it is pretty amazing. The top of this cabin is where Joseph slept and where the Angel Moroni appeared to him to tell him about the plates. Behind this cabin is the Sacred Grove.


This is the back of the log cabin. Katie and Caleb just finished taking a look around.


This is the "Frame House", that the Smith's oldest son Alvin started to build for the family. Alvin died before he could finish it and the family finished it later. They lived here for a short while before they were, well, basically ripped off and forced to move back into their log home which is located about 300 yards away.


We are on the path between the log home and the frame home and saw this great view of the Palmyra Temple. The Smith's originally owned 100 acres of land and the temple, along with the Stake Center, is built on that land.


Here is another shot of the temple.


Here we are just outside the Sacred Grove. It was a really, really amazing experience to be there!


Here is a quick video of us about to enter the Sacred Grove. Joshua is very excited to see the monkeys in the grove...I had no idea there were monkeys in the Sacred Grove, but Joshua was convinced. Oh, and if you can't tell, Caitlyn isn't feeling very good...


Katie and Joshua walking through the Sacred Grove.


I imagine that what Joseph saw looked something like this, but just a little bit brighter... :)


Me and the babies in the Sacred Grove.


Um, yes, she is cute.


More chillin' in the Grove...


This is the location where the first edition of the Book of Mormon was printed. Martin Harris, who lived up the road about a mile, mortgaged his property to pay for the initial printing.


Here are Katie, Caitlyn, and Ellie on top of the Hill Cumorah at the memorial.


This is a statue of the Angel Moroni on top of the Hill Cumorah. Pretty cool.

So, we got to the pageant about four hours before it started, we got good seats, but the kids did lose it after a while from all the waiting...

Here is the stage for the pageant. It was huge!

Here is one of the final parts of the pageant when Christ appears to the Nephites.

Day 3 - Niagara Falls: Ontario, CA

Here are Katie and the kids in front of the American Falls. There are two, separate falls that make up the Niagara Falls. The first is on the American side of the boarder and the second is on the Canadian side, called the Horseshoe Falls because of its horseshoe shape. The pictures don't do it justice!

Here are the American Falls again.

Here is a picture of the Canadian Horseshoe falls. You can see the boat, the "Made of the Mist" at the base of the falls.

This picture shows you the location of both falls. Pretty amazing!

Here is a quick video of us at the falls.

Here we are at the falls...

Ellie got tired of walking and made me carry her on my shoulders...she is so lazy!

A shot of Katie and the kids near the Horseshoe Falls.

The Horseshoe Falls...absolutely incredible.

This was the place we ate dinner. It was called the Rainforest Cafe and it had all these really cool animals that would move and make noise. The kids loved it, but the food absolutely sucked.

Well, that is everything! It was a blast!

-Cim