We were blessed to be able to go to Palmyra for the pageant, but for our first stop we went to Chicago! I have wanted to go there forever. I love the architecture. So Daniel let me plan that leg of our trip. We arrived at the:
A quaint B&B outside of Chicago. The owner played the piano for us during breakfast! She was super sweet. We had the upstairs room. It was cute. Then after we had unpacked for the night we set off once again for: Medieval Times!
We enjoyed dinner and the show.
Charles had a hard time with the noise, but Lizzy had a blast cheering and booing. She was so excited. In the morning we went to Chicago and after the GPS went haywire, we finally got on track and made it to the down town. I was so excited I was practically jumping. We stopped in the Library first which had a visitor center and picked up a few brochures. Then we headed out. We walked down to Wacker Dr. and I got a pin at the Hard Rock Cafe, then we spotted some window washers on one of the buildings. See if you can spot them:
Not a job I would want! Daniel said that he'd try it though. We saw the Sears Towers and the Chicago theater.
We headed up to the Millennium Park for lunch. We had some less then outstanding Chicago Dogs and listened to the band play. Our parking cost a whopping $28. for 2 hours! I wasn't expecting that. Then we headed west to the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in Oak Park. We were in time for the 2 o' clock tour and I just loved his studio. He used chains to create tension for the structure. It was beautiful! Here is the upstairs part
The columns are on casters and store the drafts. The house was impressive too especially the children's play room.
On the opposite side is a grand piano set inside the wall and a gallery for plays and whatnot. The piano end sticks out overhead in the stair case. It was so fun. Then we were off to Clinton and Janet's house. That was great, but we had to leave the next morning for Palmyra. So off we drove through 3 states and numerous toll booths to arrive at Niagara Falls! After a few false starts, nearly going to Canada and several rings around the parking lots we made it. Click on the video to experience it:
Then I got a pin at the Hard Rock Cafe there. It's a good thing we weren't eating there as there was a 2 hour wait! Then we raced off to Palmyra to arrive just in time for the pageant. We got some food from the Lion's Club vendors and set up our blanket. It was a beautiful night, and the pageant was wonderful.
Then we went to find our car amidst the blaring Anti Mormon preachers across the street. That was funny. We spent the night in a little town just outside Palmyra in a nice hotel, there was a wedding party there too. I would have liked to explore there too since there was a lot of fun history. (Jell-o was invented there) But time was short so we went back to Palmyra and visited the church sites. We saw the Smith's log home where Joseph recieved the vision of the Angel Moroni. Then we toured the frame house which is just a few yards away as you can see in this picture.
But it crosses the county line so we couldn't tour the upstairs. I was most impressed with their sink.
We toured the barn and saw the beehives:
and the cooper shop. Then we went into the Sacred Grove. I wish I could impart the feeling there. It was like entering the Temple. Though there were many people visiting, the tone was hushed and reverent. I asked Daniel to go ahead and I sat down on one of the many benches. He decided to stay and stand there in front of me so I didn't quite get the moment I wished, but oh well.
We had to leave, so I got up and strolled out. I wish we had more time. I do hope that we may be able to return someday. We returned to Clinton and Janet's for a scrumptious meal. Janet, Lizzy and I went to the park and Lizzy was scared by the fire flys. She has a real aversion to bugs. Here's a video.
Then we went to bed. After a glorious breakfast, we drove home. Charles finally started crawling during this trip and now he has two teeth on top. So it was momentous for all!
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