The SL Temple closes every July for a couple of weeks. For the last few years, during this time, Rick and I plan a little road trip to get to some new temples. This year we have been planning on going up to Star Valley and then up to Jackson and then through Montana. When we found out that lodging might be a little difficult to find near Yellowstone (especially since waiting until the last minute to reserve anything) we decided to go a different route.
Our next thought was to drive over to the west coast and get to some of the temples in Northern California. While I was never too hip on this idea, because just getting to Reno is a full day's drive, we started to plan for this route. Well, one thing led to another and we abandoned this idea, as well.
On the Fourth of July after all of the festivities we were lounging in bed trying to come up with a plan. We new we wanted to leave the next morning and we still had NO plan! We searched flights down into the deep south and really came up with nothing. Rick worked until 2 am trying to come up with a plan.
The next morning came and still nothing. An idea popped into our mind and we thought we would check into going up into New England. He started checking on flights while I started seeing the logistics of where we would go and what we would do. About fifteen years ago we visited the Boston Temple grounds but never went inside. I did the calculations and figured we could get to the Boston and Montreal temples if we flew into Manchester, NH. Plus, we would be able to visit the Prophet Joseph Smith's birthplace in Sharon, VT which I have been wanting to do for years.
Well, the stars aligned and this was the place for our summer road trip. We could even get a flight out in the afternoon (which would give us time to pack and get ready) and get to New Hampshire before midnight. We jumped at the chance and started booking places to stay (thank you Marriott rewards) and we were set! Looking back on how everything worked out was truly amazing.
We got into Manchester just before midnight, got our rental car and then drove the few miles to the Courtyard close to the airport. After a good night's rest we drove the hour and a half into Boston and went in for the 11am session. While I was a little sleepy during the session (Shhh!) it was a wonderful experience being in the temple. We each had a family name to do work for and that's always nice:) The grounds were beautiful and we are glad we made the effort to finally get INTO the Boston Temple.......fifteen years after we had previously visited.
How can we go to Boston and not stop at a Boston Market. Lunch was delish and we were able to find a place to change into some casual clothes.
In looking for things to do for our trip I had remembered reading a book about Norman Rockwell a few years back. I knew that the museum holding much of his original art was somewhere close. To my delight I found it on the western side of Massachusettes in a little town called Stockbridge. While it was REALLY hard to NOT go to the historic communities of Lexington and Concord because we were WITHIN MINUTES of these places, I knew that we should try to get to the NR Museum. We have previously been to both Lexington and Concord and LOVE the history and feelings that are evoked from being in the very place that the Revolutionary War started, but our decision was.....not this time.
We drove the couple of hours over to Stockbridge just delighted to be in the Berkshires. What a beautiful area of Massachusetts, hills and lakes and country roads give such a nostalgic feel of a time long past. And those feelings were multiplied as we entered the museum. It was a Saturday and the museum was packed with people. What a treat getting to learn about Rockwell's paintings and seeing the original art up close. The museum closed at 5pm and we only had an hour to explore. We could have easily used two. While getting to see most everything inside the museum, we missed out on the outbuildings. One of which housed a lot of Rockwell's tools and supplies. Anyway, we were grateful for the opportunity to visit such a cool place!
Here are some pictures of some of my favorites from the museum.
While I purchased a print on canvas of the holiday dinner, (Freedom From Want to display during the holidays) my favorite was the Day In The Life Of A Little Girl. It's the last of these pictures and is so cute to me!
That night after getting settled into our hotel (The Fairfield Inn) we found a yummy Mexican place. They had charred corn on the appetizer list and I had to have some!
The next day was Sunday and there was a meetinghouse about a half an hour away. We attended church in Pittsfield with the small ward that is there. It is good to find Saints all over the world!
We woke up to it being fast Sunday but hadn't realized it the night before after we had stopped at the store to buy our vittles for Sunday. We decided to fast the next Sunday instead (because we just bought all of that food!)
It worked out nicely. After church we found a cute ballpark where a huge all star tournament was going on and found a quiet place on the lawn to have some lunch.
While having our lunch a couple was sitting close to us in their car. We got caught up in a conversation with them and they suggested we drive up to Mt. Graylock, the highest peak in MA. We decided to go ahead and do that. While the peak is not as high as our mighty mountains it did give us a good view into the valley below.
That afternoon we pulled into The Palmer House Hotel. It is a cute motel in a beautiful area. Let's be honest EVERYWHERE in VT is beautiful! After getting settled we took a walk down to the pond behind the motel. There were lots of frogs chirping and lots of mosquitos! We stopped on the front lawn and played a little lawn badminton and then played a couple rounds of corn hole. One thing I learned is Rick is VERY good at this game! Me? Not so much. Afterwards we retired to our room and played a couple of games I brought from home. (Boggle: I dominate! Skip bo: He ALWAYS wins!) Even though the bed was hard and I woke up sore we were glad to have stayed in this cute little place!
The next morning we set out towards Sharon, VT. The Prophet Joseph's birthplace. On our way there we had to stop at King Arthur Flour. I had read that they have amazing pastries and sandwiches and that's all I needed for a quick detour! The pastries! Oh My!! We helped ourselves to a boxful. So shameful, but alas, we really did! Well, we saved a few of them for the day's ride:)
Our next stop was at the visitors' center at JS's birthplace. We had a senior missionary tell us some interesting stories about the Prophet's father and grandfather. It was really neat to see the hearthstone and stepstone that were original to Joseph Senior's home. Outside of the visitors' center they had an area that showed the foundation where the original cabin sat. It was very small. To think that they had a large family living in this small space is humbling.
We learned of how this monument very nearly did not get built.
What a fitting tribute to the Prophet of the Restoration.
It is 38 1/2 feet tall. One foot for every year of the Prophet Joseph's life.
Our next stop on our drive was in a little town called Northfield. I had read that two covered bridges were in the area so we ventured off the Interstate to find them. While stopping for a sandwich at Subway we happened upon a couple of guys having lunch. I asked them about the covered bridges and they were so helpful in finding them. They also helped us know where to go to find a Maple Farm and the Ben and Jerry's Factory:) but a little more on that in a minute.
We actually found THREE covered bridges! First, was the Slaughterhouse bridge found on Slaughterhouse Road. I had read about this one online but didn't think it was on our way. Luckily, I spotted the road to turn on and presto, the bridge was right before us!
We drove through it and then stopped to take some pictures. I would love to be here in the fall when all of these leaves are different colors!
The next two bridges were on Northfield Road and very easy to get to. I had to dodge the stinging nettle getting down to the river for this shot!
Our next stop was the Morse Sugar Farm.
We did not have a lot of time, but we watched a short video on how maple is made. Forty gallons of pure sap boil down to make just one gallon of syrup. Now, that is a lot of sap.
Rick did some sampling of different syrups and we bought some to take home to the kids. (We had bought some pancake mix from King Arthur Flour so buying the maple syrup completed our gift.)
This is the only picture we got!
Next, we drove a few miles north to get to the Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory. Not gonna lie. I was excited for this one. I love Ben and Jerry's. Really, I have only ever tried a few kinds but my favorite is New York Super Fudge Chunk which sadly enough I didn't get any of:(
After all of those pastries from KAF and the sample that we got on our tour.....I just couldn't!
The tour took twenty minutes and was interesting. They make A LOT of ice cream! Fun fact: each employee at the factory can take home three pints of ice cream after each shift. Can you even imagine??
This is what they were making the day we were there and is their best seller.
Gonna have to try it sometime.
While our day was full it hadn't ended yet. We drove the rest of the way to Burlington where we would be staying in the Delta Hotel. We got settled and then drove over to the pier for our dinner cruise on Lake Champlain. Usually, these dinner cruises have just so so food. This food was fantastic! We had dinner first and then spent the rest of the time on the upper deck admiring the views of the lake and islands. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the water. Our pictures didn't turn out too great but we really did have a nice time! The one thing that I would have loved that other dinner cruises have is some narration about the history of the lake and it's surrounding areas.
I did learn that on this lake a battle led by none other than Benedict Arnold (before his allegiance changed) took place on this lake. Because of this battle the French joined the Americans in their cause for freedom. It turned the tide of the war.
