Days 10-14 of Jennie and Naomi’s Great Adventure!

Day 10: (Saturday, October 3rd)

Saturday morning we got up early and headed over to see the local glass blower before the first session of General Conference came on. Then, back to our hotel to stream Conference over the internet. After that we drove up to Smugglers Notch and took a short hike. We got back just in time for the second session of Conference, after which, we went over to a Thai restaurant and had YUMMO sushi and curry!

Here is a video of the glass blower in action! It was so awesome to watch him at work!

This is the finished product of what the dude was making in the video. Who knew!?Here are some other pieces of the glass blower’s work in the store next to the workshop.This is what the drive to Smuggler’s Notch looked like. I guess there are mountains on this side of the United States after all!Me and Jennie about to enter the wet, cold, caves!The glacial rock formations that were everywhere made up the caves. It was really neat to see these giant boulders sticking out all over. They looked so out of place and made me wish I could go rock climbing again!Water was streaming out all over the place. It was very moist and beautiful. More rocks and trees from the “Notch”

Day 11: (Sunday, October 4th)

On Sunday we woke up early to bike the famous Stowe Bike Trail before we had to head south to watch Conference in Rutland, Vermont. On the way to Rutland, we stopped at some waterfalls just off the road. After we got to Rutland and watched Conference in the chapel, The branch president invited us to stick around for their potluck lunch! We were so grateful since we didn’t want to shop on Sunday and were planning on eating chips and M&M’s for the rest of the day! We stuffed ourselves silly and then continued to drive south to Manchester to watch the last session of Conference before bed and then our long trek back home!

Here we are leaving our inn in Stowe The bike trail weaved over a small river several times. The bridges and views were phenomenal! I’d like to say it was a good work out, but we stopped several times to take pictures.We were lucky it wasn’t really raining this morning. It was misty though, and that kept the other tourists away. We had the whole trail to ourselves! Look! Someone lives back there! LUCKY!A newly harvested corn field in front of the misty mountainsThe awesome waterfall! Not as big as Stewart Falls but gigantic compared to Waterfall Glenn!A small waterfall next to the big waterfall…I can’t actually remember what the name of the waterfall is…My bad! Pretty water…ahhh…so relaxing!

Day 12: (Monday, October 5th)

On Monday we woke up early and started our long drive home. The day before, one of the branch members in Rutland had mentioned off hand that me and Jennie had seen all the Church history sites except for the ones in Harmony, Pennsylvania…so…we took a small detour and checked out Harmony before heading to Cleveland to drop off our bikes and then to Michigan to crash at Brian and Natalie's before grabbing Brooklyn and heading back to Chicago.

A monument in Harmony, Pennsylvania telling about Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery getting baptized and the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood.The Susquehanna river where they think Joseph and Oliver were baptized.Joseph and Emma’s first son Alvin was born and died here. It took us a while, but we finally found his tomb stone as well as the markers for Emma’s parents.These stones are what’s left of the foundation for Joseph and Emma’s home. When they were living here, Emma actually helped scribe for Joseph while he was translating the Book of Mormon!Another view of the river, right behind the Smith property!

Day 13: (Tuesday, October 6th)

On Tuesday we woke up and had yummy pancakes with Brian and Natalie before packing up and heading back to Chicago. When we got home, we took awhile to veg before Kevin got home from work, then Jennie treated us all to Carrabba’s for dinner and one last good bye before she headed back to Utah the next day.

The COOL side of the table! WOOHOO!The CUTE side of the table! …Yep…Kevin gets to be cute too.Family picture. Umm…Brooklyn kind of likes being the center of attention! She gets it from her Aunt Jennie!

Day 14: (Wednesday, October 7th)

Jennie woke up, packed her bags, and abandoned me…I cried for the rest of the day (this is not an exaggeration) …I’d like to blame it on the pregnancy, but pregnant or not, I would have cried all day anyway!

Thank you Jennie for the best trip I’ve ever been on and for being my bestest good friend in the whole wide world!!!

Also, a special shout out to Brian and Natalie…THANK YOU SO MUCH for watching Brooklyn while I was on my trip. As much as I missed her, it was the biggest blessing in the world to travel without a toddler in tow! You guys are the best!

The End