Family Vacation: Kirtland!

I really should be unpacking from said vacation, but blogging about it is way more fun!  Jeremy finished finals on Monday evening, and on Wednesday morning we took off for a little 2-day family getaway to Ohio!  It was GORGEOUS.  Wow.  The drive was incredible with all the fall colors.  And it was so nice to just be together as a family after the crazy month and a half we've had.

I took a TON of pictures, so I apologize for the length.  Everywhere we looked we were just oohing and aahing over the scenery and so, naturally, we snapped pictures approximately every 2.5 seconds.  Whatev.  It's hard to capture the beauty on camera, but it was all so picturesque and breathtaking.

It was a nice leisurely trip too.  We didn't leave until 10am on Wednesday (partly because we did nothing to prepare the night before since we were watching the debate!) and we just took our time doing everything.  It was perfect!

Pics from the drive (not the best through a dirty windshield)..

 Wall to wall trees the entire drive in gorgeous colors.  Amazing!

 

We arrived in Kirtland around 12:15 and we ate lunch and started our tour!  We saw the Newel K. Whitney Store, the Newel & Ann Whitney home, the Schoolhouse, the Inn, the Sawmill, and the Ashery.  Very cool.  We loved learning about the history of the early Church members there.  They had so many trials and had to endure so much, but were so faithful.

Where we ate lunch...tough life

 The Store:

 Inside the store:

 The store is 80% original in structure and is on the original foundation.  Bro. Whitney was an excellent record keeper, so they know this is exactly what he would have had in the store.

 Upstairs from the store, where Joseph & Emma had their living quarters when they stayed there for a few months.  Also up here in another room (that I forgot to take a picture of) is where the school of the prophets was.  It was such a small room, not what I had imagined.  Often 25 men would be crammed in there, and all but 2 smoked.  Yuck.  That's where the Word of Wisdom was received...

 Gorgeous!

 We couldn't seem to take enough pictures of the beautiful fall foliage...

 Inside the Whitney home, they were very well-off.

 Coming toward the sawmill and ashery.

 Sawmill...

 It actually still works today.  President Hinckley and President Monson have both cut logs using it.  Pretty cool!

 Up ahead is the ashery...

 Inside the Ashery.  It's the only standing Ashery in North America!

 Say cheese!

 The pearl ash after baking in these oven at 1000 degrees for two days!  They sold this for $100-$200 a barrel and used it for making china.  Newel Whitney owned the Ashery as well and that's where he made most of his money.

 This barrel is original.  This is holding pot ash, which they used to make soap, gun powder, and other things.

 Cute boys!

 Love this blondie boy.

 My new favorite pic of him.  He looks like a Stephens here to me (my mom's side of the family)

 Outside the sawmill...

After that we drove into downtown Cleveland to check it out on our way to our hotel.  Jeremy's parents were supposed to be joining us on this trip, but his dad had an emergency at work, and his mom decided to stay home too. :(  We were REALLY sad they couldn't come, but they were so generous and let us use their hotel reservation for the night anyway.  We lounged around a bit when we got there (the boys hadn't napped, but by then it was 4:00 and useless), then we ate dinner at the hotel - free dinner reception! - and put the boys to bed early and enjoyed a night of relaxation together!  (Of course until Connor woke up at 10pm screaming because his bed cover had come off and was smothering him and didn't stop screaming until 11pm...other than that it was very relaxing) :)

I'll post Day 2 of our trip next...