Kirtland and Michigan

Okay...so I know I'm a super slacker blogger lately.  I didn't drop off the face of the internet, I promise.  Or, if I did, at least I'm back, and dedicated to posting EVEN MORE PICTURES OF GREG AND I ON OUR ADVENTURE.

After we left DC, Greg and I spent one afternoon and one morning looking at the LDS church history sites in Kirtland and Hiram, Ohio.  When we were at the John Johnson house in Hiram--where the 76th and many other sections of Doctrine and Covenants were received and Joseph Smith was tarred and feathered--a flash flood warning and tornado warning sounded.  So, we got to sit in Elsa Johnson's kitchen, basically just us and the Senior missionaries, for probably an hour and a half, listening to the crazy storm and thinking of all the incredible things that people would have experienced in that home.  Sadly, we don't seem to have any pictures of the house, probably because of the insane weather. Once we left the house, we did have to make a few u-turns to find a country road that had NOT been turned into a cascading river.  Seriously.

Newel K. Whitney Store

The Temple Quarry

Happy Greg...budding beard 

The Kirtland Temple.  This building is amazing and it was a meaningful tour because of everything that has taken place here. 

One of the workshops

The Chagrin River, next to the store and the Visitor's Center.  One of Greg's ancestors was baptized here. 

The Ashery.  Somehow they made a lot of money from ashes.  I forget how, but it was smart. 

After the excursion to Kirtland, which was fantastic, we spent a few days at Greg's brother's house in St. Joseph, Michigan.  It was a really fun little town, and, of course, we loved getting to stay with them! We were not super good at taking pictures on this leg of the journey, but that is not a reflection of how much fun we had! WE HAD A LOT OF FUN :)

Ellie must have had a rough day...

Went to the beach at Lake Michigan.  It was almost as cool as Neptune Beach in Florida :) 

Another rough day, apparently. 

Here is a large Heather Hand.  I either wanted the camera badly or did not want my picture taken. 

I still have to blog about Nauvoo, Adam-Ondi-Ahman (sp?), and Liberty Jail, so stay tuned.