Winding Up Our Road Trip with Thankful Hearts

We finished up our road trip to pick up Sister Evans our stay with Bryce and Elise and then once again hit the road home. Of course, it wouldn’t be an Owens road trip without some adventures along the way.

Monday, November 25 – While Mike worked, Hallie, Sister Evans, the kids, and Bryce’s family went to the Pentagon and Fort Belvoir and then to Georgetown to buy cupcakes! Hallie, Sister Evans, and the kids went to Georgetown Cupcake (home of DC Cupcakes on TLC), and Bryce and his family went to Baked and Wired and Sprinkles, and then we had a gourmet cupcake party when everyone got home. 

Remembering the fallen at the Pentagon on 9/11

At Georgetown Cupcake, home of DC Cupcakes on TLC

Tuesday, November 26 – Sister Evans went to visit with President Riggs of the DC South mission. Before then, we went to Cafe Rio and indulged in some delicious Mexican food.

This kid and his faces! Such a clown.

Wednesday, November 27 – All too soon, it was time to head back home. We said our goodbyes to Elise and the kids and then hit the road, packed to the gills. 

We're not kidding. And this is how it looked with a load of stuff in a car-top carrier.   

Before we left the DC area entirely, we stopped at Tango Pastry, an Argentine panadería in Arlington. Mike devoured his pasta frola (quince tart) and empanadas. So tasty! We wanted to avoid tolls, so we took the surface roads through DC into Maryland for a while before giving up and hopping onto the highway. We followed the Susquehanna up through the middle of Pennsylvania, running into only a few patches of unpleasant weather. After we got to New York, however, it was another story. We ran into snow on the small side roads leading to Victor, but we made out fine in the end, only 2 ½ hours later than we had planned.

Thursday, November 28 – Thanksgiving morning dawned sunny and cold. After breakfast at the hotel, we drove to Palmyra and the Hill Cumorah to visit the Church History sites there. After finishing up in Palmyra, we headed toward Pennsylvania, stopping at a Cracker Barrel along the way for turkey dinner with all the trimmings. After dinner, we drove on to our next hotel stop. Along the way, we hit the worst weather of our trip when the snow came down thick enough to make traffic slow to a crawl. Fortunately, it cleared up after we got out of New York.  

Inside the Hill Cumorah Visitors Center

Depiction of Joseph Smith receiving the gold plates from Moroni

Hill Cumorah Monument

Depiction of the First Vision with the Smith family cabin in the background

Inside the Smith family home

The Sacred Grove. What happened here on a spring day in 1820 changed the world. 

Learning about how the first edition of the Book of Mormon was printed and bound

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!

Friday, November 29 – Last day on the road! We left Eire, PA, early enough to get out in good time to see Historic Kirtland, Ohio, and the Kirtland Temple. And then we were home. Fergus seemed more than happy to see us, and we him.

Saturday, November 30 – Mike took Landon to gymnastics while the girls ran errands, and then we spent a fair amount of the rest of the day getting settled back in and cleaning up the house. Sister Evans had the opportunity to go out on splits with the sister missionaries, which was probably a welcome return to her former routine.

Sunday, December 1 – And suddenly it’s December again. We’re happy to rejoin the routines of life at home, but we do miss the fun we have had over the past few weeks. Sister Evans got to go on splits one more time as a missionary before she officially gets released from full-time missionary service. Well done, Sister!

Historic Attractions and Happy Reunions

We packed a bunch of activity into this last week. Between taking in historic sites, picking up Sister Evans from the mission home, and going to local attractions, about the only time we sat down was when we were driving. Aunt Elise always had something tasty for dinner, and the cousins shared more good times together.

Monday, November 18 – We went to Mount Vernon on what had to be the perfect day. We wore short sleeves in November and had our run of the place.

Later on, we came home and played games outside with the kids in the neighborhood. Landon borrowed another kid's electric scooter and tooled around the little plaza about a hundred times. We had family home evening and made stars for Sister Evans. 

Tuesday, November 19 – We got out late to pick up Sister Evans, but after a few wrong turns and a bit of misdirection, we finally made it an hour late to Richmond. We are so proud of Sister Evans for what she has accomplished! She told us some stories as we drove from the mission home down to Williamsburg, where we stayed for a couple of nights. Mike taught his class in the evening while the rest of the crew went to the giant Yankee Candle store down the road. After class, he took the kids for a dip in the hotel pool, always a favorite activity, especially when the water is warm!

Wednesday, November 20 – Today we spent walking around Colonial Williamsburg and learning all about America at the time of the Revolutionary War. The weather had started taking a cold turn from Monday’s warmth. During the middle of the day it felt fine, but the morning and evening got chilly. Of course, that beats the weekend we heard about back home, where blustery winter weather had knocked out power to our neighborhood. Here’s hoping everything’s OK at home.

Inside the mental hospital. The quotation on the wall is James 1:5. 

The bell the silversmith is holding is worth about $10,000.

Outside the statehouse, from which actors portrayed the reading of the Declaration of Independence and the townspeoples' responses 

Right where he belongs!

In the evening, Eliza started complaining of an earache, so we took her to the urgent care, where the doctor diagnosed her with an infection.

Thursday, November 21 – Mike took the kids into the historical village one more time while Hallie and Sister Evans did some shopping in town.

At the Weaver's. Mike told the kids about how Grandma has a loom and spinning wheel at home and how he remembers her using those items when he was younger. 

Thousands of weapons are "Arming the Manor."

They then trekked up to Fort Belvoir by some side roads and through Maryland. Once we got back to Virginia, Sister Evans pointed out sights from one of her former areas near Bryce and Elise’s home.

Once they got back to Bryce and Elise’s, everyone but Mike got ready to go to ICE! at the Gaylord National in DC. Mike had to teach, the poor guy.

Friday, November 22 – We spent most of the day at the Smithsonian. We'll let the pictures do the talking. 

Exploring America on the Move

Look closely, and you can see both sets of grandparents' houses!

Viewing the Star Spangled Banner

Original Nauvoo Temple sunstone and plate

Budding researcher

By the time the kids got home, they wanted to play. Well, after Eliza woke up, that’s all she wanted to do. She didn’t get to sleep until really late.

Saturday, November 23 – In the morning, we had breakfast at Washington, DC’s, Eastern Market. Mike had a sandwich called the Brick. Simple, yet amazing. Hallie had a yummy spinach omelet, and the kids had pancakes. Mike got the best thing.

Afterwards, we went to the temple visitors’ center and LL Bean. Hallie could have spent all day at the temple. So pretty!

We chose the wrong day to go to the Tyson’s Corner shopping mall. It seemed like everyone from Virginia, Maryland, and points beyond had come out too.

We played Farkle in the evening. In a brilliant come-from-behind roll, Landon pulled Team Owens squeaking into victory. No one was more surprised than we. Well, maybe Lily, who was only one more roll away from winning.

Holding baby Penelope

Sunday, November 24 – The real chill has now set in, along with a frosty wind. We spent all day running around visiting people from Sister Evans’ mission, a friend from Hallie's high school days, and friends from the Belle Isle Branch who have moved to Virginia. Walks down memory lane really give insight into the present. What a blast!