a garden update...

... mostly for my mom, my biggest garden supporter. Notice the new whimsical windmill my parents made?

911, this is NOT an emergency...

...says Ed Pinegar (yes, THE Ed Pinegar if you're wondering), the magnanimous leader of the Hill Cumorah Visitor's Center. It is 6:58 and he closes down shop at 7:00. This follows us sprinting down the Hill Cumorah trying to reach him before he leaves because we have JUST LOCKED OUR KEYS IN OUR RENTAL TRUCK. In the middle of upper New York state nowhere. He just picks up the phone, dials 9-1-1 and greets the responder with "911, this is NOT an emergency... This is Ed Pinegar, and I am awfully glad I pay my taxes because I know you'll be able to come out here and help this pleasant young couple solve a dilemma." Andrew and I look at each other and try not to laugh. "Well yes, we're here at the Hill Cumorah and they seem to have locked themselves out of their rental vehicle. (Pause) Why yes, at the top of the hill. (Pause) Fantastic! I knew that you would be able to help us out here in Palmyra!"

Elder Pinegar has us go wait by our car until the Sheriff arrives. An hour passes. It is now 34 degrees and the sun has set. We are all alone on the top of a mountain with a cat named Moroni. Andrew is threatening to eat my index finger because we are going to starve and die here and because I keep taking pictures of him. (see picture below)

I am jogging in place trying to stay warm. We have tried every way possible to enter this vehicle, which is a bright red truck (how we ended up with this beast will be explained in subsequent posts). We are starting to think about what happens if we have to spend the night here and miss our plane the next day.

Then, the Sheriff arrives. He is a good humored gentleman who greets us with, "Sorry you had to wait so long. A lady got stabbed with scissors, so, you know..." He then uses a glorified blood pressure machine to pump open our truck door until he can wedge a little metal bar in and fishes around until he can hit the unlock button. He wishes us a pleasant stay in New York and goes on his way to save more people from scissors and their own stupidity.

In sum, we recently returned from an illustrious trip to Brockport, New York. We had a very good adventure, overall. The getting there and the getting back was less than smooth. I will endeavor to give you a brief synopsis through pictures. (I don't blame you if you don't want to look at all of these, I will try and provide captions and accompanying stories in the near future...)


The Infamous Chicago Airport, where we spent the first night of our journey...


Niagara Falls, amazing! (And not just because my Dad was born there.)


Peter Whitmer Farm, where our Church was organized. It was very cold there, as the pictures demonstrate.


Palmyra, New York. Very fun for two history nuts to see the old Grandin Print Shop, the Joseph Smith farm, and the Erie Canal, complete with locks. It was awesome.


Last but not least, the reason we were there, the SUNY Brockport conference, and the great Victorian Bed and Breakfast where we stayed. If you ever have a reason to go to Brockport, stay there. Very fun!

i do not heart chicago...

niagara falls

I will be here soon. I am very excited for the adventure. Andrew is presenting a paper at State University of New York, College at Brockport. I can't wait to show you pictures.