US History and LDS Church History Trip…and links to each days blog

This is a National Cemetery were many soldiers are buried from the Battle of Antietam.

Brigham Young’s Mill and Home Site

We visited 218 US History and LDS Church History sites in 47 days.  (That included visiting 54 different cities). Each day is blogged with information about places we visited, maps, photos and highlights of the day.

If you would like more information if you are planning a trip, you can email me at priceless6191@gmail.com.  I kept very detailed records including: budgets, trip plans, and calenders for the trip showing our day by day progress.  I also have tons of brochures and maps for specific places, although I did try to scan the most important details I have onto each blog page.  Below is listed each city we visited, and what we did there.  Click on a city and start exploring.

I made this blog because I realized I would have appreciated a site with more specific information.  I hope this is beneficial to anyone who wants to take a history trip.  It was our families dream trip, and we still refer to it often.

Here is a PDF with a summary of our trip. (If you would like an editable version, I have the spreadsheet version also.)
Trip Itinerary

** Just a side note as you look around the site…no my kids names are not Bazooka, Starburst, Jawbreaker etc…our kids just picked nicknames so they could have some privacy.  Have fun looking!!!!

Alcova, WY
Devils Gate, Church, Trek, Independence Rock

Custer, WY
Custer County Museum, City 4th of July

Crazy Horse, SD

Keystone, SD
Mount Rushmore 4th July Celebrations

Rapid City, SD
Dinosaur Park, Storybook Park

Wall, SD
Wall Drug

Omaha, NE
Winter Quarters Visitors Center, Winters Quarters Temple (E,B), Mormon Pioneer Cemetery, Glenn Cunningham Lake, Pioneer Courage Park

Council Bluffs, Iowa
Kanesville Tabernacle

Nauvoo, IL
Play “High Hopes and Riverboats”, Movie “Remembering Nauvoo”, Play “Sunset by the Mississippi”, Women’s Garden, Riser Boot Shop, Blacksmith Shop, Seventies Hall, Lucy M Smith Home, Brickyard, Heber Kimball and Wilford Woodruff’s homes, Movie “Joseph Smith-Prophet of the Restoration”, Joseph Smith’s Homestead, Mansion House, Nauvoo House, Red Brick Store, Smith Family Cemetery, Trail of Hope, Youth of Zion, Play “Old Anna Amanda” 2xs, Nauvoo Pageant 2xs, Carriage Ride, Pioneer Park Pastimes, Nauvoo Temple (B,E), Frontier Fair 2xs, Play “Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo”, Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds, Lands and Records Office, King Follet Discourse, Emma and Josephs Letters Vignette

Carthage, IL
Carthage Jail

Macomb, IL
Dinner with Steve -Guadalupes Restaurant

Petersburg, IL
Lincolns New Salem (camped there)

Springfield, IL
Springfield Vis Ctr, Lincolns Home Vis Ctr, Lincolns Home, Lincolns-Herndon Law Office, Old Capital, Lincoln Library, Lincoln Presidential Museum

Chicago, IL
Chicago Navy Pier, Magnificent Mile, Millennium Park, Cloud Gate, Chicago Temple (B,E)

Gary, IN
Just for Gas and Photos

Kirtland OH
Kirtland Ward, Ashery, Isaac Morley Farm, Newel K. Whitney Store, Whitney Home, Sawmill, Schoolhouse, Kirtland Temple RLDS

Parma, OH
Brian and Camilla’s Home

Hiram, OH
John Johnson’s Home

Middlefield, OH
Amish Country, Cheese Factory, Hiram College (where President Garfield attended and taught)

Kenmore, NY
Mags home, Keeners, Lindbergh Elementary, Pam’s Home

Niagra Falls
Niagara Falls, Cave of Winds

Buffalo, NY(2 sites or events)
Downtown Buffalo, Duffs Chicken Wings

Mendon, NY
Home built by Brigham, Early Meeting Home, Phineas Young’s Home, John Young’s Home, Tom Tomlinson Inn, Heber Kimballs home site, Camped at John Young’s Home, Site of Brigham Young’s Mill and Home, Baptismal Site, Tomlinsons Cemetery

Palmyra, NY
Palmyra Visitors Center, Palmyra Temple (B,E), Palmyra Pageant, Sacred Grove, Smith’s Log Cabin and Frame House Alvin built, Hill Cumorah, Martin Harris’s Home, Book of Mormon Publication Site (Grandin Building)

Waterloo, NY
Peter Whitmer home

Oakland, PA
Aaronic Priesthood Monument, Joseph and Emma’s Home Site, Grave of Emmas parents and son Alvin Smith, Susquehanna River

Jersey City, NJ 
Liberty Harbor

New York, NY
PATH Rail System, Site World Trade Center, 911 Memorial and Museum, Battery Park, Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, New York Stock Exchange, China Town, Little Italy, Noho, Washington Square Park, New York University, Empire State Building, Garment District, Bryant Park, Time’s Square, Theatre District, NBC Studios, Carnegie Hall, Central Park, New York City LDS Temple, Madison Square Gardens

Philadelphia, PA
Independence Visitor Center, Independence Hall, Congress Hall, City Tavern (restaurant), Carpenters Hall, New Hall Military Museum, Benjamin Franklin’s Grave, President’s House Site, Liberty Bell Center”

Hershey, PA
Hershey Amusement Park

Gettysburg, PA
Gettysburg National Park

WashingtonDC
Washington DC Temple (B,E), IKEA, Ford’s Theatre, Petersen House and Center for Education and Leadership, Spy Museum, National Archives, Washington Memorial, World War II Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Holocaust Museum, Lincoln Walking Tour, Arlington Cemetery, United States Capital Building, a Session of Congress, a Session of the House of Representatives, Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Smithsonian American History Museum, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, White House, Holocaust Museum, Nationals Game

Alexandria, Virginia
Mount Vernon

Centreville, VA
Bull Run Regional Park (Camping), visit with Tamara and family, Atlantis Water Park

Manassas, VA
Battle of 1st and 2nd Bull Run (Manassas)

Harpers Ferry, WV
Harpers Ferry

Sharpsburg, MD
Antietem Battle Field

Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, VA Pier and Chick-fil-A

Chantilly, VA
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Annex

Middletown, VA
Cedar Creek Battlefield (2nd Manassas Battle Reenactment)

Charlottesville, VA
Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, University of Virginia

Buena Vista, VA
Southern Virginia University

St Louis, MO
St Louis Temple (B,E), St Louis Arch and Musuem, Old Court House (Dred Scott Case), Outside Busch Stadium, Feet in the Mississippi, Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Park and Grant Farm, Home Town Buffet, St Louis Cardinals Game, St Louis RV Park

Cottleville, MO
Joel and Christy’s Home

Independence, MO
LDS Visitor’s Center, Harry Truman Presidential Library, Missouri Mormon Walking Tour (things we saw on the tour: Clinton’s Soda Fountain, Jackson County Courthouse, 1827 Log Courthouse, Bingham-Waggoner Estate, Church of Christ Temple Lot, Community of Christ Temple, Gilbert and Whitney Store, Printing Office Site (Evening and Morning Star), Governor Boggs Home Site, and Partridge Home Site and School) , Campus RV Park (next door to the LDS Visitors Center), Vaile Mansion

Kansas City, MO
Kansas City Temple (B)

Liberty, MO
Liberty Jail, Eight Witnesses Monument

Richmond, MO
David Whitmer’s Grave, David Whitmer’s Livery site (marked by with a plaque), Old Richmond Jail Location, Statue of General Alexander W. Doniphan, Pioneer Cemetery (Monument for the Three Witnesses, Grave for Oliver Cowdery, Peter Jr. and Jacob Whitmer’s Graves)

Farwest, MO
Far West Temple Site

Jamesport, MO
Amish Country, Amish Baseball Game, and Shopping

Jameson, MO
Adam-ondi-Ahman , Jameson Town Fair and Parade

Doniphan, NE
Mormon Island

McKinnon, WY
Little America

Boston, MA
11 years later we went back to add Boston to our list or US/church history travels. Here is a link to the beginning of that trip. Yale, Scarburough and Prospect Ave in Hartford, CT, Mark Twain’s Home, Boston Temple, Boston Aquarium, Faneuil Hall, Boston Massacre Site, Old State House, Boston Latin School Site, Park Street Church, Granary Burying Ground, New State House, Boston Commons, Harbor Cruise, USS Constitution, Bunker Hill Monument, Old North Church, Paul Revere’s Home, Old South Meeting House, Union Oyster House, Omni Parker House, Cheers, Prudential Tower Observation Deck, Trinity Church of Boston, Old South Church

Other Valuable Links:
Mormon Pioneer Trail Auto Tour Route Guide
mormontrails.org

DAY 23 – July 21, 2012 – New York City

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New York city from the Jersey side.

RV NOTES:
Before I begin the days journal a couple notes on getting around in an RV.  There is nowhere to put on RV in New York City that I’m aware of.  But there is one lone RV park on the Jersey side of the shore.  It’s called Liberty Harbor Marina and RV. In Jersey City, NY (11 Luis Munoz Marin Blvd.)  We left our motorhome parked there and then took the PATH rail, which was walking distance (maybe .5 miles) from the RV park, into NYC.  Their full hookups are hard to come by, so call early, but we called the day before and were able to get dry hookups, and with cool weather at the time it did the job.

On to the day…

I have dreaded New York City since our planning. I never wanted to go to New York City. But Mr. S wanted to be able to say he saw it, and the kids said that they would like to say they saw it too, although they didn’t have quite the enthusiasm that Mr. S had.

New York is a great place if you love site seeing, which is what Mr. S was going for. I like site seeing on adult vacations. I just don’t think it’s all it’s cracked up to be with kids. For me, when I’m vacationing with the kids I prefer sites with a purpose…fun, historical, educational and family friendly and within our budget. I felt like New York was missing quite a few of these things…especially family friendly. We have two children young enough you worry about loosing them, but too old to be on a leash or in a stroller. We were going to be walking long distances to look at buildings…that doesn’t sound fun for small children. The few things that we could do in New York (like to the Statue of Liberty, top of the Empire State building, or a go to a Broadway play) are quite cost prohibitive with a large family. That is not true, the Statue of Liberty is not usually super expensive, but as far as we could tell the inexpensive ferries didn’t run on Saturday and Sunday, and we were here on a Saturday.

We told the kids we would do anything they wanted, but it was at the price of cutting something out in the future, and I know them well enough to know, all the things we have planned were top priority, and they wouldn’t be trading anything off in New York. But we kept asking as we went places.

We took the rail into New York City.  Now this is where I’m just not sure what I should say.  My son says say nothing.  So I’m not going

911 Museum

to talk about our experiences with the police in NYC.  But my heart still pounds when I think about it.  It didn’t take us an hour to commit a felony in New York!  I’ve never been more scared in my life.  But I’m not supposed to talk about it, so I will just say…did I mention I don’t like that place!

Our first goal was to get tickets to the 911 Memorial. You have to have tickets to get in, so if you don’t reserve them online, there is a

line you have to wait in.  We had to wait about 45 minutes.  Then after the tickets, you can walk through a small museum.  The museum was very moving.  I could feel all the feelings I felt back then when it happened.  It is still so unbelievable.

911 Memorial

Afterwards you walk for about a quarter mile to the Memorial, which is totally fenced up (even though it is an outdoor memorial).  They have even put wood all the way around it so you can’t just walk by and look, you have to go in.  So you have to wait in line for security.  It took another 45 minutes to get through the line.  Then expect major (airline typical) security.  The memorial is a set of two water falls, that start ground level and go into the earth.  They are beautiful, though for me, not as moving as the museum.

Then we went to Battery Park which is where people catch the ferries to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.  I’m not sure if we understood right, because the guy working at the RV had a strong accent.  But according to him the ferries that are inexpensive, where closed on the weekend.  I don’t know if that was correct, but we went off that assumption and chose to look at the Statue of Liberty from across the water.  Also we had a lot of places we wanted to see, and one day to do it.  So after checking it all out we left.  I’m not sure if that was a mistake.  I think this might have been the highlight of the trip had we done it, but like I said earlier, our kids didn’t want to take money from other places, so that is what we chose.

We walked to Wall Street from there and saw the New York Stock Exchange.  Jawbreaker was very disappointed that it was a weekend and he couldn’t see how things work.  He aspires to be a hedge fund manager, and loves to talk about Wall Street.

Right before Chinatown we found a place that had $1 for a large piece of pizza.  So we went in and stuffed ourselves.

China Town wasn’t too far away.  My kids love Chinatown in Los Angeles and this was a similar place.  It’s a place to buy all kinds of inexpensive junk.  They loved it.

Little Italy. Bad photo, but you can kind of see the tables lining the streets.

Above Chinatown is Little Italy.  I had never seen anything like it, and some of my kids said it was their highlight.  The streets are wall to wall outdoor Italian Restaurants, with the maitre d’ standing outside inviting you to look at the menu and come in.  Spitz said he loved being wooed by restaurants, that that was his dream life.  He wished Boise had such a place.  The streets smelled fabulous, and had I known, I might have waited to eat there, although I’m sure it would have cost a lot more.

We walked through Noho, Washington Square Park, past New York University, and the Empire State Building.  Going to the top of the Empire State Building is

Empire State Building

expensive, and our kids said seeing the top of the city didn’t sound that exciting.  I’ve heard some people say they love it, but that’s how the kids voted, so we went on.

Oh, I can’t forget somewhere in this we found the MLB Man Cave.  I guess baseball fans will know what that is.  Spitz and Jawbreaker had to be torn away from the building.

The Theater District

We passed the Garment District, Bryant Park, and stopped at Time’s Square.  You could see the ball that they drop on New Year’s Eve.  Giant billboards are everywhere.  To me this is what I think of when I think of New York.  It is also the start of the Theatre District, so you can see all the ads for Broadway shows.  There is also a place where you can get tickets about half price for same day seating.  I REALLY wanted to go to Spiderman.  But the tickets half off were $80 each, so that didn’t happen.  We had a friend that said he was waiting in line, and his wife found a box office where she was able to get her tickets for $30 instead of $90, but we couldn’t figure out where that was, and I don’t know if it was for one particular show.

We saw NBC Studios, Carnegie Hall and Central Park.  We did all of this walking, probably 6 or 7 miles.  Our kids were getting so tired, and the little kids were bored.  But they were troopers, and when we got to Central Park, their energy perked when they saw the playground.  The younger kids ran like they had just woken up from a nap.  You would never know how far they had just walked.

Central Park is very fun and has a lot of things going on.  The playground was fun and we let them play for a while, while we rested.  We

Bubbles in Central Park

also saw a Brazilian Concert in the park.  They had roller skaters dancing all over the place.   It was quite the spectacle.  Then across the way there was a women with a hula hoop doing amazing things, and boys doing all kinds of flips.  Fireball was so excited to see guys doing gymnastics moves, he wouldn’t stop doing front hand springs all over the park.  He’s only 6 and it’s really cute.  He probably should have put out a hat and could have gotten some money.

There was also a man making the biggest bubbles we have ever seen.  And we could totally make the contraption he used to do it.  We are so doing it at science camp next year!

After Central Park we walked over to the New York City LDS Temple.  It’s a different temple than most of ours.  They don’t have a visitor’s center, but we could walk in in street clothes, and we went up to the 3^rd story to see what the ward building looked like.  The building holds the temple, a whole ward building, a family history center, and a distribution center.  It was fun to see.  Where we had walked everywhere, we were not able to bring a change of clothes for the temple, but it was fun to see.

We walked back to catch a subway near Madison Square Gardens to take us back to New Jersey.  I don’t know if this was the best way to do New York City.  The little kids and I were exhausted.  But our teenagers can go forever, they said it didn’t bother them at all.  But they were all ready to get to bed real quick when we got back to the RV.

For me I could have skipped all of that and been happier, but I think the kids were glad to say they saw NY.  They love the story they have to tell about all the excitement we started with.  And I think Mr. S was satisfied to say he saw it, although he was hoping I would love it.  But if there had been a chance, it was shot out of the water the first hour.

NEW COMMENTS ON NEW YORK ADDED JULY 18, 2014:

I want to add some commentary after reflection on our visit to New York City. I was very negative about our stop here. And after a couple years of thought and some reading, I realize there are things we missed in New York, that I regret not having experienced.

First, George Washington was sworn into office in New York City. Somehow, I didn’t think about that while I was there, and missed the opportunity to have visited that historic place. Had I known, our family would have made sure to come on a weekday and visit Federal Hall. Federal Hall is where President Washington was sworn in. And there at Federal Hall is where George Washington’s Inaugural Bible is on display. How I kick myself for not having known that back then.

After his address, President Washington walked up Broadway with a group of legislators and local political leaders to pray at St. Paul’s Chapel. If I could do our trip over again, I would have visited both of those places.

I also had a wonderful opportunity this summer to meet a family visiting the United States from Sweden. They took a historical trip across the United States. We were in contact, as they were using the blog to help plan parts of their trip, and I asked them to stop by my home when they were passing through. We had a wonderful visit. But Lisbeth, my new friend from Sweden, very pointedly told me she wanted to talk to me about her trip to New York City. She said she had had a wonderful experience and wanted to tell me about it. Her family had actually lived in the United States for 2 years, and considered it one of the best times of their life. Having arrived here, they had some complications with their immunizations that gave them all kinds of problems getting started here in America. So she said as her family visited the Statue of Liberty, and heard the stories of all the immigrants that came, many from her country, and sat in boats outside the Harbor waiting to be immunized and come into the United States, her heart swelled as she felt the emotions they felt in their anticipation to enter the U.S. and be a part of what we have here. Her telling of the experience was very touching. I believe our family made a huge mistake not visiting the Statue of Liberty. I am grateful that she shared that story with my family. I would highly suggest a visit to the Statue of Liberty to give your family the opportunity to be reminded of all those who traveled so far to have what we enjoy and even take for granted.

 

Summary of Day 23
Drove:  0 miles
Walked: 8 miles

Places we visited or saw:  PATH Rail System, Site World Trade Center, 911 Memorial and Museum, Battery Park, Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, New York Stock Exchange, China Town, Little Italy, Noho, Washington Square Park, New York University, Empire State Building, Garment District, Bryant Park, Time’s Square, Theater District, NBC Studios, Carnegie Hall, Central Park, New York City LDS Temple, Madison Square Gardens.
Favorite thing we did today:
Jawbreaker:  Wall Street and Times Square
Spitz:  Little Italy
Bazooka:  Central Park
Warhead:  Chinatown
Starburst:  Getting a watch necklace in Chinatown
Fireball:  the Subway
Mr. S:  Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Times Square
Mrs. S:  Leaving