Time Together

This weekend Laurie and I changed our plans of doing things around the house and went to BYU to spend time with Atkin and his girlfriend, Allyson, for his 19th Birthday.  On the way, we spent the night in St. George at my Mom and Ralph's.  We arrived about 10 pm, greeted each other with hugs and kisses and visited for a while before going to bed.  There is something about being present with the person and visiting.  We could have shared the same information on the phone, but being present and creates a whole different experience.

When we arose to get on the road, mom and Ralph were already up, even though it was still dark at 7:15.  We again got to visit and hug and kiss and see each other as we departed.

Laurie and I arrived in Provo and got to our seats for the BYU vs UNLV Football game just after BYU scored 7 points.  We were across the stadium from Atkin and decided to meet at half-time, under the south bleachers.  I was waiting when Atkin and Allyson walked up from my side, so I saw them at the last minute.  My immediate response was to reach out to Atkin and hug him close, before even really looking at him.  Then I shook Allyson's hand as we were introduced and then I got a chance to look at them.  When Laurie arrived a moment later, the scene was repeated.  It's interesting that the desire to touch is such an overwhelming immediate response.   I think it's because our spirits love that close contact and "feeling" each other, even if just for an instant - a longing to reconnect and bouy and lift and be edified.

After the game, we met up again.  Then after time sampling chocolates, browsing together at an art gallery, having a fun meal at Tucanos Brazilian Grill, opening gifts at the dorm, and attending Sacrament Meeting with Atkin the next day - we again lingered in the hall and hugged and kissed and held hands as we parted.  A stop at Becki and Paul's, in St. George, which included a brief visit from mom just before we departed, resulted in the same things - hugs, kisses and holding hands.  Then arriving at home we were greeted with hugs, kisses and hand holding.  Even Penny lingered and leaned her head against me harder and longer than she normally does.  Physical touch and spirit touching spirit - what a wonderful way to connect!

Atkin's Senior Trip

 

In May, Atkin and I went on a trip to celebrate Atkin graduating from High School.  We flew to Buffalo, New York and took the rental car across the Niagara River to the Canadian side and followed the river to the falls.  The cherry trees were in bloom - it was beautiful.  After viewing the falls we headed back to New York and spent the night near Palmyra, New York. 

It was a fairly cold day, so there weren't a lot of people at the Hill Cumorah or Sacred Grove – we got great tours from the guides.  We also visited the building where the Book of Mormon was first printed.  On a tip from the Sister missionaries we ate lunch at an obscure, local drive in.  We discovered that they serve incredibly delicious ice cream and that a kid's size cone is 3 scopes (regular is 5 scopes, large 7).

From there we drove to the Peter Whitmer log home near Fayette, New York, where Joseph Smith translated much of the Book of Mormon and where the Church was formally organized on April 6, 1830.  We then headed toward Philadelphia and well after dark took a little side trip to the site on the Susquehanna River where the Aaronic Priesthood was restored.  We hiked down to the river with flashlights and just after we arrived, the full moon came up!  It was really neat.

We made a brief stop in Scranton, Pennsylvania, (for all you “Office” fans) and then spent the night near Philadelphia.

The next morning we drove to Independence Hall but couldn't wait 6 hours for a tour of the building, so we saw the Liberty Bell and went to the National Constitution Center – very much worth the time. 

After eating the obligatory Philly Cheese Steak sandwich we drove to Baltimore, dropped off the rental car and hopped the train to Union Station in Washington, DC.  We got on Metro and took it to our hotel in Rockville, Maryland.

The next day we spent at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum until closing and then went to the Jefferson, Roosevelt, Lincoln and Vietnam War Memorials.

The next day, we tried to go on a tour of the White House and discovered that you need to make reservations 6 months in advance, for security reasons.  So after taking pictures of the White House from Pennsylvania Avenue, we returned to the Vietnam War and Lincoln Memorials.  We also visited the Korean War and World War II Memorials.  We then discovered that all the tickets for the day had been given out for Capital Building tours, so we went to the Library of Congress, where we had to leave after about 15 minutes because of fire alarms.  So we went next door to the Supreme Court building, took a tour and had a very good meal in the cafeteria.  From there we looked around the new National Museum of the American Indian in the Smithsonian complex.

After checking out the next morning, we ditched our bags at Union Station and got tickets for the Capitol tour.  We had to wait a while, so we looked around the National Gardens before the tour.  After the tour we went to the National Gallery of Art for a couple of hours.  Then we walked to Union Station and got on the train to Baltimore Airport and the flight home.  It was a wonderful, invigorating, exhausting trip – you could easily spend weeks in the Washington, DC area.