The Noehren's

Today, happiness returned to our family!  It may or may not have been because we left NY state.  Haha.  We drove south, to our campground located right on Lake Erie.  It was such a pretty beach.  We set up camp and headed out to see some sites...and to eat at a Wendy's since we didn't get to yesterday.    We had a great time visiting historic Kirtland and seeing the church sites there.  I grew up only 4 hours from here and have been many times, but not in the last 20 years or so.  It was a great visit and we had great tour guides at all the sites.  So much of church history is also my family history, so it is always so powerful for me to visualize my family members living here during that time.  I love visiting all church sites, but Kirtland is always one of my favorites.      Next, we headed back to the beach for a chilly swim.  I had fun watching them and opted not to get in.   ...

The next morning we took a ferry from Grand Isle over to New York.  I've found that any time there is a ferry, no matter the weather, Brian loves to stand outside and take in the sites.  It was pretty cold so us girls mostly enjoyed the views from inside the car.  Brian's grandpa used to drive the Staten Island Ferry for a living, so I think it must be in Brian's blood.    Once we got to the other side, we were excited to drive through the Adirondack Mountains and stop for some hikes.  We took back roads mostly, and sadly, the rains came in and there weren't many great hiking spots, so it just kinda turned into a really long, rainy drive.  Mix that with New York state's weird toll highways and weird rest stops and exits and it was kinda a long day of driving without much fun.  Oh well.   Eventually, we reached Palmyra, and visited Joseph Smith's boyhood home and saw the church sites.    The tour of the printin...

The next day we drove straight west through Vermont, eating our way across the state.  It was a great day!   First we stopped at Cabot cheese and did their little tour and ate lots and lots of cheese samples.  We wanted to buy lots of cheap cheese to take, but with no ice and many days of camping ahead we had to sadly only buy what we could eat right away.  I learned that I have a deep love for smoked bacon cheddar cheese, and the kids and Brian learned that they really love extra sharp cheddar.     Next, we traveled to Bragg Maple Syrup farm.   Here is where they make their amazing syrup, the old fashioned way.  We tasted the 4 different kinds of syrup and learned that Grant and I like extra dark and Brian and Haley like extra light.  We also learned that the Costco organic maple syrup we've been eating is not nearly as tasty as Bragg Farm's syrup.  Too bad we've already eaten a lot of what we brought home with us!  We...