Cleveland, Ohio and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

For Thanksgiving break, Tom and I went on a long road trip. First we drove to Cleveland, Ohio. It was our 6th wedding anniversary so after checking into the hotel, we walked down to a restaurant. The food was just lousy so we stopped by Starbucks for a hot chocolate on the way back to the hotel. The next morning was Sunday, so we found a ward to attend. It was a tiny building in a kinda scary part of town. Then we drove to Kirtland, Ohio. The missionaries gave us a tour of the historic buildings. First we went to the Newel K. Whitney store where we saw the School of the Prophets and the room where Joseph and Emma lived while they stayed at the store. Then we crossed the street and saw the Whitney's home. Afterward, we walked down to the Grist mill where the pioneers would saw logs into boards. The last thing we saw at the church's sites was the ashery. It was amazing to see how the early church members lived. It made us realize how lucky we are to be living in the time we do. Then we drove up the street to tour the Kirtland Temple. We watched a movie at the Community of Christ visitor's center. Then the tour guide took us through the temple. It was beautiful.

On Monday morning, we walked around Cleveland. We saw 4th street, saw where the Cavaliers play and where the Browns play. Then we walked around the pier on Lake Erie. Then we visited the Rock N'Roll Hall of Fame. Afterward we went to Lola's for lunch to make up for our lousy anniversary dinner. Lola's is owned by the Food Network's newest Iron Chef, Michael Symon. It was delicious.

inside the Newel K. Whitney Store
The Kirtland Temple



John Johnston Hotel
Newel K. Whitney Store
Whitney Family home
School of the Prophets room
Apartment where Emma and Joseph lived

The pier on Lake Erie

Ainsley spent the entire trip in this stroller, she was such a good sport about it

The Rock N'Roll Hall of Fame

After eating lunch at Lola's

After we ate at Lola's we drove to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. We trusted the GPS to get us there....but learned we should preview the route before following it blindly. It ended up taking us on a really long toll road and then on a tiny mountainous road. It was dark, raining, and really foggy. We could barely see the road in front of us and we were winding up a mountain. At one point we had to cross a one lane bridge. It was scary and our cell phone had no reception. We were also running low on gas...we were scared we wouldn't make it and no one would know where to find us. But luckily, the gps got us to Gettysburg. It may have been the shortest route, but definately not the safest.

The next morning, we went to Gettysburg National Park. We spent a couple of hours in the Civil War Museum. There were hundreds of artifacts and displays. It was amazing. Then we went upstairs to see a Cyclorama. These are circular paintings that were popular in the 1800s. They light up the different parts of the painting with smoke, lights, and sound to depict the battle of Gettysburg.
Then we took a driving tour of the Gettysburg battlefield. It was huge. The battle took place over three days and so there was so much to see. All along the way there were monuments to the different battalions that served in the war. The last part of the tour was the National Cemetery where Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address. We walked around the cemetary. We were suprised to hear that the two armies suffered between 46,000 and 51,000 casualties during the battle. The cemetery is laid out in an arch, and each section is dedicated to soldiers from each state. There were hundreds of unknown soldiers as well. We found the section for Indiana. There were 80 soldiers who died from Indiana.

Outside the Gettysburg museum

Unknowns from Indiana
National Cemetery
Graves for the unknown

Where Lincoln gave his Gettysburg address
The battlefield

Next we were off to Washington DC for four days!