After our last few hours in Nauvoo, we jumped in the car and drove a few hours up to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. John served his mission there, and I've always wanted to go with him. We didn't spend much time in Milwaukee, but I loved visiting a few people he taught, and seeing some sites of John's famous mission stories (like the corner where he was mugged at gun point, the salon where he'd get his nose hairs waxed, and the best restaurants.)
When we first got there we visited a sweet lady, Lola. I had heard a lot about her, so I was excited to finally meet her. She was a convert to the church, and the missionaries would go see her regularly. She has a very injured back, so she can't get to church on Sunday very often, so they'll also bring her the Sacrament. She told some stories about her life, and told us how she's feeling lately. She is just the funniest, sweetest lady.
Right after we visited another family. We didn't stay for very long, but long enough that the Sister cooked a bunch of quesadillas, and gave some to us. I'm not exactly sure what she and John talked about... the whole conversation was in Spanish. It was neat to hear him speak it again.
In the morning, we saw John's mission president and his wife at the mission home. We visited for a good hour and a half. It was nice that John could catch up with them, recall memories, see how the mission is continuing, and, of course, they loved meeting me. They had me tell the story of how we met, and all that jazz. They also gave John a mission: getting all his friends married! I was very flattered that they said John did very well marrying me and that they were impressed with me.
After that we had lunch in John's favorite Mexican food place, Artegas. And it was good! They had the best horchata I've ever had. It was delicious, and a really fun place to eat. It's Sister Artega's restaurant, and we got to meet her and say hi breifly.
Then we drove around downtown for a bit. They had some very beautiful buildings, like the Basilica and the public library. It was actually cleaner there, and I felt safer. The other parts we had been in were a little iffy... I didn't leave John's side. But downtown was very nice. The "Repent Mobile" drove by. There is an old guy that drives around with his car blasting fire and brimstone talks out of a speaker, and has scriptures and other do-dads attached to his car. It was funny to see. We also stopped and got the best frozen custard ever. It was amazing!
Our last stop was Lake Michigan. It was a pretty dirty looking lake, but it was neat to see the Milwaukee skyline. It was nice to be out there for a bit.
After our short trip, we headed back down into Illinois to Chicago.
John's family and I went to Nauvoo, Milwaukee, and Chicago last week. It was so fun! I loved going to Nauvoo and learning more about church history.
First, we left the Boise airport at 6 A.M. (early!), but I think most of us slept on the plane. We landed in Chicago, picked up the rental car, and started the drive up to Nauvoo. It was beautiful! And the Mississippi is huge. I had seen it before, but I forgot how big it was. It was drizzly the second day we were there, but we just picked up some umbrellas and walked around anyway. And we had a surprise! The Whitakers, my friends from Nevada, were in Nauvoo the same time we were! We met them for a show, and ran into them at dinner, and a few other places. It was really neat to see some friends.
We did a bunch while we were there. We saw some shows, a bunch of old houses where the Saints used to live before the exodus to Utah, and old stores. We also did some pioneer activities and watched the pageant.
One of the first things we did was a session in the Nauvoo temple. It was beautiful. The original temple was burned down by arsonists shortly after the Saints left. And, a little after that, a tornado came through. After both events, there was only one wall left standing. But, recently, it was rebuilt and re-dedicated in 2002. It looks almost exactly like the old temple. There are beautiful star windows and sun stones. I loved it.
One of the houses we went to was the house and workshop of Jonathan Browning, the man who invented the repeating slider rifle. He and his son and grandson made many of the guns that people use today. It was neat to see where he worked, hear about his history, and see some guns on display. And, of course, the boys loved it.
We also went to the blacksmith shop. We learned how the pioneers built the wagons andwheels, and how much work it took. It's amazing that they made such sturdy ways of transportation out of wood and iron. Then, the missionary there demonstrated how to make a horseshoe, and he gave it to John! It's a tiny little thing, but it was really special being able to take it home. We also went to a little workshop where we did various pioneer activities. We learned how they baked bread, made rugs, spun wool, and made barrels. That's where Beth and I got to help make some rope. We went to a bakery, the brick yard (where we got to take a souvenir brick that says "Nauvoo" on it), the post office, and the general store. In all of the places we got an explanation about how they all functioned, what life was like in the 1840's, and how they all bought and traded. We went on a two carriage/wagon rides. I loved them! We rode all around Nauvoo, and the forest outside of it. It was beautiful, and I really liked the horses. We also saw some oxen that were pulling a cart. They were humongous! I had no idea how big and beefy they are. We took a small drive out to Carthage to visit Carthage jail. I had a hard time seeing it. It was neat, in a sense, to see it, but I don't know if I necessarily liked it. It just had an eerie feeling. I saw the cell downstairs where the men were originally kept, the upstairs cell that was usually used, and the jailer's bedroom where Joseph and Hyrum were martyred. The bullet that killed Hyrum had gone through the door, and the hole was still there. It was hard to see the window that Joseph fell through as he was shot, and to stand on the ground where he laid. But there was a nice statue outside of Joseph and Hyrum that was beautiful. We toured through the homes of Brigham Young, Lucy Mack Smith, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, and Wilford Woodruff. Most of the houses were rebuilt on the existing foundation because they had fallen. Some were restored with what was left of the house after years of disuse. A few had objects that those people had owned, and had other things from that era. We also heard about their life and what they did while in Nauvoo.
The Community of Christ church (formerly known as the Re-organized LDS church) owned all of the Joseph Smith sites. We saw the Mansion house, the Red Brick Store, the Smith family cemetery, and the Nauvoo house with one of their tour guides.
The Mansion house was where Joseph and Emma lived with their children. It was also used as a hotel for people that came through Nauvoo, or those that were moving there and hadn't yet built their own house. Right outside the Mansion House is where Emma said her last goodbyes to Joseph before he was arrested and taken to Carthage jail. The Mansion House
The Nauvoo House
The Red Brick Store was owned by Joseph Smith, and it was also the main meeting place for church business, since it had the biggest room in all of Nauvoo. That room was where Joseph passed the Keys of the Priesthood to the Twelve Apostles before leaving for Carthage.
I liked going to the cemetery. Joseph, Emma, and Hyrum were all buried together. It was just nice being able to see it, especially after going to Carthage. A really neat thing I learned while I was there was about my ancestor, Seymour Brunson. He lived and died in Nauvoo, and I got to go visit his grave site in a little cemetery. There was also a place to look up the info about any of the people that lived in Nauvoo in the mid-1800's. Seymour was good friends with Prophet Joseph, and even died in the prophet's home. Joseph spoke at Seymour's funeral, and that was the first time baptisms for the dead had ever been introduced to the church. A sister missionary in the center had researched Seymour Brunson, and knew all about him. It was neat talking to her and hearing what she had learned. She told me that the church recently put up a new monument on his grave and dedicated it, and that she had been there to see it. She told me exactly where the grave was, so we drove over to see it.
At his funeral on August 15, 1840, the Prophet Joseph Smith publicly introduced the doctrine of baptism for the dead. 'Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?' 1 Corinthians 18:39
Seymour Brunson. Veteran of the War of 1812. Missionary in Ohio, Virginia, and Kentucky. Captain in the 59th Regiment of the Missouri Militia. High Councilor in the Commerce-Nauvoo Stake. 'Seymour Brunson I have taken unto myself: no man taketh his priesthood, but another may be appointed unto the same priesthood in his stead.' Doctrine and Covenants 124:132
The sister missionary also helped me find Seymour's plot of land, and we drove over to see it. It was right next to the Mississippi, on the corner of Cherry and Water, and had a beautiful view of the river. One of the craziest thing is that John's ancestor lived right across the street from the Brunsons! And another one of his ancestors, Thomas Grover, served with Seymour on the High Counsel in the church. I know that they're all up there chuckling, because they must have been friends, and the two families have finally joined together.
The land behind us is the 4 acre plot that the Brunsons owned in the late 1830's and early 40's. It now hosts a water treatment plant for the city of Nauvoo.
The view of the Mississippi from the Brunson land
One of my favorite things we did was watch the pageant. It was wonderful. We did some activities they had out for people before the pageant. My favorite was the dancing. John happily did some polka with me, and a waltz, and some other round dances with everyone. We also learned a Scottish dance.
I have no words to describe the pageant. Obviously, it was about the saints in Nauvoo. When they got there, the work that they did, how happy they were, the death of the Prophet Joseph, and the exodus. It was just very touching, and I was sobbing by the end of it. They had a huge replica of the temple that the actors built during the whole pageant. It was really cool.
On the last day we walked the Trail of Hopes, which was the last road the Saints walked in Nauvoo before crossing the Mississippi on their way west. There are plaques lining the road with quotes and stories from the people who left. Some of the missionary actors were there, standing by the plaques, and telling stories from the people they were portraying, and singing hymns. It was a really reverent experience. The Trail as the last activity we did in the city, and after touring through Nauvoo for a few days, I was starting to fall in love with it. It was just very spiritual to be able to walk that road very last before leaving, just like the Saints did.
At the end of Parley Street, the end of the Trail of Hope. Shore of the Mississippi.
One day I was struck with the inspiration to do a Google search. And, 5 days later, that landed John and I in Southern California.
We are going with his family to Nauvoo this coming week, and John had mentioned wanting to try and catch his favorite Jazz singer, Kurt Elling, at a club in Chicago where he usually sings. But he found out that Kurt was out on tour.
Then, last week, it popped in my head to search and see where Kurt was performing. And I found out that he would be in Hollywood the following week, then off to Europe. This could be John's last chance to see Kurt live for who knows how long. And I wanted to see him, too. John introduced me to Kurt Elling when we first started dating, and I've been addicted ever since. I hadn't been a jazz fan before, but I love it. Besides, John sang one of Kurt's songs, "The Beauty of All Things," to me at our wedding.
On another note, John has been wanting to go to Disneyland for a long time. His family went while he was on his mission, and he was sad that he missed the vacation.
What is right next to Hollywood? Anaheim...
After a few hours Googling hotels, ticket prices, (airline flights... I can dream, right?), I found a wonderful steal at a hotel right next to Disneyland, $25 tickets for Kurt's show, and discovered it was only 9 hours south of Provo.
Wanting to surprise John when he got home, I said, "I need you to pack a bag for three days! We're leaving on Tuesday," right when he got home. Then I remembered that John doesn't like surprises, and I can hardly keep secrets when they're this fun. So I spilled. And John liked. And we decided to make a car trip to California. John standing by Frank Sinatra's handprints.
We got there a little early. I had predicted bad traffic, and gave us an extra two or three hours to travel to Hollywood. But we didn't hit any, so we were early. But we walked around some shops, saw the Walk of Fame, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the Kodak Theatre, and Hollywood bums. It was fun.
Kurt's show was AMAZING! He sounds even better in person than on his CDs. And he was hilarious, and such a nice, chill guy. There were two shows, and we went to the earlier one, because we had to drive about 30 minutes to Anaheim to get to our hotel that night. He played with his pianist, Laurence Hobgood, and a bassist, drummer, and Ernie Watts, who plays sax. Ernie played for Jay Leno on the Tonight Show for years before Jay left. Then Ernie joined Kurt Elling and his band to tour around.
Ernie Watts playing a solo
Kurt singing "You Are Too Beautiful"
They played a bunch of songs from their new CD, and just "jammed." A few times I didn't know if they had practiced everything, or was just making it up as they were going along. But it was all amazing. After the show, John and I went over and talked to Kurt for a while. He was such a great guy, and we got a picture with him. Then he invited us to stay for the next show! We talked to the restraunt host, and he said we could just stay and not have to pay for the show if we order a few drinks. So we got some orange juices, and stayed to watch the next show. It was amazing, as well! It was totally different, with new jokes and songs.
Me, Kurt, and John at Catalina Bar and Grill on Sunset Blvd.
The next day we were off to Disneyland! The hotel we stayed at was just a few miles down Harbor Blvd. from the park, and they had a free shuttle right to the front gate. It was wonderful, because we didn't have to drive. The shuttle started an hour after the park opened, but it gave John and I a chance to catch some more sleep and it was worth it to not have to pay for parking.
Amazingly, the park wasn't crowded at all when we got there. We stopped in to Town Hall first and picked up some buttons that we wore all day that said, "Just Married." It was so fun! All of the workers and some guests of the park congratulated us all day. We went on all the best rides (Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Mr. Toad) all within the first two hours. It started to get crowded around lunch time, but with tricky fast pass skills we managed to not wait more than 10 or 15 minutes for a ride all day. We had a wonderful time!
John in front of the ticket booth before we bought our tickets
Entry tickets!
In front of Indiana Jones.
John screaming for joy, and me screaming from terror on Splash Mountain. "Laughing Place," my butt.
Thunder Mountain Railroad
Me and my favorite goats. I think they remembered me.
This is me with a goat last time I went to Disneyland.
There is a new ride, Nemo's Adventure, where the old submarine ride used to be. For that reason, we both wanted to go on it. We got there, and saw that the line had a 45 minute wait, and we stood there debating about if we wanted to ride it. As we were staring at the line, one of the Nemo workers came up to us and said, "I see you just got married! Congratulations. That's sweet. As part of the Disneyland experience, we want to make your stay magical! So why don't I get you to the front of this line?" We were so shocked and surprised! We went right up to the front of the line and boarded the very next submarine! It really made my day.
The whole trip was SO much fun! We had a fabulous time, stayed in a giant, warm, cushy, king sized bed (We had a hard time leaving it), and enjoyed seeing California. Now we're off to Nauvoo! Ciao!
~Allie J.
Quotes of the trip:
Kurt: " Hey, do me a solid, take a picture."
and
Kurt: "You gotta be awake for that whole, living thing, to happen."
and
Me: "I wanna ride the Matterhorn." John: "That's what she said."
There is a long list of men in literature that are essentially "perfect" men. Most are classics and have been around for years. Enter most of Austen's lead male characters, like Colonel Brandon, but the number one being ever-popular Mr. Darcy. And we'll throw in Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables, and Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre for good measure. Oh, and we can't forget Heathcliff or Rhett Butler.
But there are some newbies that fought their way onto the list. It's hard for the modern men to reach the standard of the classics. The first that pops into my head is Edward. Perhaps that's because the Twilight series is still so recent, or because he sparkles. I don't know if many people would count in Harry Potter, but he makes it onto my list. While a little angsty, that's understandable as he is a puberty-going adolescent boy. But he has guts, courage, and a caring heart. Many times he makes sacrifices to save his friends. As does Cedric Diggory. Any more modern examples would be appreciated.
I am now ready to induct a new man to the top of the list. (Besides my husband, who is indeed perfect in my eyes).
Peeta Mellark from Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games. He's better than Edward, in my opinion. He's selfless, respectful, kind, loving, and repeatedly risked his life to save the girl he loves.
I fear about saying too much because I don't want to spoil anything about this book, because it is a fantastic book. It's the first in a series of three books, with the second to come out this coming September. It has a very original plot, very clear and concise detail, and wonderful characters that are easy to love.
The only thing I dislike is the writing style. Of course, it's not a negative because it's the author's personal choice, but it wasn't to my taste. It followed the thought process of the main character, so it was very appropriate. I just didn't like how choppy it was, and didn't appreciate the run-on sentences or the sentence fragments. They are hard for my English-trained brain to ignore, so I get caught up on them. Like I said, just a personal opinion, not a criticism.
But, really. You HAVE to read this book. It's one of my new favorites. Please, do it. And when you do, let me know how you liked it! It's a book for all audiences and hard for someone to dislike.
