The way home

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Saturday, June 18, 2005
Northwest Air Flt 597 to PDX
Our trip is over and we are on our way home. I have already transferred the last day’s photos from camera to computer and will upload them and our last travel blog entry tonight before bed. Our flight was already arriving at 11:07, and then got away a good 20 minutes late anyway. It’ll be tough to get up for bishopric mtg. tomorrow!
We began the day with what was I believe the best hotel breakfast of the trip. It was actually more of a motel, as the doors opened to the outside. The hotel staff cooked in a little kitchen, and it was good—eggs, Canadian bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, plus a large continental bar.
We left the hotel for Richmond, and visited the pioneer cemetery there, with the Three Witnesses monument. Mona and I found a couple gravesites named Turner, so I’ll have to look up my genealogy to see if there is a relation. The only other things we saw in Richmond were from the bus—the original location of the Richmond jail, which isn’t there anymore (it’s a road between a convenience store and a bank), and a stature monument of Alexander Doniphan. The bus stopped just briefly, as I was the only one to disembark and shoot it. We then drove to Independence and took a long tour of the RLDS temple, and a hurried visit to the temple lot. I ran to get as many good shots as possible, but we were moving along and I wished I could have visited the Hedrickite building. While we were on their property, one of their staff came out and rather sternly chastised us for talking about them outside and not coming in to hear their story. Unfortunately, the LDS visitors center was closed, so we missed seeing it.
Our last stop was Liberty, and the Liberty Jail. We had a very nice tour there, and afterward used their meeting room in the basement to have our farewell testimony meeting. Mona and I both bore our testimonies (we were first after Gordon started the meeting). It was a very nice spiritual end note to our tour. As we were driving away, I caught a glimpse a block away from the jail a historical marker with Alexander Doniphan’s name on it—I believe it was a property of his. One more thing to look up if I ever come back here.
On the bus, I got a picture of every one on the tour—either individually or as a couple. I also sent around a paper for everyone to write their names, addresses, phone, and e-mail. I got it photocopied at the airport and distributed copies on the plane out of Minn/St. Paul. Unfortunately, Gary Mills wasn’t with us, as he had to leave our tour a couple days early, and the Garfields were on a different flight to Utah instead.
I talked with Gordon about the possibility of getting a youth trip together from Salem next year or the next. I have never considered it seriously before, but I am now converted and would like to pursue it.
Home again!

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