Niagara Falls/Palmyra NY

Well... this posting has been sitting in our draft folder for the last um... couple months or so... I've tried pawning it off on Rivka to no avail. She is a loyal subscriber to her sisters' blogs and is convinced that in comparison we have nothing interesting to report. I told her she doesn't need crazy kids running around saying funny things when she has ME! But alas, my efforts have been fruitless and you all have to put up with me as the official Wilcoxson blogger for now. My condolences...


Niagara Falls is breathtaking! I don't care how great an artist is, God will always have the advantage in producing beautiful works of art; and that is what Niagara Falls is, a masterpiece! I wish I could say the same for our hotel... Priceline.com is great but there may be a limit to what we're willing to subject ourselves to in terms of quality (or lack there of)... but we have yet to find it! We went with a few friends and I was in charge of the dwelling facilities (dunh Duhn DUHN!) I think they'll rethink that next time!


After gawking at the falls and riding the "Maid of the Mist" boat ride up to the falls (way cooler than we would have thought; highly recommend it!), we headed off to Palmyra, NY to see the LDS church historic sites and see the Hill Cumorah Pageant. My favorite was spending a few hours Sunday morning in the Sacred Grove. It was a great little trip. I guess there are pretty places outside the Great Northwest! Go figure!

Washington DC

Although Rivka and I are essentially apolitical, we do have a certain deep rooted patriotism within us, as I believe all Americans do (or should). As the 4th of July approached this summer we couldn't think of a better way to spend it than heading to the nation's capitol. I'm mean, it doesn't get much more patriotic than pushing through mobs of sweaty tourists in the museum of natural history...




















Rivka's aunt and uncle, Karen and Kent respectively, were kind enough to open their home to us for the weekend. It was wonderful to get to know them better and get some insider tips. We got there Thursday afternoon and headed straight to the Washinton DC temple. What an amazing sight that is! From the freeway it just seems to float above the trees, and inside is just as beautiful. That evening we went on the LONGEST walk around the monuments! However, it was nice to see them all lit up at night.





Friday morning we hung out with our boy George at his pad, Mount Vernon, and in the evening, fighting both rain and crowds, we sat in the shadow of the Washington Monument and watched the most amazing fireworks show on the planet. It was nearly 30 minutes of chest thumping eye candy!

























Saturday we hit the museums. We tried to be realistic, selecting only two main museums to explore. However, I got us side-tracked in the botanic gardens (I love botanic gardens) for a few hours. We spent most of the day in the flight and space museum (another of my lesser-known passions) and had a good few hours in the museum of natural history.






Sunday: church and lots of driving...

There was simply too much to see and do for just a couple of days! We'll be back for sure. Watch out Karen and Kent!