Midwest Travels

Jake and I were able to spend our Memorial Day weekend in Nauvoo and St. Louis. My parents are serving their mission in Nauvoo so we decided to pay them a visit. You can read more about their adventures here.We flew into St. Louis on Thursday evening where we spent the night. We awoke on Friday morning and drove to Nauvoo.

Elder and Sister Williams in front of their humble home.

 Our first stop was at the Seventies Hall where my mom was working. The Seventies Hall was like the MTC back in Old Nauvoo days; those who were going out on missions would come here to prepare for their mission.

 Next stop was to see my dad. He was out with the horses doing wagon rides, so we went on a wagon ride around Nauvoo and got an overview of what there was to see. For anyone planning a trip to Nauvoo, we  recommend doing this the first day to get a feel of the town.

Dad taking the horses back to the barn after a long days work.

On Saturday they were having a local BBQ cook-off in the city park. Each competitor would enter their secret recipe for a BBQ chicken, pork, and beef dish. We got to go around and sample them and then vote for our favorite.

Mom and Jake decided on which dish to vote on.

One of our favorite things to see was the "Trail of Hope". This "Trail" was the route the saints followed when they evacuated Nauvoo to head west.  Walking down this path you can read journal entries of the pioneers as they prepared for their journey west. Some of their stories are heartbreaking. I can't imagine having to pack up your lives, in the middle of winter, and head toward the unknown.

We made our way to the banks of the Mississippi River. We decided to re-enact our engagement picture, except this time the ring is a "prairie diamond". (a horseshoe nail in the shape of a ring.)

We also got to attend an endowment session in the beautiful Nauvoo Temple. This temple is amazing. I was lucky enough to attend the open house of this temple right after it was built, so it was nice to go back and attend a session.

 Before we headed out of town on Sunday we stopped and said goodbye to mom and dad at the Riser Cheap Boot and Shoemaker house. Dad taught us all about making shoes. It is so impressive how industrious the pioneers were back in those days. They thought of everything.

On our way back to St. Louis we stopped at Carthage Jail. We also made a stop at one of our favorite places to eat, "Fast Eddies". (sorry no pics)

 Monday morning we got up and headed to Forest Park for our run. It was incredibly HOT and HUMID, but the scenery was amazing! After living in Las Vegas for almost 2 years, we really appreciate grass and trees. :)

 That afternoon we headed to Busch Stadium to watch a Cardinals game. It was so fun!!

 What a wonderful way to spend Memorial Day, afterall, what's more American than baseball?!!