Family Road Trip

I've written about this trip a bit before, but several factors motivated me to dig out the pictures and old journals and make a more complete account. I discovered that I was much more consistent at recording activities at the beginning of this trip than at the end. Isn't that true of so many things? 

Our "grand excursion" started on June 29, 1974 when we left our home in San Jose, California at 4:30 in the morning and drove to my uncle's house in Hawthorne, Nevada, picking up my older brother from scout camp in the Sierras on the way. Monday morning we left my uncle's house for a rainy drive across Nevada, reaching my great-grandmother's house in Clearfield, Utah late that night, but early enough to enjoy homemade ice cream and cherries picked off the tree. We spent the next night in Cheyenne, Wyoming. 

 

At that point I must have remembered I had a camera, but I stopped writing consistently in my little journal, so I'm reconstructing our route using common sense while trying to recall memories from fifty years ago! We followed the Pony Express Trail across Nebraska, and I'm pretty sure we stopped somewhere along the way to visit my mom's cousin. Then we made it to Missouri and starting visiting church historic sites.

Due to some excitement with mud and ditches and darkness, we didn't arrive in Hannibal, Missouri until after dinner on the 4th of July, so missed a lot of their celebrations, but we took a few pictures before heading on to Nauvoo. In addition to touring the old buildings, we also did our laundry. We were each allowed to pack four outfits, which meant we had to find a laundromat every four days as well. I also remember Mom doling out our allowance for souvenirs along the way so it would last throughout the trip.

We made it to my dad's Uncle Sam in/near Chicago in time to attend church with them Sunday, July 7th. Then the next day we visited Kirtland, Ohio. We next camped at Darien Falls State Park in New York and took a side trip to see Niagara Falls. 

After playing in the lake at the state park on Wednesday morning, we drove to Palmyra, New York, visiting the Sacred Grove and Smith Home that evening.

From Palmyra we drove to Joseph Smith's birthplace in Sharon, Vermont, eating breakfast along Lake George and stopping at Fort Ticonderoga at lunchtime.

Then it was time to head south to explore some United States History sites in Massachusetts - Lexington and Concord, Boston and Plymouth. We visited the Alcott home and Revolutionary War sites, walked the Freedom Trail in Boston, and enjoyed learning about the Pilgrims at Plimouth Plantation.

Tuesday, July 16, 1974: We woke up and ate breakfast. Then we started to look for gas but couldn't find any! So on our way to Plymouth we ran out. Mom, George and Louise started walking to the nearest town. The rest of us just waited for two hours. Finally, the propane truck came and filled us up. Then we went and picked up Louise and George and paid the men. We got to Plimouth Plantation at lunchtime so we ate a little snack. Then we went in and saw three movies - They Knew They Were Pilgrims, Mayflower II and Colonial 6. Then we went and looked at the fort and some of the houses. We some another movie - Thatching. I think that one was the best. Then we finished the village and went to the gift shop. After that we did the laundry. Then we went and saw Mayflower II and hurried to the bus stop to pick up Daddy. Then we went to our campground.

That was my journal entry at the time. I think my dad was working in his company's Boston office for a couple of days while the rest of us played tourist. Now I can't even imagine fitting all of those activities - car problems, laundry and exploring with seven children - into a single day! Just goes to show that Mom really was Super Woman.

That's also the end of the pictures. 

On our way to New York City - where we climbed the stairs in the Statue of Liberty - we stopped in Connecticut to visit some of my mom's relatives - aunts and uncles and cousins as I recall. We were in Washington, D.C. on Friday, July 19th for my sister's birthday. In addition to going to the Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and Washington Monument, we spent some time exploring the Smithsonian. We visited Williamsburg, Virginia, then attended church with old friends in Silver Spring, Maryland. (Remember that we lived there from 1966-1968 while my dad attended law school.)

Then it was time to complete a figure eight on our return home. The motorhome broke down somewhere in Minnesota, which necessitated a night in a hotel while it was fixed. We drove through the northern section of Yellowstone National Park in Montana, stopping for a picnic lunch and to get our feet wet in the nearby stream. We passed through Shelley, Idaho where my grandfather was raised, and stopped in Boise, Idaho to visit my dad's cousin, before finally arriving home in early August.