NEW YORK {part 2: Palmyra & Niagara Falls}

so, if you haven't read Part 1 first, you probably should. so, I will pick up where I left off from. we left our friend the Boyce's house in Flemington, New Jersey to drive to Palmyra, New York. the drive was about 5 hours long, and the 3 of the Castle kiddos were crammed in the back of a rental car. driving in the East is exciting for about 5 minutes, but there's only one thing to look at: trees. trees were everywhere. even in New York City, there were trees on the side of the freeway, and that's all you can see. so, after driving through trees all morning, we got a bit restless. finally, we made it to Palmyra, one of the most historic towns in the restoration of the Mormon church.

 the whole family outside the Sacred Grove, where Joseph Smith prayed to ask which church was the true church. if you aren't familiar with the story, God and Jesus appeared to him in this grove of trees and said that none of them were true, and he had to translate the Book of Mormon and restore the Gospel. and I am so grateful he did that! otherwise, our family wouldn't be at this grove of trees!

 because Provo is pretty much Mormonville, USA, a lot of people noticed the boys' shirts and said something like "Go Cougars!" or "I've been to Provo" or "I have family down there!" or pretty much anything related to BYU. good choice, boys.

 unlike my brothers, I was not sporting any attire that screamed "I'm from Provo!" Dad convinced me that it was going to be cold, so he made me wear leggings instead of shorts. well, turns out he was completely wrong because it heated up really fast! but I was grateful for the leggings because the Sacred Grove is a popular place for mosquitoes. I already have several mosquito bites covering both my legs, and I didn't want to add to the collection! I hope Heavenly Father protected Joseph Smith from all the mosquitoes when he went in to pray! that was never mentioned in the story!

after the grove, we went to Joseph Smith's log cabin, barn, and some other house his family lived in. our missionary tour guide has a great fashion sense. someday, if I end up serving a mission, that will be me. but I will have to grow a foot. or two! (I am definitely considering the possibility of a mission when I am 19, but it all depends on the circumstances. it's not a definite decision yet, but I have a couple more years!)

 after we saw the log cabin, the barn, and the print shop where the first Book of Mormon was printed, we went to the Hill Cummorah Pageant. last year, for youth conference, I went to the Manti Pageant, and I liked it, but it was super long. this one was a lot shorter, and it focused mainly on Book of Mormon stories. I really enjoyed it. before the pageant, there were a lot of protesters outside, yelling at the top of their lungs. they stopped as soon as the pageant started, but as soon as it ended, they were up and at it again. we decided to make our escape and drive to Victor, New York to find our next hotel.

the next day, we drove from Victor to...........

 NIAGARA FALLS!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Wes's version of either Magnum or Blue Steel from Zoolander. Sometimes I regret letting him watch that movie with me, but it's fun to have someone who can at least quote half of it with me.

 now, Wes thinks he's a hand model.

this was one of my favorite parts of the trip. I have seen so many pictures of Niagara Falls, but it is sooooooo much more spectacular in real life. we did the "Maid of the Mist", where we got on a boat that went right under the mist of the falls! we got to wear these stylish blue ponchos, and we even entered Canada illegally! while I was on the boat, my phone vibrates and I get this text that says "Welcome to Canada! please turn off data in order to avoid charges" or something like that. it was quite funny. so now, I've been to the USA, Japan, the UK, and Canada! but then again, I've never set foot on Canadian soil, so I probably shouldn't count that.

 the mist up close!

 "take a picture of my arm hair!"- Justin. guess it didn't turn out the way he wanted!

 I won't even say anything anymore about Wesley's faces.

next, we turned in our blue ponchos and did the "Cave of the Winds". we got some really ugly sandals and some yellow ponchos. we walked in the caves right by the falls, and we got sooooooooo close. the spray felt sooooooo good too!

 the Family of Bananas.

we were literally getting a shower from the waterfalls. 

my brothers loved the sandals so much, they took them home as souvenirs. unfortunately, our time at Niagara Falls had to come to an end, and we got back in the rental car to drive towards Philadelphia, our next stop on our trip! we drove to the Whitmer Farm and took a tour of it, and saw the same missionaries we saw at Palmyra! my brothers enjoyed playing the computer games at the visitors center. 

we got one picture, and a bonus thumb in front of the lens! the first church meeting was held here, I think. I don't quite remember. pretty sad.

after our quick stop, we drove to Binghamton, New York to sleep for the night. we were not very impressed with the town, which looked like it had seen better days. my brothers were probably not the most courteous guests at the Holiday Inn there, because they enjoyed riding up and down the elevators and jumping out and scaring people. I spilled my lemon water all over myself. good job boys. 

well, I had a great trip, and I promise Philadelphia will be up pretty soon. I was at girls camp all week, so I couldn't get this up as soon as you probably wanted. just kidding. not that anyone even checks my blog anyways!