We were all up on time because Pam had something urgent to accomplish early and the girls wanted to be there too. We went first to the visitor’s center. All of the shows in Nauvoo are free, but the tickets are first come first served, so we wanted to be there as soon as they opened in the morning. After picking up tickets, we went to a dramatized retelling of some of the stories associated with the Mormons leaving Nauvoo called “The Trail of Hope.” It was poignant as well as informative.
Next, we divided up to attend separate things. Mica and Delia went to see a show called “Just Plain Anna Amanda.” I have no idea what it was about, but Mica thought it was great and of course Delia couldn’t help but be enraptured. That girl has drama oozing out her pores. Her new dream is to come back next year to be one of the volunteer performers in the Nauvoo Pageant. They also got to take a wagon ride around town. The wagon rides, carriage rides, and oxen rides were all canceled yesterday because of the heat, which is somewhat validating that it wasn’t just me being a wimp about how hot it was. I was told that it was the only day all year that they’d had to cancel those rides.
Meanwhile, Pam and I got to go through the Nauvoo Temple, which has been rebuilt using the same pattern from the original building and, as much as possible, materials constructed using the same processes as those available at the time the original building was built. You can see minor imperfections and bubbles in the glass of the windows, for example. One of our dear friends from Aloha works there now, and he took us on a tour of the whole building, which was great.
We met up with the kids for lunch and then had a quick nap. Too much energy expended the day before, added to too many late nights already, meant we really needed it. We were back downtown by 3:00 for another show called “High Hopes and Riverboats.” It was a romantic comedy/musical set in old Nauvoo. It was a lot of fun, and, as expected, Delia gushed about it for the rest of the day, throwing out exact quotes of all her favorite parts. When you see her next, ask her to tell you the jackknife in the pocket quote. It’s very entertaining.
We also ran into some friends from my Ricks and OSU days. What a small world.
After the show, we drove the half hour to Carthage, IL, to tour the original county jail from the 1840’s. For those who don’t know, that was the location where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were shot and killed by a mob.
When we got back to Nauvoo, Delia wanted to go see the pageant performance again. I was shocked. Just kidding. Pam acquiesced and took her, while Mica and I stayed at the B&B and started getting things ready for the early departure tomorrow, where it’s on the road again…
No comments:
Post a Comment