Pilgrimages

We love ice-cream and so we made our pilgrimage to Ben & Jerry's original factory in Northern Vermont.

Getting There

 We left a warm blue sky Connecticut with our hopes high and camp ground reserved. Just before pulling into camp at 9:30pm the rain started to come down hard. Upon arrival we opted to transform our little 2-door Honda Civic into a bed instead of putting up a tent on the already wet ground in the pouring rain. It was an interesting night.... Sharon says that she felt just like the Princess and the Pea, only the pea was a spare tire and the 100 mattresses was a skinny piece of foam. 

But I think Ira loved it. He is such a good traveling kid.

Fall Colors, local farms, and Applefest

Before visiting the factory we took some back roads and visited a small cheese shop, sooo good. The owner told us about a local 'Applefest' going on up the hill, to the right, and the third 'driveway' to the left. We  checked it out.

 They were making some Apple Cider. You can see the apple dicer in the background and the apple 'musher' or three garbage disposals mounted on a table

They poured the mush onto a press and squeezed the apple juice out for the cider.  They used the cider to make some amazing donuts and cider syrup.  We also got some local goat milk caramel sauce.  Yum.

The fall colors were great even though the peak was a week earlier and the storms during the week had brought a lot of the leaves down.

Some creative Grafiti out in the middle of nowhere VT. We thought it was funny though. 

Ben & Jerry's Factory

 Ben & Jerry's had a cow directing parking traffic, perfect.

The weather was a little brisk, but it's never too cold for ice-cream, right? The tour was pretty fun, the best part was the free samples at the end. The flavor of the day was Chocowlate Chip. Vanille Ice-cream with fudge bits shaped like cows, pretty tasty.

 Father and Son pose in sheer happiness.

Sharon, VT

We drove right by Sharon, VT on our way to Ben & Jerry's so on our way home we decided to stop by, not because Sharon shares it's name.

 It is the birth place of Joseph Smith, Jr. A man we believe to be called of God to be a prophet in these modern times; given authority to speak and reveal the will of God and to bring men closer to Christ.

 There is a nice visitors center, this monument, and a few old remnants of the houses his parents and grandparents lived in.

Manhattan Temple

We found a couple in the ward that has willing to teach us the ins and outs of a temple run in the city as well as do babysitting swaps with us, so with that we made our first trip down to the Manhattan Temple.

We learned where the good places to park are, including the garage we used which had this sign posted. We felt welcome despite the misspelled name.

The Temple was beautiful of course, but it was different because it didn't have the incredible landscaping and breathtaking/eye catching architecture as most other Temple's I've seen. It blends into the city well though. The church has definitely made good use of the real estate here as it is used for everything. The interior reminded me of 1920's city style. Efficient use of space in good taste would my summation of it.

It was a beautiful day and  Central Park is only a few blocks away so while we were babysitting all we had to do was go into the park and let the kids play. We'll have to get more creative as it gets cooler.

Kirtland, OH

We took a day trip up to Kirtland, OH to see some of the historic sites of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We enjoyed the company of our friends Gabe and his fiance, Alexia.

American Gothic?

We got a tour of the Kirtland Temple, which is now owned by the Community of Christ, formally the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was a good experience. While the general land scape was barren from winter, the weather was warming up and the tour group was small allowing us to see all three floors of the Temple. I admire how great the building was, but I couldn't help but recognize the similarities and big differences between this, the first temple built by the saints and later temples built. Not just architecturally, but functionally too.

We also spent some time in the reconstructed 'Historic Kirtland' owned and operated by the Church. It was fun to see, hear, and think of the events in the context and setting they happened. 

So, I've been thinking about something and wanted to pose a question. What is the relationship between spiritual places and spiritual experiences?

I was thinking about a conversation I had with one my Muslim friends, in which we were talking about sacred places. I think I had asked him about Mecca and the Dome of the Rock. In that conversation he mentioned that he didn't personally believe these places held any special 'cosmic force' that made them more spiritual than other places in the world and that going there wouldn't necessarily enhance his ability to be a better person. Being in Kirtland, I reflected on that conversation because I do believe that there are places set apart on earth where we can have spiritual experiences more easily than any other places. Temples are built for this purpose. They are set apart and dedicated to be a place for God. A place for his ordinances to be done. However, I also agree with my friend, in that there are places where spiritually significant events have happened, that don't necessarily ensure a personal enlightenment for those who make the pilgrimage.  However, while pondering this I thought, it is still possible that a person, while at a historical site and in the right state of mind can have extremely powerful experiences, in fact testimony building and faith promoting experiences. So, Kirtland is a mixed bag that brought all these thoughts to the surface. It is where the first temple in the latter days was built and dedicated to the Lord. It was abandoned/sold and is no longer used the way it was intended, nor is it set up to do the ordinances that we now perform in temples, but it is one of these historical sites where great spiritual experiences and manifestations happened before and after the saints inhabited it.

Again the question, What is the relationship between spiritual places and spiritual experiences? In a slightly different wording, what are the differences and/or similarities between having a spiritual experience

1. Worshiping in a sacred and holy place, like the Temple

2. Visiting a historic site like Jeruselum, The Sacred Grove, Kirtland

3. Personal study or prayerful inquiries about truth, like the events that happened at the aforementioned places. 

Leave a comment and start a discussion if you'd like. 

You can see more pictures on the album I created.