Fillmore Family: June 2007

These are some pictures from a bird sanctuary. Injured birds are brought in. If possible, they rehabilitate the birds and release them. If that's not possible, they keep them. The pictures are of these birds. It was a beautiful spot.

The rock formation for which the resort - Split Rock - is named.

Our digs - lots of stairs, in and out.

This was the Lackawanna Coal Mine just outside of Scranton. You can see the car we rode down into the mine in - 1600'. Also our guide. Coal mine was hard, dirty work and very dangerous. My mother's father was a coal worker in eastern Utah until the early 30's. I kept thinking about him and that he had to do this kind of work.

We've seen a lot of deer.

These are pictures of the Steamtown Museum - also in Scranton. The trains were incredible. The part of the town we saw wasn't.

On Friday we went to the Delaware Water Gap. The name refers to a pass in the mountains that the Delaware River goes through. It also refers to a recreational area and to a town. We saw all three. The town is tiny. We went to a bakery and had shoo-fly pie. It has a mildly molasses taste with a crumbly top like a struesel. We also rode on this little trolley that took us around the area. We saw the general store, the elementary school, the 1920's era movie theatre, crossed the Appalacian Trail, saw a mountain that was supposed to have an indian profile near the top (couldn't see it), and other very local interests. But we got a kick out of it.

While in the water gap, we visited Falls. It's actually a group of about 7 falls. We didn't have time to visit all of them, but we did get to see the main falls. They were spectacular. They had built a path with stairs and railings to make it easier to get around.

Friday night we went into NYC to see Betsy and Larry at their place. The house is 12' wide inside and 56' deep. It's 4 stories high. Bottom floor is a long narrow kitchen (like Seth's on steroid's) and dining room. The next floor is the living room - in two parts. The 3rd floor is a bathroom and Betsy & Larry's bedroom. The 4th floor is Hannah room, a small bath, and a guest/TV room.

Saturday, we tried to go to Coney Island. It's no longer an island - it's now a district of the city. When we got there, there was a Mermaid parade and the parking was non-existent. So we looked and continued. We had lunch in Brooklyn at a place called Junior's that had the best cheesecake I've ever had.

That night Brian and Pam and kids came into town for dinner. Dinner was lobster and beef tenderloin and very tasty. It started at 8 pm and ended at midnight. Definitely not the time schedule we are on!!!

Sunday, we went to church at the Union Square ward. The only clue that this was a church was a sign on the outside of a rather bleak looking building. It was much nicer inside. We had to go up to the 4th floor. It was a small chapel but nice and it was a very nice meeting. The choir was incredible. I don't think I have EVER heard a better choir - outside of the TAB.

We headed back early that afternoon. NYC is interesting, but it make LA traffic look peaceful.

We visited a town called Jim Thorpe - named after a famous athlete who never visited there. His widow and the town came to an agreement to rename the town (formerly Maunch Chunk) after him and have him buried there. His name would remain in the public eye and the town would benefit in regards to tourism.

While there we visited the Asa Packard Mansion. He was the founder of the railroad that went through the town. It was pretty much in it's original condition and very interesting.

We also visited the Old Jail. "Molly MaGuires" (activists for the coal workers) were accused of crimes, committed and hung here. It was a jail typical of the 1800's and early 1900's and pretty grim. It was in use until 1995! Each cell had windows 6" high and 32" wide. One guy saved soap and shampoo and lost a lot of weight. One day (at noon) he greased himself up and slid out the window. A lady across the street saw it happening and called the warden to tell him what was happening. The warden didn't beieve her! After multiple calls, he decided to check and found out that a prisoner really was missing. The found the man a few hours later, at home - hiding under his own bed. Fascinating spot.

Today, we also went to a butterfly place and fed butterflies. We got this really cool wall handing that is a shadow box with real butterflies (spectacular) that is glass on 2 sides so that you can see both sides ont the wings. They are very different on the opposite side.

You can see Jim being a VERY good sport as he helped demonstrate butterfly anatomy. He was very good natured about it.

Trevor's big day!!

Here are a few pictures from our celebration of Trevor's birthday! I can't believe he is 3!

Recent pics of all the kids

Here is a picture of each of our kids. They are growing up so fast! Enjoy!

Restoration Site

Foundation of Joseph & Emma's home.

Jim and Dale Lane

Sister Peggy Lane - she is a lot easier going that she looks in this picture!

Guess who at the Restoration Monument comemorating the restoration of Aaronic Priesthood. When we went to church in the little town of Tunkhannock, we attended a branch - well maybe it was a "twig". We met the Lane's who told us how close we were to that site and invited us to lunch after church. They ended up going with us to the site. We'd never have found it without them!

We were surprised to find out that this spot is only a few feet from Joseph and Emma's first home. You can see the foundation still. The Hale's home (Emma's parents) were only a short distance down the road. The actual resortation site is on the other side of some railroad tracks which were fenced off and fairly inaccessible.