TanFamRoadTrip2016: Day 8

Day 8/July 10th
232 miles in New York

Day 8 of our trip was a Sunday. We had to get up and moving a little earlier than usual, to be checked out of our hotel and loaded up in time for church. We attended 9 a.m. sacrament meeting at the Pittsford Ward in the Palmyra Stake. After the meeting we said goodbye to James and Ann, since our travels were taking us in different directions from that point.

We were hoping to see more of the church historical sites in the area, but they were all closed for the morning.  We were able to go back to the Hill Cumorah and actually hike up the hill. It was a nice pretty walk through the trees. It was a little bit drizzly and we were lacking umbrellas, so the kids wrapped up in the beach towels.

At the top of the hill there is a nice monument, with a statue of the Angel Moroni.

It was really special to be able to witness these places for ourselves.

Then it was time for more driving. We drove across New York state, arriving in Albany (the capital city) by 3:15. Since we arrived a little earlier then we had planned, we searched online for something to do. We decided to go to the New York State Museum.

We didn't have a lot of time before the museum closed, so the children voted first to ride the carousel on the 4th floor. It was an actual full-size carousel, originally made in 1915, now restored to its full-original glory. It was a fun ride.

Adam and I opted to ride on Neptune's Chariot.

 Then we walked through some of the exhibits: Adirondack Wilderness, the Bird Hall, and Minerals of New York. 

It was fun to pose by a replica of the Empire State Building, since we knew we would only see it in the distance in the New York City skyline.

They also had a World Trade Center exhibit, with artifacts from Ground Zero.

The museum ended up being a good stopping place, not on our original itinerary. Since it was a Sunday, parking and traffic were easy, and the museum was nearly empty. We would have liked to spend more time there, but the museum was closing. 

That night we stayed in a nice hotel in Albany. This pretty meteorite was in the lobby. 

We ate leftover Chinese food and pizza for dinner. Anwyn was still not feeling well (poor girl, she was a trooper and never complained) so she rested while I took the other children to the pool to swim and burn off a little steam.