Sunday came with a chance to take a break from all the running around. We got to sleep in a bit, and take our time to get ready for 11:00 church with my sister and brother-in-law.
This was our "plan B". Our "plan A" had been to drive to Palmyra, NY on Saturday and spend all Sunday going to church, and to church history sights (Sacred Grove where Joseph Smith had his First Vision, and The Cumorah Hill, where the Brass Plates were found). I still really wish we had stuck to "plan A," but the drive was 6 hours each way...and it felt really strange to drive 12 hours round trip for one day. We will get to Palmyra on another trip...soon, hopefully!
As consolation, we got to go to church in NEW YORK CITY! We love going to church in other places, and seeing what the congregations are like in other parts of the world. The gospel of Jesus Christ, according to The Mormon Church (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the official name of the Mormon Church) is the same everywhere in the world, no matter which city you attend church in...but the culture of the congregations can be vastly different! We love people and cultures and learning, so this is a really fun part of traveling for us. And the church building! In NYC...I've never seen anything like it!
This is a NYC Church Meetinghouse
It's so funny, because it looks just like a regular meetinghouse from the inside and out, except it has an elevator. The typical church stuff is spread out onto 5 floors: a parking garage and church history library make up level 1; a chapel and a few classrooms make up level 2; more classrooms around the outside on level 3 (the chapel is two levels), and levels 4 and 5 are the gymnasium and classrooms around the outside (the gym takes two levels as well)
The people were very nice!
After my sister's ward, there was a young singles' ward, and Brent just happened to bump into a young adult from our Oregon home ward, who is now attending Columbia University in NYC. It was quite a surprise for the young man to see Brent from Oregon at church in NYC!
the parking garage
After church and a nice meal, we took the subway down to the Chelsea Neighborhood at dusk to go take a walk along the High Line. The High Line is one of the newest parks in NYC, in a very newly fashionable part of town. It is a walking path which was upcycled out of one of the City's first train lines. The line was built above the ground, before the subway...and after the subway was built, it was no longer in use. The citizens worked together to transform it into a park.
Top left: The sign describing the Highline, next picture going clockwise: a view of the Meat Packing District, which is a neighborhood full of meat stores of yesteryear...which are now being transformed into clubs and restaurants where the new rich like to hang out. All of this is very over my head, but my sister tried her best to explain it to me! Next picture going clockwise: a viewing area with stadium seating and windows to watch the traffic below? Very interesting... Top right: an all-glass hotel on the High Line. Bottom right: a car storage garage. We stopped and were gawking apparently, because the locals were laughing at us. Well...I guess the taking the picture part helped. The next picture clockwise: fancy schmancy shoes! at one of the many designer boutique windows we passed. Next picture clockwise: me on one of the streets of nearby Greenwich Village. Bottom Left: Milo passed out in the Moby wrap. I had been wearing him forward facing so he could see but then there is no support for his head when he fell asleep.
A family picture on the High Line
{I love Milo's face in this picture!}
Brent in Greenwich Village, at night. LOVE the road paving.
1 comments:
Love the family portrait on High Line, where Milo seems enraptured with the lights overhead!