I went to Canada today!

The weather last night kept getting colder and colder. On the way home from the Peter Whitmer farm, the rain was turning to sleet and the power was out in many neighborhoods. This morning we got up early to cold, icy winds and snow flurries. But we got loaded up and left on time to go to church back in Palmyra. We only went to Sacrament meeting, in hopes that we would still have time to visit the Sacred Grove. (Remember? It was closed the day before because of high winds.)

Sacrament meeting was nice. It's a large, beautiful chapel, with a sizable congregation. And today's Mother's Day program was nice -- a handful of primary kids sang the obligatory song, and the young men handed out a gift booklet and chocolate to the moms. Then we went and changed in the bathroom and headed down the street to the Sacred Grove. It was open, and we really enjoyed strolling through it. They have paths that branch out throughout the grove. We enjoyed a nice, long walk, contemplating the First Vision that took place there, wondering if some of the trees were old enough to have been witnesses. What a beautiful place.

We would have liked to stay even longer, but it really was cold (upper 30s) and still breezy, so we headed back to the car and continued our road trip.

Since the highway from Palmyra/Rochester to Kirtland/Mentor, Ohio passes not very far from Niagara Falls, we decided to take a detour. But before we could look for the falls, we had to find some lunch. We took an exit near Buffalo, and drove through a residential neighborhood until we found our perfect lunch spot -- another Wegman's supermarket. This place is amazing! In fact, it was hard to make up our mind from among the salad bar, sushi, pizza, asian, indian, soup, sandwiches. In fact, since it's mother's day, they were also having omelets and waffles for brunch. I made a large salad (including chicken, bacon, and eggs) and surprisingly, ate it all. We bought too much, I think, but it was still cheaper than a restaurant, and better than fast food. The other fun part is the cafe seating they had upstairs. We got to relax and eat our lunch, while people watching, guessing who was going to take what, watching old men snitch food from the chinese food bar, or watching the sushi chef make sushi.

Then we finished the trip to Niagara. Crossing the border to get into Canada took a long time because of the lines at the border crossing. We followed our GPS, but it took us to downtown Niagara Falls, not the falls themselves. So then we had to use our own smarts and follow signs! We found the falls alright, but not any parking under $10. We only wanted to be there 15 minutes, and didn't want to spend that much time and money. So I let Mary out of the car and she took pictures while I drove and around and came back to find her. What a tourist spot! A block away from the falls, it was like a little Las Vegas. So then we headed back to the U.S. side. That was easy and much quicker.

As we drove along the New York thruway (Interstate 90), we were impressed by the Service Centers that are more than rest stops, with gas station, restaurant, mini-mall, all without having to leave the freeway and paying another toll.

While driving we listened to the Mormon Channel (radio.lds.org) podcast about Kirtland. Actually, Mary was driving and I slept through most of it. But Mary told me all about it.

We're staying in Mentor, OH tonight. Tomorrow will be a full day in Kirtland, about 3 miles away. Not sure, but may change hotels tomorrow. This Comfort Inn is not nearly as nice as the other 2 we've stayed in so far, but costs just as much. For this quality, we're thinking we should stay in a Motel 6 with kitchenette for less than 1/2 the price.

But, again, we've got to get some sleep tonight.