The Drive Back Home

After 16 months in the wonderful New York New York South Mission it was time to return home. We loaded our Honda Odyssey with more than we brought, gave away all our food, many household items, donated clothing, cleaned our apartment, checked out, said good-bye to our neighbors and the missionaries and drove away. We took with us more than a van load. Our hearts and memories are full of love and mission experiences that will last through the eternities.

There's nothing like a senior couple mission!

Good-bye to the Mission

On May 5, 2009, we left our tiny 3-room pad in the Mid-Island Apartments in Bay Shore and headed west 2,225 miles to Highland, Utah on Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 pm.

We set our GPS, a friend we named "Myrtle," for home. Things were going well for about an hour as she directed us over six or seven freeways. Then we were abruptly ordered to exit the freeway and ended up stuck in Manhattan's rush-hour traffic on Lafayette Street in the middle of China Town!


Seems that the shortest route west is through the center of China Town, then to New Jersey through the 8,558-foot Holland Tunnel. Well, "Myrtle" knew what she was doing, even if the city planners didn't.


There's not much to capture in a picture over 455 miles of I-80 in Nebraska except the dramatic skies. We traveled 12 hours one day and gratefully zoomed through 2 1/2 states.


Multi-colored mountains are a dead give-away that we're getting close to home.


Winding roads, reservoirs, snow-capped mountains and dotted farms must mean we're nearing Park City - familiar landmarks close to home.


This picture has two peaks. One is the majestic snow-capped mountain peak. The other is the imposing peak of the Draper Temple spire nestled in the foothills 20 minutes from our home.


This is a sight we truly love and dearly missed - the majesty and refuge of the mountains that literally surround us in our lovely mountain valley.



Home was a sweet sight
We pulled into our driveway on Friday, May 8 at 5:00 pm. There were yellow balloons tied all around the yard. Tears of joy filled my eyes. The flowers and trees were beautiful, bright and welcoming. When the children and grand children came over the next two days it became complete.

The Lord has a way of preparing us for what we need to do...when we need to do it. It was right to be home again.