Providence/Boston/Albany/Syracuse/Palmyra/Ithaca Weekend Trip

When Will found out that he was accepted and received a scholarship to Syracuse University, we decided that a road trip was in order so that we could check SU out. While at Will's parents' house for the Fourth of July, we discovered that one weekend that worked out for us was a weekend of the Hill Cumorah Pageant. Will's dad, Bill, served his mission in the Eastern States and participated in the pageant, but neither Will nor his mom, Marie, had seen the pageant. So, we decided to plan our trip for that weekend and that Marie would come with us.

We had planned to depart on a Thursday, stay Thursday night at Bill and Marie's and then drive to Syracuse Friday morning. But, the Tuesday before we were to leave, Will received notification that he had been accepted to Brown. So, we quickly called Brown and changed our travel plans.

(A little tangent - it was a really crazy week for us because Will had lasik eye surgery on Tuesday. I think he ended up working a day and half and I worked one day that week. It was a little tricky because he hadn't told anyone at his job yet that he was thinking about leaving to go to school.)

Here is the summary of our jam-packed weekend (most of the pictures are going to have to come in subsequent posts or I'm going to have to figure out a slide show or something because there are a lot):

Wednesday

• After work, drove from Falls Church to New Hope, PA (188 miles, 3.5 hours) - went to bed late at the Bill and Marie Bed and Breakfast
  

Thursday

• Woke up at 3:45 to leave New Hope at 4:30 am to drive to Providence, RI (251 miles, 4.5 hours)
• Toured Brown University, Will met with professors and grad students in the CS Department
  

• Drove to Boston, MA, (52 miles, 1 hour) strolled through Faneuil Hall Market, ate at Legal Seafood, and looked at the boats

• Received a speeding ticket 6 miles from our hotel in...
  
• ...Albany, NY (169 miles, 3 hours)where we slept well but not nearly long enough

Friday

• Drove from Albany, NY to Syracuse, NY (146 miles, 2.5 hours)where we toured campus. Highlights included the Computer Science Department labyrinth and Carrier Dome
  

• Drove from Syracuse, NY to Palmyra, NY (69 miles, 1 hour)
• Attended the Hill Cumorah Pageant

Saturday

• Toured the Joseph Smith home and Sacred Grove
• Did a session at the Palmyra New York Temple

• Visited the Grandin Bookstore and downtown Palmyra as well as the Whitmer Farm and home
  
• Drove from Palmyra, NY to Ithaca, NY (78 miles, 2 hours) where we drove around Cornell University in the rain (Will wasn't considering going to school there, but at that point we were having university campus withdrawal)

• Drove from Ithaca, NY to New Hope, PA (219 miles, 4 hours) where we slept for a few hours

Sunday

• Drove from New Hope, PA to Falls Church, VA (188 miles, 3.5 hours) in time to teach primary

Just in case you're counting, we were in nine states (VA, MD, DE, PA, NJ, NY, CT, RI, MA) and drove 1,356 miles (25 hours) in 3 1/2 days. And, partially because Will had just had eye surgery, but mostly because I'm stubborn, I drove the entire way.