New Apt

We finally arrived in our new apt and got to work setting it up. It was the hottest week of the year (I hope!) with temperatures hitting 120 degrees (with humidity factored in), or about 48 degrees celcius. It was insane. The place is pretty much setup now and looks great. We can't wait until y'all come to visit.

DC Day 2

We are so grateful for everyone that went out of their way to make our trip possible. While in DC we stayed with my Aunt Mere and Uncle Phil who live in northern virginia. While with them at church on Sunday we bumped into some people who knew one of Sarah's sisters from France! What a small world!

DC

We did a whole lot in a short time frame while in DC. We walked a ton, sitting in the gallery at the House of Representatives in Congress, and then walking down the mall to the Lincoln Memorial, stopping at some spots on the way, including the incredible Air and Space museum.

I was pretty tired and sick of walking, especially given the condition of my big toe (see my blog). I let Sarah wander the museum for 20 minutes while I had a power nap.

Sarah at the White House.
Sarah in front of the Canadian Embassy.

Me on Pennsylvania Ave in front of the Capital building.

Now I'm at the other of the mall, standing where Martin Luther King Jr. stood as he gave his "I have a dream speech."

A bug's eye view perspective of the library of congress building. This really is a work of art.

Philly

On the way south from NYC we stopped in Philadelphia for lunch and a brief walking tour of major historical sites. Here is a brief sample of what we saw and did:

the revolutionary army signing up some child soldiers

The liberty bell in front of it's original home, Independence Hall. This is where the declaration of independence was signed many years ago.

Of course I introduced Sarah to her first Philly Cheese Steak.

Before arriving at my aunt Mere's house in Virginia, we stopped in Kensington, Maryland at the DC Temple. We didn't go through a session, but enjoyed touring the visiting center. It was especially fun to meet Sister Ann Trehet (left), a missionary from France who recognized that Sarah is a Sacuto and said that she is friends with Sarah's sister Tiare. Sarah's mom Tiare used to teach her in Young Women's! What a small world. We also watched the Joseph Smith movie in their beautiful theater, and had the place to ourselves. We were glad the missionariers didn't do their intro from the mic at the bottom of the theater but came and spoke personally to us.

NYC day #3

We spent a few wonderful hours at the Manhattan Temple on 65th street. This is one of my favorite places in the world, let alone the city. This is where I stood 5 feet from the prophet. This is where I was baptized, first past the sacrament, received the aaronic priesthood. This is where I proposed to my wife. I should mention that we didn't take this photo, I pulled it off a website of LDS artists. This was done by James Ransom, a member of my former ward in NY.

After the Temple we spent a few hours at the Cloisters, the medieval art museum in Washington Heights. It's a really special place, and I'm glad I was able to take Sarah there.

Even good things have to come to an end. Here's a picture of us saying goodbye to dad before heading back to Bronxville where we stayed with my Aunt Bonnie and her family. The next we drove back south to DC.

NYC day #2

We braved the heat and the tourists (I guess were tourists too, eh?) and took the ferry out to Libery Island. We didn't get off the boat since you can't walk up past the base anymore anyway, but we did get off at the next stop, which was Ellis Island.

This is where most of the immigrants coming to the US went from 1880-1930. Now it's the US Immigration Museum and a very impressive place. I don't think any of my personal ancestors came through here, but I know the LDS Church has done a lot to preserve the immigration records so that people can do increasingly extensive geneology.

One of the many highlights of the trip was of course the Yankee game dad took us to. There really isn't anything quite like sitting in the upper deck at yankee stadium and watching the sun set over the course of the hours as the Yanks beat their opponents. The victim this night were the Chicago White Sox. Check out my blog at www.dklinejones.blogspot for a couple video clips from the game. I should mention that this was the 21st summer in a row that my dad and I have gone to a game together at Yankee Stadium.

NYC Day 1

The first time Sarah and I were at Grand Central Station together was New Years Eve 2005-2006. It hardly seems like much time has passed, but when we think about all the wonderful (and stressful) things we've been through together, it blows my mind and increases my heart rate!

We were very inspired by our tour of the United Nations and particularly enjoyed this mosaic by Normal Rockwell. In fact, we have a poster of it hanging in our living room now. I should give credit to my friend Philippe, who did this same thing a year or so ago.

This is our tour guide speaking to us from the main chambers of the General Assembly. Our guide was part Israli and part Argentinian, a very interesting mix.

That evening my dad took us out to dinner in the east village where we saw Ari Hest perform. For those of you who don't know, Ari went to the same high school as me. While he was a couple grades older, we did perform at the same concert together, and I clearly remember being impressed by him. Now he's on Columbia records and has 3 or 4 fantastic records out. He is a really impressive singer and guitarist, and we loved his show. You should check out his website: www.arihest.com.

Saying goodbye to friends

During our last couple days in Gatineau we tried to see as many of our friends as we could so that we could say goodbye. The top picture is of our friend Kim, her son and his friend, in front of the chinese restaurant we went to. The second pic is Sarah with Rob and Mark, two friends who helped us load the truck. That afternoon we celebrated with a pool party and potluck at Mark and Rosalie's house. It was great! After church on Sunday we stopped by to see Georges and Fanny, their little one Johannie, and their friend Keyana (in the above picture with Georges, Johannie and us). We'll miss all these great friends!