The Relaxing 2014 Vacation: Returning Home

Our return trip home pretty much took all day, so I’m writing it today instead.  The morning began with an opportunity to celebrate Grace’s birthday.  We gave her the present we had purchased a couple of days earlier and she was very happy to receive it (as can be seen from the accompanying picture).  After breakfast, we prepared to start on our way home.  We couldn’t leave without getting pictures of all the cousins together.  They took a couple of serious pictures and then a couple of crazy pictures.  Can you guess which type this is?

 

After leaving Joanna’s house, we drove back to the Salt Lake City cemetery.  Back in 2011 and the day before, I had looked for the headstone of Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve and not been able to find it.  He was someone I really respected while he was a member of the quorum and I wanted to pay my respects at his gravesite.  I had followed the map Joanna and Chad had made, but the gravesite wasn’t in the area indicated by the map.  We had looked in that area and in the surrounding vicinity, but had not found it.  I had asked Chad the night before about our problem.  He told me the headstone was a little difficult to find, but gave me a couple of clues of other places I might look.  Luckily those clues helped me and we were finally able to find the gravesite.

 

From there, we drove to places where I had lived in Utah before my family moved to Wyoming.  It was interesting for me to see these areas now.  In certain cases, there wasn’t much change, but in others there were a lot of differences.  I forgot to take pictures.  Maybe I didn’t because of the flood of memories that came back to me as I looked at those houses.  From there, we drove toward Provo.  We wanted to see the progress of the Provo City Center Temple before we got on the freeway to head for home in earnest.  I also wanted to visit my brother Jay on the way toward the temple, but we couldn’t get ahold of him on his phone and I didn’t know the directions.  Unfortunately, we were not able to visit him.  As for the temple, during our 2011 visit, as we drove toward BYU for an opportunity to see the football game vs Utah State that year, we drove past the Provo Tabernacle.  It had been gutted in a fire about a week before Christmas in 2010.  Although I had no emotional ties to the building, it was still pretty heartbreaking to see the venerable old building in such ruins as we drove past.

 

Now, the feeling was completely different; from sadness to wonder.  To see the progress that has been made as the former tabernacle is now being converted into a temple was quite remarkable.  A statue of Moroni has been placed atop the new center spire.  At one point during the construction, the outer walls of the tabernacle had been raised on metal stilts in order for work to be completed on the basement and foundation.  Now the façade has been lowered and work is moving in earnest on the outer and inner portions of the temple.  Scaffolding covers the temple all the way around the building.  It looks as though one of the reasons is for the workers to be able to clean the smoke and fire scorch marks off the façade to prepare the building for its new use.  Jennifer wanted to have her picture taken next to the artist’s rendition of the completed temple structure.  After finishing our walk to see how the building was coming along, I drove to the south side of the temple and took a picture of the underground parking structure and the above ground fountains.  I know the temple is scheduled for completion some time in 2015.  I just don’t know what the time frame is at the moment.  If the open house is scheduled at a time when we could possibly make the trip up to Utah next year, I’d seriously consider it.

 

From there it was back on to the I-15 freeway and off toward home.  As it came time for dinner, we remembered the Stake n’ Shake at the South Point casino in Las Vegas.  We are still waiting for the grand opening of the one in our area.  My understanding was that the restaurant would be completed in mid-July, but I keep hearing conflicting time frames.  While we were waiting in line to be seated, I began noticing people who looked as if they had spent time at a comic book convention (there were three people—two guys and a girl in line very close to use who were having a conversation about different Marvel and DC characters).  I looked up the South Point’s website today and found that there indeed is a convention going on there.  I guess it started yesterday and runs through Sunday.  If not for the probable cover charge to get in even at the later hour and the fact that it would probably near to ending for the day, I might have been interested visiting the site.   Oh, well.  My inner geek had to be content with eating.  We enjoyed our food (as usual) and made the remainder of our trip home in descent time.  A very successful, relaxing vacation!  Just what was needed to help recharge batteries and get us ready for the months ahead.  I am very grateful to Mom and Dad and the Stowell’s for letting us stay with them and am grateful for those we were able to visit (and bummed about those we missed).  Until next year … J