Sharon (actually S. Royalton), VT

Today, Sunday, we spent most of the day at the birthplace of the Prophet Joseph Smith. First we attended church and really enjoyed worshipping with the good Saints in the Sharon area, although most of the people in attendance were visitors. One of the missionary brethren took our pictures in the visitor center and by the momument (38 1/2 feet high, one foot for every year Joseph lived). We spent a couple of hours just walking on the trail around the site (pictures at home) and decided we'd love serving a mission here. There are five couples here in the summer, three in the winter. You are really out in the country (15 miles from a grocery store), but the beauty is extraordinary.

Maine, Freeport, L.L. Bean

We ended our tour of Maine with a day in Freeport, the home of L.L. Bean, our favorite outdoor clothing catalog store. Notice the pictures from Sharon, VT above and our matching L.L. Bean shirts. We know you kids will think that is so adorable (translation: you will retch). We couldn't carry all we bought; so we shipped two bedspreads and pillow cases. A fun day and really not too expensive.

Phippsburg, "Lizzie Bright & the Buckmeister Boy"

If you haven't read "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary Schmidt you should. Phippsburg is the town it takes place in. The Church is where the minister's boy faced down the town's powerful to try to save the Blacks on Malaga Island from being driven off. I took a picture of the island, the lobster traps and the bouys marking the lobster traps off Malaga Island. We talked to the pastor of the Chruch, a really nice guy, and he said he hasn't read the book, but gets people coming by every once and a while. All in all, Phippsburg is a typical, cute, very small village (no real center of town) and fun to visit. We also liked the light house out on the bay.

Maine July 2008

We started our New England holiday in Maine. One of our favorite places was Ogunquit with a beautiful mile long trail along the Atlantic shore. The bridge I am on is the only pedestrian drawbridge in the world (so they say). Note Linda standing in the Atlantic--it was hard to get her in the water! Weather was perfect, not many other people, and we were just overcome with the beauty of the land and the ocean.