Krystal's Korner

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Day 11

Gettysburg

Today was a traveling day, left Washington DC early this morning to drive to Gettysburg. Getting off the bus today I missed the last step and ALMOST had a tragic accident, naturally I catch up with Brook, as Im telling her, she starts laughing at me then trips walking up the stairs haha. We make a great pair, Love that girl!

The Day was spent walking through the museum, touring all the monuments (there are tons!!) and then went to the graveyard to look at the names of the people who died during the civil war. I have really gained a new appreciation and understanding of the word "freedom".

Veiw of the battlefield

Today was our last day for the history part of the tour, next I will be going to Religion sights. Im really excited to see all of these sights, but I am most excited to go to the sacred grove (The place where Joseph Smith saw Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father)

The wonderful Book and I

These are some pictures that I meant to put up yesterday from DC but was not able to.. think of them as a bonus :)

World War Two memorial

Friday, August 10, 2012

Nine and Ten

Mount Vernon, this is George Washingtons' house! This places was Huge! I got to go inside his house and walk arounf the grounds. This man is such an example to me, looking at his life and all that he accomplished.. WOW! One thing that I learned about about him that I didnt know before, was that at the end of George Washington's life he had all of his depts paied off and was able to free all of his slaves.

The White House! We were given three hours to see everything in the Washinton mall! We were practically running to see everything! So many places.. so little time!!!

The GROUP!!!

DC Temple! A great way to end the day, we didnt get to go inside but we did get to go to the visiters center to here our teachers share their testimonies of Christ and their love for their wives. I am so blessed to be on this trip!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Seven and eight

Day in NEW YORK!!! Best day ever!! Ellis Island, Statue of liberty, Frick Museum, Times square and..... Wicked on Broadway!!!! Such a good day, My favorite so far, New York is so different from Phoenix OR! I loved the energy and commotion. At the end of the day we went to see Wicked, I love that play!! I had seen it once before with my grandparents in AZ, so I was excited to see it again. A Great day!!

Waiting for Wicked to start

Day eight! Day in Philadelphia! We the people museum, liberty bell, Philly Cheese steak sandwitches and Edgar Allen Poes house.

Brookie and I :)

Monday, August 6, 2012

Day Six

We made it to New York City!! We spent some time learning about Central Park, then we were given time to walk aroundtime to walk around and enjoy the beautiful day, and the park. We also got to to the the museum of natural history, which is a huge museum where the movie "Night at the Museum" was filmed.

Central Park

The Museum, and cool elephant :)

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Day Five

Salem Witch Trials

Brook (my roommate) and I have a problem, Both of us had early morning seminary in high school, So we think we are really good at getting ready in the morning really fast. HA! Which means that we can sleep in as long as possible.. BAD IDEA! Evey single morning we have barely made it in time for the bus. This morning... same thing, although we are making memories and improving :)

Today we studied the Salem Witch Trials, we went to the museum and talked about why and how something like that could happen. The question was how could good people do bad things? When you look for the bad in a situation, you will find it. That statement can go both ways, when you look for the good, you will find it as well. In D&C 111 it tells us how Joseph Smith went to Salem to search for treasure. Originally Joseph thought this meant Gold or silver, because finding such things was big at the time. Joseph didnt find the kind of treasure he was looking for, the treasure that he found was the people living there. These people were the descendants from the Salem witch trials, who were likely struggling with knowing their ancestors were a part of the Salem witch trials. Joseph found these people and they were taught about the miracle of the atonement. There is the good!!

Brook and I :)

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Day Four

Transcendentalist Writers

Today we learn all about transcendentalist writes like margaret Fuller, Ralph Emerson and Henry Thoreau. As part of this trip we each get to give four different presentations, and I gave one of mine today on Thoreau. At first I was feeling like these presentations were nothing but stress and something to endure, but actually I have really enjoyed doing them because I have learned soOO much more than I would have without them. Thoreau is famouse for his book, Waldon which is based off his learnings and experiences of living by himself at Waldon Pond for two years. He was isolated from society, and lived simply with things he would need to survive and nothing more. He believes that everyone needs to live on their own to be better in tune with their spirituality and understanding of self reliance. We discussed how it is not practical for everyone to stop what they are doing and spend two years by themselves. One, space and two important responsibilities such as families. The question to ponder, is how to achieve what Thoreau's idea while still being practical.

Thoreau's house before Waldon Pond

Sleepy Hollow Cementery

Henry Thoreau 's grave

Waldon Pond now-a-days

Friday, August 3, 2012

Day Three

Beginning of the freedom trail

Today we did the freedom walk in Boston and then we visited North bridge, Lots of historical sights and things to learn about. Its so cool that I have an opportunity to be in this tour, I am learning a lot and making life long friends. I am just now realizing that three weeks is a long time, but it is already speeding by. I love learning about the founding fathers of this country and the different trials that they went through, I am so grateful towards them!