Visiting Beautiful Nauvoo – Part 2 of 4

Late Friday afternoon Meili and I arrived in Nauvoo. We met up with dad and Bonnie in their home on Parley Street. What a unique opportunity to live right in the center of such important, historic sites. I felt immediately at home, though back in time. Bonnie fed us a scrumptious meal right away. (We were starving, and it was so nice to not be in charge of the trip anymore.) After dinner, we went straight over to the pageant.

As expected, the pageant was a moving story of faith, tragedy, and hope, very well acted. It was so worth seeing, especially when they bathe the temple in light. The stage is perfectly positioned so that in that moment, in the darkness, you look up the hill and see the beautiful sight. Quite a spectacle. I wish I could go every year.

Dad got us up early the next morning for a special pageant event on the Trail of Hope. This section of Parley Street honors the memory of the exodus from Nauvoo with signs bearing quotes from those who left their beautiful city. At any time, you can walk down the street toward the river and read these signs. This particular morning, actors from the pageant lined the street and, in character, told experiences of real saints who left their homes, walked this trail, then crossed the cold river as they began their long journey west.

Dad and Bonnie had temple work to do at this point, so Meili and I spent the next few hours wandering around our temporary home, seeing the sites and taking advantage of the last day of special pageant events around Nauvoo.

A short program in the Seventies Hall. "Go Ye Out into the World."

Later, we met dad and Bonnie at the Nauvoo Visitor's Center for the show "High Hopes and Riverboats," which we all really enjoyed and which featured the amazing young performing missionaries. And that night we all gathered at the outdoor stage to watch "Sunset on the Mississippi," a nightly show put on by the site missionaries and young performing missionaries. We loved this!

Sunday morning we attended church with dad and Bonnie. The neat thing about this was observing all the missionaries, young and old, in a traditional Sacrament meeting, wearing modern clothes; whereas the night before everyone had been in period costumes. Seeing especially the young missionaries singing the hymns and preparing and passing the sacrament was heart-warming and faith-affirming.

Around noon we had another delicious meal (thanks, Bonnie!). Meili and I took a relaxing walk around the Smith family sites, which are literally just around the corner from dad's home.

Meili near the Smith family cemetery, where Joseph, Emma and Hyrum Smith are buried.

A little later, my dad and I left for St. Louis to fetch Natalie and Abbie from the airport. Once we got them, we all had a fun, lively drive back to Nauvoo. On the way, we planned our next trip to the Midwest. It'll be to Mansfield, Missouri, home of the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum. (Try finding that on a map!) After a late evening return to Parley Street, my husband Daryl and son Eliah surprised us by calling from our hotel. I hadn't expected them until the next night. A fun week for everyone was about to begin.