Day 5

    We were again in 3 different states today, starting in Kentucky, leading into Ohio, and finishing at our current location: Erie, Pennsylvania. We have been diligent in taking pictures of all the "Welcome to _____" state signs but we crossed a river going into Cincinnati, OH and the welcoming sign was on an adjacent freeway just out of view from the freeway we were on, so no Ohio sign... *sigh*
     We spent most of our day in Ohio today, which reminds me of a joke that Elmer Fudd once told to Bugs Bunny, "You know what's in Ohio? It's HI in the middle and round on both ends!" And Elmer goes to shove his finger in Bugs' mouth slapping him round as only the Looney Tunes could.
     The only scenic stop we made today was in historic Kirtland, Ohio.  In the early 1830's, 4 missionaries were sent to Kirtland to preach the gospel and in less than 3 weeks, over a hundred people were baptized, and of those was Newel K. Whitney. Him and his wife were praying one night, which prayer brought the Prophet himself to Kirtland. The first temple of this dispensation was built only a few years later, being finished in 1836. Kirtland was a very special place, as we got to visit N.K. Whitney's store and house, as well as Joseph Smith's home near the temple, as well as the temple itself. We were too late to see the inside of the temple due to a 2 hour detour on the highway, but we still got to see the surrounding area, which was plenty good enough for us.
     We had a very spiritual experience at the Kirtland visitor's center. We had some of Benn's CD's to hand out to the missionaries that were working there, as well as the support staff. A pair of Senior missionaries were working till close, who also were showing us around. As we gave them a copy of Benn's CD, they were so anxious to hear Benn play so they asked him if he could on a piano there in the Visitor's Center. So Benn played a couple of his arrangements for them and they thanked us so kindly for having Benn share his talent. Benn was very happy to have gotten to play the piano, as he was thinking that he wouldn't see those black and whites until after we got to Boston. What a blessing! Day 5 done. Only one day left of driving. Tomorrow night, we will be in Boston. East Coast here we come!