Home City, Boston, MA

Fly to Boston today and stay overnight at the Embassy Suites Boston Logan Airport.

Boston, MA

After breakfast, we’ll enjoy Boston, walk part of the Freedom Trail, and see “Old Ironsides” and the old North Church. A memorable lecture given at Harvard Square in Cambridge will ring in your ears throughout the trip.  We’ll get a feeling for the American Revolution and then let you have an enjoyable hour at Quincy Market for dinner where you’ll see the famous Faneuil Hall. Tonight we stay at the Colonial Inn in Concord, once owned by Henry David Thoreau.

Lexington, MA

This morning we will relive the first moments of the Revolutionary War and see the place where the shot was fired that was “heard around the world”. We will travel the Battle Road, stopping at various points, and even see where Paul Revere was captured by the British. You will come to know Lexington and Concord, and understand those events which brought about the Independence of this great nation and the birthplace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the latter days. In the afternoon we will visit Louisa May Alcott’s home and see the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery where Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and the Alcott’s are buried. This evening we will have a meal together and we will stay again tonight at the Colonial Inn.

Sharon, VT

Early this morning we leave for Sharon, Vermont and to Dairy Hill where we will experience strong feelings of the Spirit at the birthplace of the prophet Joseph. We will visit the towns of Sharon, Turnbridge, and, time permitting, Norwich and Lebanon. Here we will get a feel for the first twenty years of marriage of Lucy Mack and Joseph Smith Sr. This evening we will have dinner and stay in the Best Western Inn & Suites in Rutland, VT.

Palmyra, NY

Leaving New England the scenery changes as we wind our way south and west to fertile fields and lovely lands of Western New York. We will enjoy stories of early church leaders of the church, where they came from and how they came to know the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Tonight we will stay in the Woodcliff Hotel and Spa in Fairport (near Rochester), New York ( just off the Erie Canal, not too far from Palmyra) and ready ourselves for a spiritual feast tomorrow. Dinner will be at your discretion with a cash stipend at the amazing Wegmans Food Store & Deli. 

Palmyra, NY

This morning we will be at the Sacred Grove, for many this experience is the highlight of the whole trip. We will have our own, individual quiet time in the Grove. Afterwards, enjoy the Smith farm, tour the newly refinished Smith farm House and the Smith Log Cabin (where the Angel Moroni visited the prophet). We will also visit the Hill Cumorah, Martin Harris Farm, the E.B. Grandin Printing Complex and the downtown village of Palmyra. Our little walk up the hill to the Smith Cemetery will touch you as we gather at the grave of Alvin Smith. Dinner will be at “Applebee’s” before we stay again at the Woodcliff Hotel.  

Harmony, PA

This morning we head to Fayette where the Whitmers lived and the Church was legally organized on April 6, 1830.  Twenty revelations for the Doctrine and Covenants were received here. This is also the place where Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdrey and David Whitmer received their special witness of the plates. We will attend sacrament meeting at the Fayette Ward then head south to Harmony, Pennsylvania to visit the new Priesthood Restoration site.  Here we will see the reconstructed homes of Joseph and Emma Smith, Isaac and Elizabeth Hale, and the woods where John the Baptist restored the priesthood. A good part of the Book of Mormon was translated here.  Next we will walk along the banks of the Susquehanna River where the first baptisms were performed in this dispensation. Check into the Double Tree Inn in Binghamton for dinner and overnight stay.

Kirtland, OH

Today we travel through some of the western regions of New York and review the missionary labors of Samuel Smith and Parley P. Pratt. The latter headed for Ohio where their labors would change the history of the Church because of the conversion of Sidney Rigdon. About midmorning we will make a stop in Corning at the glass factory en route to Kirkland, Ohio. We will arrive there in the late afternoon and tour the Newell K. Whitney Store as well as see some of the other Kirkland sites from the bus. Be prepared for a spiritual feast at the Whitney Store. Dinner will be at the “Olive Garden” before checking into the best Western Lawnfield Inn & Suites in Mentor, Ohio. 

Kirtland, Oh, Amish Country

This morning Breakfast is provided at the hotel before we tour the Kirkland Temple where The Lord Himself appeared as did Moses, Elias, Elijah, and numerous other angels. We will travel on to the John Johnson farm where the vision of the three degrees of glory. Here the Prophet and Sidney Rigdon were mobbed, beaten and the Prophet tarred and feathered. This afternoon we travel to the heart of the Ohio Amish Country for an old fashioned home style meal at the Dutch Valley Restaurant. Our hotel tonight will be at the charming Carlisle Inn. 

Amish Touring, flight to Kansas City, MO

This morning we'll enjoy the beauty of the simple life of the Amish.  We’ll start on the back roads to the Hershberger Bakery and Farmers Market for a sensory overload of baked goods, jams & jellies and locally made crafts!  We continue then to Heini's Cheese Factory to sample over 80 varieties of locally made cheeses before our horse & buggy ride to the house tour at the Yoder Farm.  We’ll see two houses, one similar to how the Amish lived when they first came to America, and a modern day home featuring Amish girls baking and canning in the kitchen!  Afterwards we’ll get to indulge in all the goodness you’ve witnessed with our traditional Amish lunch.  One of the best meals on tour!

Later this afternoon we will depart for the Cleveland airport for our flight to Kansas City.  Our hotel for the next two nights is the Drury Inn in Kansas City, MO. 

Independence, MO

This morning we will visit Independence. Here we will see the original temple lot, tour the Community of Christ (RLDS) temple, enjoy the LDS visitor’s center and see the Jackson County Courthouse. We then head north to the Liberty Jail where the Prophet and his companions were imprisoned through the cold months of the winter of 1838/1839. Here we will feel the Spirit as we read the revelations and hear the voices of the past. 

Adam-ondi-Ahman, Nauvoo, IL

We head for our morning devotional service at Adam-ondi-Ahman then visit the Temple site at Far West before heading east along the approximate path the Saints were driven. We will stay at the Nauvoo Family Inn for the remaining nights.

Nauvoo, IL

Our day begins with an early morning opportunity to serve at the Nauvoo Temple (attendance at the Temple is optional). This morning we step back in time and spend a glorious day touring the sites of Old Nauvoo. We’ll hear stories of the past and get a feel for “the city of Joseph”. We will see the moving Relief Society Gardens where thirteen monuments to women will touch your soul. We will tour Brigham Young’s home, the Printing Complex, the Blacksmith Shop, the Seventies Hall and as many other places as we can squeeze in. You may receive a Nauvoo brick and a prairie diamond as authentic souvenirs. Tonight we dine at the old Nauvoo Hotel with their wonderful all-you-can eat dinner.

Nauvoo-Carthage

We will attend Sacrament Meeting in the Nauvoo Ward, and then tour more of Nauvoo. This afternoon we travel south and east to our final stop, the Carthage Jail. Here we will have one of the highlight experiences of the trip as we review the events of Carthage, talk about feelings for Joseph and Hyrum, and end the tour with a testimony meeting.

Mississippi River Boat, St Louis, Home

As we say our farewell to Nauvoo, we continue on to Mark Twain’s Hannibal on the Mississippi River where we’ll take a luncheon cruise on a riverboat.  Following lunch, we’ll drive to St. Louis for our evening flight home.