Maddy watching the game from the box....

This is our darling Maddy - playing as a goalkeeper for her High School team.  So far, they haven't been scored on, but she hasn't had to save too many......they have a fantastic team, and the ball rarely passes the half-field.  It's been so fun cheering for the same school that Scott went to back in the day.  Go Blue Devils!  

Maddy also has the great opportunity to guest play for a Las Vegas team this weekend - they are flying her down there and everything!  She's nervous, but we have complete confidence in her abilities....

I'm at the Pirates game in Pittsburgh, PA. It's 8:51pm and I have 403 miles to drive tonight. Glad it's already the 7th inning!

The Home Stretch...

Monday and Tuesday of our trip were dedicated (mostly) to visiting the significant Mormon historical sites. We had a very nice time visiting the sites we'd heard about so many times, but it was a bit much, or maybe at the end of the trip, for the kids. As always, they gave us a little perspective. See Jake below, thoroghly engrossed in the history...


Hill Cumorah landmark


Joseph Smith family log home, Palmyra, NY.


The bug Jake caught in Palmyra, NY, and then brought into the car. His sisters were thrilled.

Upstairs in the log home. There were 2 of these beds for 6 boys in the Smith family, so when the guide asked us if we had questions the only question was about which end of the bed the older kids slept on, and if they ever bumped their head on the slanted roof.

Brick hearth which served as a hiding place for Gold Plates.

The sacred grove was a very quiet, beautiful place. We we mosquito buffet, and I'm still scratching. (This is where Joanna hits me for being irreverent). We enjoyed it very much, other than the mosquitos.

After feasting on the history of the Palmyra sites, the kids enjoyed the scenery around upstate NY:

From Ny we headed West to Kirtland, Ohio. I wanted to be in at least one of these roadside pics, but made the kids cry when I wouldnt let them onto the offramp, so we took a 2nd picture.

Somewhere in PA we hit a bug that exploded a glowing goo. Lighting Bugs!!! So we pulled over to hunt for one.

The bugs were plentiful, and we needed a leg-stretch anyway. Sophie caught one that blinked while on her finger. She named it Flinker, and then set Flinker free.

This was our 175th stop of the day, a nourishing meal before bed.

Tuesday, we visited Kirtland, OH. We have the GPS map on my phone and are deciding how far to go that night. We really enjoyed the burger place.

The first Mormon temple, built in the 1830's. It was way bigger on the inside than we had thought. The guide dispelled the old story about the women crushing their china dishes into the mortar to make the building sparkly; as it turns out they just crushed up the remaining panes of glass. Same sparkly effect, but not as good a story. The building has two main floors with what are essentially chapels in each, and the 3rd floor has a bunch of classrooms. The belltower was another floor+ above that.

Newell Whitney store, one of my favorite sites. Whitney was an early Bishop in the church, but also one smart businessman, with an ashery, a trade-shop, store and foundry to his credit.

Sawmill, powered by a shallow-water wheel. Very cool!

In true Purves style, we finished off our trip with a ballgame. We watched the Indians get clobbered at home in Cleveland by the Twins. That makes us 0-3 for home teams on our trip. This was a great ballpark, with a whole house of good seats. Since the Indians are so lousy and it was a Tuesday night game, we got great seats. Jake almost had a foul ball!

Funny picture: this was taken to show Lilly's new collection - ballpark earrings. But if you look in the bottom right you'll see the 13-year old hands of Maddy, texting away during the game. Busted!

Sophie "Peanut-Lips" Purves

Wednesday morning, after a solid 7 hours of kinda-sleep in a small bed, we're all very sad that our adventure is ending.

Cleveland Airport, Sophie and I crying.

That's all folks! And what a trip it was!

August 1-2, 2009 - Oh, Canada!

It's morning on the 8th day of our trip, and we're in Kingston, Ontario. We're feeling it. Joanna and I ran over to the laundromat and stayed close so nobody would hoark our clothes, eh. After laundry, we returned to the motel with a nutritious breakfast for our youngins'.


Note the dried slobber:


That's right - Tim Horton's donuts! What other way would you start a day in Canada?


Munch, munch, wimper, munch...

And for lunch - Ketchup and Dill Pickle chips! Joanna is demonstrating how you feel after eating Ketchup and/or Dill Pickle chips.

Ontario is where Joanna and I served as missionaries for our church (1991 - 1994). For the kids it was a lot of driving and listening to mom and dad tell the same old stories, but with sites. For us it was a sweet trip down memory lane. This is a nasty old rooming house I lived in in Trenton, Ont. We climbed the 3 flights of stairs. Our resident manager at the time was an old biker named Harvey "not-so" Smart - he was a violent, foul-mouthed, retired member of the Satan's Choice. But he loved us and we loved him.

My best haircuts were all in Canada, and all by old Portugese men who used this warm shaving cream and a straight razor to chave your neck and side burns. So I postponed my cut for our trip and Joanna took this picture. Naturally, the barber was a young Armenian who used cold alcohol and a straight razor... But he was an artist - best cut in years. And nothing makes you feel more like a man than to have your wife take your picture in the barber's chair.

Joanna's favorite lepruchaun, John Doyle, and his family. Richmond Hill, Ont.

I wish I could post the smell instead of the picture. Try to imagine sweat, curry, roach spray and sour Canadian cigarette smoke combined. Brought tears to my eyes, and a little shock to the kids' system. This is an old apartment building in Etobicoke where I spent a lot of time as a young missionary with a much smaller belly.

My first apartment - Etobicoke, Ont.

Joanna and I both had fond memories of eating out at Swiss Chalet. Not sure why we had fond memories - it was the worst meal of the trip. Jake and Lilly show their love for the special "Chalet Sauce".

Swiss Chalet gave us all the "Bob & Doug Face" - YUK!

Saturday night was our hardest hotel-find yet, with a rowing tournament booking up St. Catherine's. We had to drive 40 mnutes backwards to find a Motel 6 in Hamilton. They left the light on for us, but what a dump.

On Sunday we attended church in St. David's where Joanna lived for about 7 months as a missionary. She caught up with a few old friends and then we headed to Niagara-on-the-Lake. Niagara-on-the-Lake is like Carmel-by-the-Sea, hence the many hyphens and gardens. Lilly and Jake demonstrate the sarcasm they have learned from their mother.

The sign tells the story of how American forces occupied this spot and as they retreated they burned the town to the ground. U-S-A, U-S-A!!!

We coaxed Sophie into the middle of the street for this pic; a risk well worth the picture.

Off to the falls! If Niagara-on-the-Lake is like Carmel, then the town of Niagara Falls is like carny-row at the State Fair. Lots of souvenirs, bong shops and smell.

The Falls are amazing, breathtaking, spectacular and awesome. For about 5 minutes.

The kids were more interested in swimming at the Lake (Ontario) so we found the best spot possible for a swim. Sadly, the beach was very rocky and there was a lot of litter and slime, so we skipped rocks instead. But it was a nice break from the road (with more road ahead of us).

This is where the Niagara River empties into Lake Ontario, and the fort on the other side is New York.

We loved Canada, with the memorable visits and great donuts. We were all glad we took a couple of days to see this part of the world. After Niagara we crossed back into the US and headed to Rochester, NY, our next stop.

Friday 7/31 - Cooperstown to Canada

We woke up this morning in Schenectady, NY, which is a nice place to leave. Back into the car! Although Joanna wanted to have a nice breakfast with eggs and toast, we had to settle for Dunkin' Donuts, which are on about every third corner.


The Hall of Fame is a hard place to get to if you're a ballplayer, and almost as hard if you're a fan. Cooperstown isn't near anything, but the drive was beautiful. It rained all morning so by the time we arrived the town was clean and fresh, just for us.


The Hall of Fame is a magical place. Most people were wearing their home teams' shirt or hat (or both), and you got a feeling of awe and love for the game from everyone. There is an introduction video in a theatre that showed many of the classic moments in baseball history, like Bobby Thompson's homer and some World Series finishes. At the conclusion of the video the music to Take me out to the Ballgame started and this old volunteer couple came in and led everyone in singing. From there we went on the tour of the museum (2nd and 3rd floors).


Babe Ruth's $2,620 contract to play for the Red Sox:

The "Record Room". Jake and I are standing with the greatest Home Run hitter of all time. I had to correct a few people when they suggested that the record was somehow tainted. Idiots.

Jake with a uniform worn by Willie Mays.

At the end of the 2nd floor is a locker room with a stall stocked by each team. The uniform was worn by Tim Lincecum on his 18th win last season. The 2 helmets were worn by Bonds on #'s 755 and 756. The ball on the chair is the ball that broke the home run record. The jerk who donated it carved an asterisk into the front of the ball.

Lilly didn't make the first class, I guess...

Sophie and the Babe.

Cooperstown is on the short list of places to return to. The Hall was pure magic, and the town - which we didn't tour - was like something from a movie. All the little shops had names like "Triple Play Diner" or "Squeeze Play Collectibles"; even Louisville slugger had a store there. There were some beautiful old B&B's right downtown. I'd suggest 2 nights at least.

But all good things must end, and we had places to go. So back into the car and up to the Great White North. We crossed into Canada through the Thousand Island area - again, as beautiful as you can imagine with little islands, bridges and wildlife. Another good place for a summer home! We landed in Kingston, ON, just east of where Joanna and I served as missionaries 16 years ago. Tomorrow we'll visit the sites where we lived.

The sun set on us as we arrived. Oh Canada!