Day 1 - Visitor's Center

This was the perfect spot to start...so much information to help get you headed in the right direction.

Most important to know...everything in Historic Nauvoo is free, but you will need tickets for a few things that have limited seating. These are pretty popular activities so some of them are given out quite early.  On the first day we didn't get there in time to get tickets for the Carriage ride, Wagon ride, or the play - Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo (you can make reservations for the plays and reserve tickets for the date and time desired).  We did get tickets to see The Promise and made reservations for the shows we missed.

The center opens at 7:30 am, so on our second day (and with much persistence from my son), we arrived at opening to get tickets for the carriage and wagon rides - they were excellent! Well worth getting up early for.

Here are some of the pictures we took inside the Visitor's Center...

Day 1 - Annie's Homemade Frozen Custard

OK, so if you have followed any of my prior posts you know that we love to eat and find fun places to do so!  Although Nauvoo is quite small (and I must admit I was not prepared for the food choices that were available (very good, hardy, mostly fried food - not diet friendly at all)) we still managed to find the most adorable Frozen Custard Shop (I was corrected when I called it ice cream)...

Annie's Fresh Frozen Custard

I should also add that Yelp gave her 4 1/2 stars and Urban Spoon gave her 5 stars (it was yummy!)

 We were the first customers of the day so Pryce even helped in the back...this was a reenactment with little cooperation!

Nauvoo Preforming Arts...

While we were in Historic Nauvoo we made sure to see a few of the plays and variety shows that they had.  I was so impressed with them, especially the young adults who where there serving a 3 month Performing Arts Mission.  And I cannot leave out the amazing Senior Missionaries serving in Nauvoo - they were wonderful as well.

You can get a list of the various shows that are performed and the dates here...

Sunset by the Mississippi

Youth of Zion

Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo

 We also saw The Promise but didn't manage to get any pictures...

Day 1 - Cathage Jail

Carthage is just a short distance from Nauvoo. We decided to take the quick trip to visit the Carthage Jail, which is the site where Joseph Smith, Jr. was martyred, on the first day because we didn't want to miss visiting it.  I am so happy that we did.  I remember these places from my visit as a teenager - some more vividly than others.  This is one of those places.

My son; "it has a lot of history, but it is where the prophet was killed".

That's an overwhelming statement. I can only imagine the grief that the Saints felt at that time.  Today I feel immense gratitude for a young man who would not deny what he knew to be true, for the gospel he restored, and the willingness he had to be a true witness of my Savior, Jesus Christ.

Day 1, the Monument to Women

Memorial Garden...

Our first stop in Historic Nauvoo was the Visitor's Center.  Here they have a lovely garden dedicated to women.  On occasion I will get questions about women in our church. I realize that the world and some of the members of our church think that as women we are looked down upon or that we are inferior to the men because we do not hold the priesthood.  I have never felt that way, actually quite the contrary.  As I walked through this monument with my son I couldn't help but think how very different we each interpret things to be, because I felt an overwhelming feeling of love and purpose.  As I gazed at the bronze figures my heart was tender to all of the beautiful moments in my life that where represented here.  I knew that each of these images portrayed those things that had brought true joy to my life and had helped to mold me into the person I am...as well the person I will continue to become as I stay on a path of continual learning.