Warming, warming...

Absolutely impressive

I don't know who was more confused when we said we were in Kirtland, Ohio, for our anniversary; the people who live in the frozen state or Utahns who don't know why we didn't go to the beach.
But we didn't mind their blank stares.
We just enjoyed the snow (we couldn't find any this year in Utah) and the history and the beautiful creches at the Historic Kirtland Nativity Exhibit.
Marc had had Kirtland on his bucket list of church history sites for a while now and really wanted to visit.
He also (just coincidentally, of course) wanted to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where his close friend Bob Dylan has a little bit of space.
I had heard about the Historic Kirtland Nativity Exhibit and since I love nativities, I signed on right away.
We headed out armed with new gloves, boots, Harry Potter scarves and thermal underwear.
We flew out with no problem and landed in Kirtland safely.

The prophet sat at this table

The next day was a snow-crunching tour of Kirtland with a pair of really cold, earnest, sister missionaries who showed us the Newell K. Whitney store where Joseph Smith spent a lot of time in the upstairs room studying and the school of the prophets held class.
We stopped at the John Johnson farm where Joseph and Emma were when ruffians broke in and stole Joseph away for some tar-and-feathering.
We checked out the Kirtland Temple, literally built with faith and prayers, a place now owned by the Community of Christ church.

In the John Johnson gingerbread exhibit

We then headed to the visitors' center to see the 954 Nativity sets on display.
We were quickly overwhelmed with the detail, the creativity, the beauty and the many ways and means people use to portray that Christmas event.
(My favorite is a tiny nesting Nativity with a microscopic Baby Jesus!)
We then made a stop at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
It is a brilliant collection with almost every song Marc and I knew from our high school days celebrated.

So, Bob, what's new?

Marc even had a heart-to-heart with Dylan.
I enjoyed the Elvis collection and would have come home with the gold outfit he never wore as a complete outfit if I could have got away with it. He only wore the jacket because it was too showy, he said.

For casual Fridays

Really? This from a guy who wore a diamond-encrusted pantsuit in most of his shows?
I think my mind is blown.
We found out later that the night after we visited Kirtland an ice storm shut down the hill we'd driven up and the day before we flew out of Atlanta 350 flights were cancelled due to bad weather.
We just skirted around all the trouble. I guess our guardian angels were on duty.
Want to travel with us?

The highlight in Cleveland