Joseph, John, Lyle, Hugh, and Charles all served missions for the Church, but we let the Church bring them home. Elizabeth insisted that Carla and I go east and bring her home at the conclusion of her service in the Maryland Baltimore Mission. We were happy that we were able to do it.

We took a Southwest Airlines flight on Wednesday, April 24, 2013, from Los Angeles to the Baltimore/Washington DC Thurgood Marshall Airport. Arriving around midnight, we got our Hertz rental car  – a VW Tiguan – at the airport and drove to our accommodations for the rest of that night and the next at The Hotel at Turf Valley in Ellicott City, Maryland. Early Thursday morning, we drove to the home of Elizabeth’s mission president, where she had slept that night. We met the mission president and his wife; he was surprised that I was wearing a pair of Allen Edmonds shoes just like a pair of his. Eventually, Elizabeth came downstairs where we had a sweet reunion.

Elizabeth’s mission president hadn’t wanted us to come to Maryland to get Elizabeth, but Elizabeth had badgered him and Carla had promised that during our stay the two of us would wear the missionary badges that had been given to us as part of our calling at that time to serve as missionaries in the addiction recovery programs in our stake. So he relented, and Carla and I wore those badges throughout our trip.

We returned with Elizabeth to our hotel and ate breakfast. The three of us spent the rest of the day touring parts of nearby Pennsylvania.

I don’t remember why, but we stopped and visited some shops in Lititz, Pennsylvania. We sampled and bought some of the wares at Olio, and then had lunch at the Tomato Pie Cafe. I had tomato pie ala mode and loved it. We also enjoyed a visit to the Wilbur Chocolate Company.

 

We drove to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and stopped at The Amish Village, where we bought some Amish-made jelly, and took pictures.

After breakfast the next day, Friday, at our hotel, we went to a local UPS to ship some of Elizabeth’s belongings to California and then drove to the home of Emily’s parents, Steve and Anne, who, even though they were selling their house and preparing to move to Alaska, kindly lodged us until our return home. Elizabeth, Cleo, and I then drove to the Washington DC Temple where we were privileged to participate in an endowment session; it is a beautiful temple and is a landmark along the freeway.

That evening we went with the Tuckers for dinner to Andy Nelson’s BBQ, where the ribs and stewed tomatoes were delicious.

The next day, Saturday, Elizabeth took us to different places, including the town of Chester, on the island, to meet some of the friends she had made in Maryland while serving as a missionary. And we cracked crabs for lunch at the Harris Crab House.

Later, the three of us went to the ward in Hampstead in which Elizabeth had been most recently serving as a missionary and witnessed the baptism of a young woman that Elizabeth and her companion had been teaching. We enjoyed visiting the members there at a reception after the baptism.

Going by memory now three years later, we had dinner in Damascus with a member and her family; she had accompanied Elizabeth singing for a CD made by another member.

The next day, I think we went to church at the ward in Hampstead. Anne fixed a very tasty Sunday dinner. Emily’s brother and family also came over. Steve showed me his gun room downstairs.

Monday, Elizabeth, Carla, and I took the train into Washington DC. We caught the Metro and then walked from the Foggy Bottom station to the National Mall, where we visited six of the many Memorials: Lincoln, Korean War Veterans, Vietnam Veterans, 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence, World War II, and John Paul Jones.

 

We broke for lunch, taking the Metro to Chinatown–Chinese restaurant.

From there we walked to the National Archives; there were lots of interesting exhibits inside. Then it was on to the National Gallery; I took pictures inside until they told me I wasn’t supposed to–oops. And then we strolled the fun National Sculpture Garden.

Monday evening, we went out to dinner with Steve and Anne at Chevy’s Fresh Mex restaurant.

Tuesday was our last day of sightseeing. We drove to and spent a good part of the day at the Arlington National Cemetery. Carla was able to locate one of her relatives in the computerized grave registry. We also visited the nearby Thomas Jefferson and George Mason Memorials.

Carla and I really enjoyed our trip, and especially seeing Steve shoot a squirrel outside from inside his house on the second floor–something Carla only dreams about.

Our final morning, Wednesday, May 1, we said goodbye to Steve and Anne, so that they could get back to preparing their home for their move. We turned in our car rental. After we got home, we got a notice from Hertz that we had to pay a speeding ticket; I’d been caught one day by a camera while driving at 30 mph through a 25 mph zone in a forested area along Vollmerhausen Road approaching Steve and Anne’s neighborhood. But we made it home; and, that evening, our local children and their families joined us for dinner with our newly returned missionary daughter.