What's a Birthday without a Scout Outing?

My cute grandson, Reed, wishing me a Happy Birthday.

This week I turned 59 years old, and my husband made it a party.  Now when you think of me having a birthday, what idea comes to your mind for Doug?  A scout outing!  He celebrated many of my birthdays with scouts, and that’s exactly what we did this year.  We took 2 young men from the branch to the stake eleven-year old camp located an hour’s drive north near Saratoga Springs.  After Doug helped the boys set up their tents and make their foil dinners, the father (who was late in coming because he just flew in from Dallas) arrived; and we could leave. (What missionary do you know has a scout shirt with them on his mission? He was also the only leader there who wore a uniform.)

Elder Ellsworth helping Tiheem make his foil dinner, his first experience camping

We drove from camp to nearby Saratoga Springs to spend the night. (This is a city famous for horseracing and for cultural offerings like the Tabernacle Choir concert held recently.) I’ve been there briefly a couple of times before (it’s in our stake), but never to stay in the Hilton and to enjoy the nightlife on the "Avenue."  We had a good time (imagine two missionaries walking the boardwalk in Scottsdale).  And since good Mexican food was out of the question, we had the second best thing . . . good Pad Thai!

On Saturday morning we continued our celebration by making a driving tour of the Adirondacks in upstate NY.  We began our day in nearby Lake George – which was nothing more than an over-crowded tourist destination on the shores of a beautiful lake.  After driving around and discussing our options, we decided not to take the hour-long lake cruise; it was very over-priced.  Instead we drove to Lake Placid for brunch.  This area reminded us of Park City or Sedona . . . in the mountains, beautiful scenery, lots of high-end shops and restaurants, and a popular destination.  We were glad to have been there but not in a hurry to return. One of the interesting sites we saw was the Lake Placid Olympic Ski Jumping Complex built for the 1980 games in NY. The two towers were 90 and 120 meters tall and rose high above the trees.

Olympic Ski-Jumps

After walking the main stretch of town . . . buying some candy, taking some pictures, and observing a wedding on the shore of the lake (including watching a drone take pictures of the couple) . . . we drove toward Fort Ticonderoga on the shores of Lake Champlain.  It is full of historical significance (think French and Indian War and American Revolutionary War).  Several times throughout our drive, we were only a short distance from the NY/VT boarder and could enjoy the landscape of both states . . . also many beautiful lakes and waterways.

Wedding taking place on the shores of Lake Placid

A drone being used to take pictures of the couple

It was restful to have a change of pace from missionary work and to have something fun to do after a busy week, and it was a good birthday.  We saw lots of lush, green scenery, traveled roads new to us, went through towns we hadn’t ever heard of, and just had a leisurely drive doing whatever we felt like doing.  All of this area is in our mission and most was in our stake boundaries (not Lake Placid).  In the past when we have traveled to the far north of our stake, it has been for early-morning seminary visits when it is yet dark. Seeing it in the daylight was a treat, and it felt like driving in the mountains of Utah . . . only even greener.

Thank you for your calls, cards, gifts, and well-wishes.