It's a small world, after all.
August 26, 2017
We started the day by making final preparations to receive Margaret and Dale Smith, the new docent couple. We washed the bed linens and towels at the Stowell home and then headed back to the Knight home. As we were crossing the Susquehanna River at Nineveh Bridge, there was a canoe race going on in the river which we watched for a few minutes before continuing on to the farmhouse. After completing our last tasks, we ate some lunch and then decided to sit out on the deck and enjoy the beautiful view of the hay field behind the Knight home one more time. To our delight, there was a farmer in the field cutting the hay that we have enjoyed watching mature for the past 17 days. It was so interesting to watch the farmer make pass after pass through the hay with extreme precision and beautiful, even rows leaving orderly piles of freshly cut hay in his wake.
As we were enjoying this pastoral scene, the Smiths pulled up at the farmhouse and we went to greet them. After exchanging introductions, I asked Margaret where they are from and she replied Kent, Washington. I asked if she knew Becky and Dave LeDosquet and Margaret got a shocked look and said, "They are some of our best friends!" When I told Margaret and Dale that I am Becky's sister, they thought that was such a fun connection. We told the Smiths that we had a group coming for a tour, but we wanted to get started showing them around in the meantime. It was only 10 minutes later when our scheduled group arrived, so the Smiths said they would just observe us guiding the tour so they could learn the flow of it. We always begin the tour out at the well, and we spend several minutes talking about points of interest outside the home before entering it. While we were still outside, two more ladies showed up and we included them in the tour. Once we got inside, one of the ladies in the tour group turned to Margaret and asked if she was the sister to someone she knew. Margaret replied that she was and then this lady, who is named Kathleen, explained how she knew them, and Margaret somehow made the connection that Kathleen is in Becky and Dave's ward. Then Margaret told Kathleen that I am Becky's sister. Then Kathleen got so excited and surprised, and we all had a good laugh because suddenly everyone there had a connection to Becky and Dave. We decided that this was all too much to be a coincidence. Amidst all this fun and chaos, Kathleen's brother, who was also on the tour, had come to take professional pictures and drone footage of the Knight home and farm for the Colesville Restoration Inc. He got busy with all of his amazing photography equipment and gadgets, and soon Eric was involved with helping to get the lighting right for the pictures. We finished the tour of the Knight home, and Eric was too involved being the assistant to the photographer to leave, so I took the group to the Stowell home by myself and proceeded to give a tour there. We took our time at the Stowell home so I could orient the Smiths to everything they needed to know about caring for that home, and then we made our way back to the Knight home. I spent some more time making sure Margaret and Dale were comfortable with everything and answered all of their questions. By this time the photographer was at a point where he was shooting drone footage, so Eric was free and we could make our departure. We saw the pictures and drone footage before we left though, and it is incredible. This man used to work for the Church doing photography for the Ensign and Liahona, and he also did the official photography for 42 of the temples. His work is amazing! We bid everyone goodbye and wished the Smiths a wonderful experience as docents, and we were soon on our way, marveling at how our last day ended with so many unexpected twists and turns. The events of the day really were so much fun, and a great way to end our unforgettable experience being docents for the Knight and Stowell homes.
We enjoyed a beautiful drive through the New York coutryside and arrived at Niagra Falls just as the sun was setting this evening. We checked into our hotel and then walked the short distance to the falls to take in the amazing view. We will have some time to more fully experience the incredible falls in the morning. We are pretty exhausted after our eventful day, so we are going to turn in for the night.
We started the day by making final preparations to receive Margaret and Dale Smith, the new docent couple. We washed the bed linens and towels at the Stowell home and then headed back to the Knight home. As we were crossing the Susquehanna River at Nineveh Bridge, there was a canoe race going on in the river which we watched for a few minutes before continuing on to the farmhouse. After completing our last tasks, we ate some lunch and then decided to sit out on the deck and enjoy the beautiful view of the hay field behind the Knight home one more time. To our delight, there was a farmer in the field cutting the hay that we have enjoyed watching mature for the past 17 days. It was so interesting to watch the farmer make pass after pass through the hay with extreme precision and beautiful, even rows leaving orderly piles of freshly cut hay in his wake.
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| Canoe race on the Susquehanna |
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| Farmer cutting the hay in the back field |
As we were enjoying this pastoral scene, the Smiths pulled up at the farmhouse and we went to greet them. After exchanging introductions, I asked Margaret where they are from and she replied Kent, Washington. I asked if she knew Becky and Dave LeDosquet and Margaret got a shocked look and said, "They are some of our best friends!" When I told Margaret and Dale that I am Becky's sister, they thought that was such a fun connection. We told the Smiths that we had a group coming for a tour, but we wanted to get started showing them around in the meantime. It was only 10 minutes later when our scheduled group arrived, so the Smiths said they would just observe us guiding the tour so they could learn the flow of it. We always begin the tour out at the well, and we spend several minutes talking about points of interest outside the home before entering it. While we were still outside, two more ladies showed up and we included them in the tour. Once we got inside, one of the ladies in the tour group turned to Margaret and asked if she was the sister to someone she knew. Margaret replied that she was and then this lady, who is named Kathleen, explained how she knew them, and Margaret somehow made the connection that Kathleen is in Becky and Dave's ward. Then Margaret told Kathleen that I am Becky's sister. Then Kathleen got so excited and surprised, and we all had a good laugh because suddenly everyone there had a connection to Becky and Dave. We decided that this was all too much to be a coincidence. Amidst all this fun and chaos, Kathleen's brother, who was also on the tour, had come to take professional pictures and drone footage of the Knight home and farm for the Colesville Restoration Inc. He got busy with all of his amazing photography equipment and gadgets, and soon Eric was involved with helping to get the lighting right for the pictures. We finished the tour of the Knight home, and Eric was too involved being the assistant to the photographer to leave, so I took the group to the Stowell home by myself and proceeded to give a tour there. We took our time at the Stowell home so I could orient the Smiths to everything they needed to know about caring for that home, and then we made our way back to the Knight home. I spent some more time making sure Margaret and Dale were comfortable with everything and answered all of their questions. By this time the photographer was at a point where he was shooting drone footage, so Eric was free and we could make our departure. We saw the pictures and drone footage before we left though, and it is incredible. This man used to work for the Church doing photography for the Ensign and Liahona, and he also did the official photography for 42 of the temples. His work is amazing! We bid everyone goodbye and wished the Smiths a wonderful experience as docents, and we were soon on our way, marveling at how our last day ended with so many unexpected twists and turns. The events of the day really were so much fun, and a great way to end our unforgettable experience being docents for the Knight and Stowell homes.
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| One last picture at the Knight farmhouse |
We enjoyed a beautiful drive through the New York coutryside and arrived at Niagra Falls just as the sun was setting this evening. We checked into our hotel and then walked the short distance to the falls to take in the amazing view. We will have some time to more fully experience the incredible falls in the morning. We are pretty exhausted after our eventful day, so we are going to turn in for the night.
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| The rapids leading up to Niagra Falls |
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| Niagra Falls with Buffalo in the background |
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| I'm really here! |
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| Beautiful Niagra Falls |
Wow, the name of this blog post is perfect, it is such a small world! I was half expecting Becky and Dave themselves to show up unexpectedly. I have really enjoyed reading all of these posts, and seeing your pictures, your excellent writing has allowed us to take every step of the journey with you. I'm really proud of you both and so happy that you jumped at this opportunity. Niagara is one of my favorite places that I've ever been, it's so powerful and just amazing. I can't wait to hear how things went this morning when you saw the falls in the light. Love you both!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It has been fun documenting our experiences through this blog. We loved our time at Niagra Falls and we will be posting our pictures on here while we wait for our flight out of New York. We love you too, Kimberly!
DeleteI wish Becky and Dave were there!
ReplyDeleteWe wish you were there too!
Delete