The Mancil Epic Road Trip 2018 Itinerary

Aaron and I had been wanting to take a road trip with the family to the East coast for a few years.  We finally decided to bite the bullet and do it this summer since we only have a few more years left before the kids start leaving the nest :(.  This trip has been years in planning and saving so we were excited, but anxious to actually do it with our whole family.  We wanted to hit the major early Latter Day Saint Historical Sites as well as the big United States Historical sites as well.  Since we had limited amount of time we had to cut a few places we really wanted to go to fit in all the others we really wanted to see.  This is what our final itinerary ended up looking like:

Day 1 (July 28): Drive from Ogden to Omaha, Nebraska. [13.5 hours]

Day 2 (July 29): See Winter Quarters, Kanesville Tabernacle in Omaha, NE then drive on to Nauvoo, Illinois [5 hours]

Day 3 (July 30): Spend day in Nauvoo, Illinois

Day 4 (July 31): Spend day in Nauvoo, Illinois

Day 5 (Aug 1): Leave Nauvoo and drive to Kirtland, Ohio [9 hours].  Stop by and try out some deep dish pizza for lunch in Chicago on our way.

Day 6 (Aug 2): Tour Kirtland (visit Newell K. Whitney store and home, sawmill, ashery, Johnson Inn, Kirtland Temple, Historic Johnson home/farm) drive on to Canadian side of Niagara Falls [3 hours] stay in Buffalo, NY [30 min].

Day 7(Aug 3): Leave Buffalo, NY drive to Palmyra, NY [2 hours].  Visit Smith Family Farm, Peter Whitmer Log Home, Martin Harris Farm, Grandin Press Building, Sacred Grove, Hill Cumorah, Palmyra LDS Temple.

Day 8 (Aug 4): Leave Palmyra and Drive to New York City [5 hours]. Stop to visit Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, Visit Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  Stay in Secaucus, NJ.

Day 9 (Aug 5): Spend day in New York City. Visit 9-11 Museum/memorial, Trinity Church, Wall Street, Charging Bull, Central Park, 30 Rock, Times Square, Empire State Building, Flat Iron Building, Manhattan LDS Temple, 5th Avenue.

Day 10 (Aug 6): Leave Secaucus, NJ drive to Philadelphia [2 hours]. Visit Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, Rocky Statue and stairs, see the LOVE sculpture, Philadelphia LDS temple.

Day 11 (Aug 7): Leave Philadelphia drive to Washington D.C. [3 hours]. See Smithsonian, World War II Memorial, Lincoln Monument, National Mall, Vietnam Memorial, White House.

Day 12 (Aug 8):Spend day in D.C.  See more of Smithsonian Museums, Holocaust Museum, Supreme Court, Capitol Building, Arlington (Changing of the Guard, Tomb of Unknown Soldier, JFK Eternal Flame) Washington D.C. LDS temple.

Day 13 (Aug 9): Leave Washington D.C. drive to Cincinnati, Ohio [8 hours].

Day 14 (Aug 10): Leave Cincinnati drive to Independence, Missouri [9 hours]. Stop by to see St. Louis Gateway Arch on drive.

Day 15 (Aug 11): Visit Independence LDS Visitor's Center, Liberty Jail, Far West Temple Site, Haun's Mill.

Day 16 (Aug 12): Leave Independence drive to Colorado Springs, Colorado [9 hours]. Visit Garden of the Gods.

Day 17 (Aug 13): Leave Colorado Springs drive home [9 hours].


I will go into more detail with each place in consecutive posts following this itinerary.  We did so much driving! We had many ups and downs as you would having so much family togetherness for so long, but it really was a fun trip.  Here's the total mileage from our cross country road trip: