Elder Earl in New England (updated)

When we went to visit the New England states a month ago, I had the opportunity to follow in more of my father's footsteps and visit some of the areas were he served as a missionary in 1942-1944.  He was miraculously allowed to serve his mission during WWII and was drafted into the army within days of his return in 1944.  I often wonder what would have happened if he would have been drafted sooner and if he wouldn't have been allowed to serve his mission.  Would he still have served after the War? Would he have gained such a strong testimony?  Would he was been killed or injured in the war if he had been drafted sooner?  The fact that he went when he did, to the place he served, shaped his future life to a large degree.  When he hear that God is involved in the details of our lives, I truly believe that He was involved in this very important detail of my dad's life.  His service meant everything to him and his future posterity. 
We got to visit Plymouth, MA.  It was the first area he served in as an LDS missionary.  His journal gave the exact address of where he lived, so we went to that address and found a nice looking Best Western hotel there now instead.  Oh well.  The surrounding homes looked like they could have been there in the 1940s. They were beautifully restore/maintained homes. I like to imagine my dad walking down the street and visiting with people along the way and telling them about the restored church of Jesus Christ.  His journal details his experiences and lists many, many streets in Plymouth that he tracked.
We also got to visit "the Rock" as he referred to it in his journal.  Plymouth Rock is much, much smaller than I had imagined.  Evidently, early visitors chipped a piece off "the Rock" as a souvenir and after awhile, the caretakers realized that there wasn't going to be much left of the rock if they allowed that practice to happen.  It amazing to think about the first pilgrims arriving in 1620. We saw a replica of the Mayflower and learned more about Rick's great-great-great-great (great??) grandfather William Bradford who was one of the original colonizers. 
The last two pictures show the Cambridge chapel in...Cambridge, MA.  The mission home that dad went to many, many times was located on this exact spot.  I'm not sure if the Church torn down the mission home and built the Cambridge chapel, but it was so interesting to see that this mission home/chapel is located just a few blocks from Harvard yard.  Just imagine, a young farm boy from Clarkston, Utah serving his mission in the sophisticated area of the New England states and talking with very educated people about the gospel.  He also served in New Haven, CT where Yale is located. I'm even more proud of my dad!  It was like traveling through time and going back to imagine what it would have been like to serve a mission in this area over 70 years ago!
Here are some pictures of the Elder at work, from a previous blog about his service.