Long, but Pleasant

The Atlanta temple is closed for another 6 - 8+ months for renovations, so the closest temple is Birmingham, AL, 189 miles away. They were overbooked for today when I called for reservations, so we went to Columbia, SC instead - 202 miles away. What is normally a 4 hour commitment, was a 12 hour commitment today. The temple was wonderful, as always. I arrived, participated, and left with a sense of calm and peace. But it was a really, really long day. (It takes 3 1/2 hours to Columbia; 2 3/4 hours to Birmingham) We will definitely go to Birmingham next time, and it probably won't be on a Saturday. Reminds me of the old days when we used to drive from Visalia to Los Angeles which was 3+ hours, or even worse, from Pensacola to Atlanta which was a 6 hour drive one way. We have been so spoiled with a temple 40 minutes from the house; I will be so glad when it opens again!