Indiana

Denny and I are feeling ever so smug.  We have deftly side-stepped major traffic-causing events these last few months.  It has all been quite coincidental, but we feel very clever, nonetheless.  We passed by Augusta, Georgia a few days after the playing of the The Masters' Golf Tournament (she says a bit wistfully); zipped through Louisville, Kentucky shortly after the muddy Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs; and will be heading out of Indiana tomorrow in advance of this weekend's Indianapolis 500 race.  Some people might enjoy being in the midst of highly populated showings such as these, but we find that we can see all the action better on the TV screen.  That may sound odd to some, but it's true for us!  The more we've been on the road spending time in smaller communities, the less we miss big-city life.  We are just small town folks at heart, I guess.

We tend to enjoy life at a slower pace.  Our time here in Indiana has been lovely.  While in Columbus, a bustling metropolis of about 40,000 kind hearts, we came across a wonderful old fashioned ice cream parlour.  Three brothers from Greece opened Zaharakos Brothers in October of 1900; and they've been serving 'sodas, sundaes, and smiles' ever since from this gorgeous soda fountain.  After tasting a couple of their specialties, we understood how the establishment has lasted so long!

Columbus is a beautiful city known for its amazing architecture.  According to the American Institute of Architects, Columbus ranks 6th in the country after Chicago, Washington, New York, Boston and San Francisco for innovation and quality of design in over 60 public and private buildings.  We saw lush gardens and creative pieces of sculpture at every turn; it was quite impressive, really!

Here is a beautiful covered bridge and a sweet little family gathering that appealed to me in Mill Race Park. 

I love this shot of downtown; now that is my idea of manageable traffic!

Of all that was to be found in Columbus, I believe Dennis most enjoyed the Cummins Corporate Offices and Museum.  He was very excited about seeing all the various diesel engine modifications since the company's inception in 1919.  I thought the 'Exploded Engine' display by Rudolph de Harak was pretty cool...

After we left Columbus, we hustled right up to Crown Point, where Dennis' eldest grandchildren live with their mother.  This is one amazing little family unit; it is not easy to successfully manage a home and a job while rearing 2 teenagers, but Julie is doing it with a smile on her face!  She can take pride in her children; Emily and Robby are exceptionally well-rounded young people who will make a difference in this world, mark my words!  =]

I took this shot of the group on an afternoon run to Warren Dunes State Park on Lake Michigan.

One day, while the kids were in school and Julie was at work, Denny and I went to check out Fair Oaks Farms, a dairy a few miles away from our campground.  The dairy is comprised of 10 separate sites (we toured one of them), and there are approximately 3000 cows at each site.  The dairy produces about 28,125 gallons of milk each day, along with a variety of cheeses and ice cream - it's a busy place! 

 

We visited the 'Birthing Barn' and found 2 young bulls that had been born just moments before we arrived.  I couldn't get over how big they were - these guys weigh between 70 and 90 pounds at birth!   The one in the pen furthest from the camera hadn't been able to stand up completely yet...his legs were still too wobbly!

  

An average of 90 calves are born here every day.  The bulls are sold immediately; the heifers are shipped to growers, then returned after 2 years to become milk cows.  The cows take in 90 pounds of food and 25-50 gallons of water each day, and it takes the cow's body 2 days to process her food into milk. 

They tell us the cows enjoy the milking carousel - it didn't look like fun to me.  

Denny later tried his hand at milking on a cow display...

The next stop on our journey will be Springfield, Illinois as we begin our descent back down toward Texas.  We hope all is well with you and yours.  Keep your eyes on the road and we'll catch up with you soon!

Goodbye to Kentucky

We finished our short visit to Kentucky by exploring Frankfort, the state capitol.  The capitol grounds were beautiful!  I snapped this shot of Denny by the gigantic floral clock, which actually keeps time!

...here is a side view of the clock...so cool!

Driving out of downtown, we stopped at a very old, very interesting cemetery sitting on a hill overlooking the capitol building.  I've always loved exploring cemeteries; there is something quite surreal about them.  Timeless, really.  We discovered that Daniel Boone was buried in this one, along with his wife, Rebecca.  I was surprised to learn that Mr. Boone lived to the ripe old age of 86 - that was quite a feat in the early 1800's!  [He actually died in Missouri in 1820 and was reinterred here in 1845...interesting, eh?]

Check out the tree growing around the wrought iron fence for the Boone's gravesite...

...isn't that wild?!?

The last thing we did in Frankfort was go to Gibby's Deli and try their Hot Browns.  My sister, Lisa, has become enamored with the Food Channel.  She told me all about a segment she saw on this dish, so we decided to taste one on her behalf.  I had never heard of them before; it was quite a taste sensation!!

The Hot Brown - a lovely, light little snack (not!) consisting of turkey slices, tomato, bacon and a heavy cheese sauce over toast.  I ate this monster a week ago and I am still full!!  I found this online history about it:

"Chef Fred K. Schmidt at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, created the Hot Brown sandwich in 1926. In the 1920s, the Brown Hotel drew over 1,200 guests each evening for its dinner dance. The band would play until late, and when the band took a break, around midnight; people would retire to the restaurant for a bite to eat. Bored with the traditional ham and eggs, Chef Schmidt, delighted his guests by creating the Hot Brown."

I cannot imagine getting out on the dance floor after consuming one of these!  On second thought, maybe this was just the ticket to get the '20's Roaring; do you suppose dances like The Charleston were invented so folks could work off their Hot Brown?  =]

Footnote:  1820's and Daniel Boone
1920's and the Hot Brown
I wonder what will be in vogue in 2020?

...Until next time!

 

Just Horsing Around

Since we last touched based with you, I've logged another natal anniversary - uh!  They just keep coming; you can't hide from them, no matter where you go!  This year I blew out a candle set in jello.  =]

With the recent flooding of western Tennessee, we altered our plans a bit and went north from Knoxville into Kentucky (instead of west into Nashville).  We were delighted to discover the small town of Corbin around lunchtime; for this was the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Yes, Colonel Harlan Sanders began his chicken empire right here!  This little spot had been on the main route to Florida from the north before the federal interstate highway system was established in the 1950's.  During the Depression, Sanders supplemented his income by selling meals to folks passing through.  In 1932 he set up 'Sanders Cafe and Courts' - a restaurant, gas station and motel on this site (the original is now gone, but this working replica of the restaurant is also a museum which details the history of the Colonel's rise to 'finger lickin' good' fame).  We had a delightful lunch here!

Later that day, we arrived in Lexington, where we found that our campground was on the grounds of the Kentucky Horse Park - billed as 'The National Horse Center.' 

We nestled our camper right in among the trees and we were 'home' once more!

Every four years in Europe there is held something called The World Equestrian Games (I liken them to be similar to the Olympics, but with horses).  The Games have never taken place in the United States, until now.  For 16 days this coming September, the Games will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.  It is quite a coup, apparently - and this is just the facility to host such a spectacular; it is amazing!  The grounds are manicured beautifully... I loved the flowers - just look at these peonies!

While touring the Horse Park, we saw riding and reining demonstrations...

 ...and there was leaping and jumping and carrying on...

...and there was much rejoicing!

Denny got up close and personal with the draft horses - this one is a Percheron named Dan.  This breed of horse runs reeeeeeeally big; Dan is over 17 hands high and weighs more than 2000 pounds!

I guess that's all for now.  Until next time...Tally ho, y'all!

Up and Over

The 1st of May, we climbed up and over the Appalachian Mountains on I-40 from Asheville, North Carolina and found ourselves in Tennessee.  The interstate had just reopened a few days prior; it had been shut down since October 25th of last year because a major rock slide had so damaged the roadway.  We were lucky that our schedule melded so well with that of the highway department, or we'd have had quite a detour.
   

Denny had been in this area about 16 years ago.  He said that this rest stop really depicted the way he'd remembered Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg... folksy and rural with a slow, easy pace about it (more on that later).  We turned south about 20 miles shy of Knoxville to reach our destination:  Sevierville, the hometown of Dolly Parton.  After setting up camp, we drove into town and found Dolly on the grounds of the County Courthouse.

Oh, now, did you think we really saw Dolly in person?  Well, we didn't that day, but we may this coming Friday; she'll be in town for her annual homecoming parade.  She'll also be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the opening of Dollywood, her theme park in neighboring Pigeon Forge.  Hometown girl makes good, I guess!  We commemorated our visit to her fair city by watching "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" the first night we were here.  It's a good movie to see, if you haven't already; and a good one to see again, if you have!

We took a drive down into Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg; you know, to soak in that laid back, folksy atmosphere of small town life in the Great Smoky Mountains that Dennis had remembered.  We saw the Old Mill that he'd seen out in the country off by its lonesome...

...the only trouble is, it isn't off by its lonesome anymore.  This was the view across the street:
 

Pigeon Forge has gone commercial!! 

In the place shown below, you will find lazer tag, old-time picture takin', camel rides and weddings being performed - why, it has everything you need in one handy location!

Do you notice the Great Smokies behind all the glitz below?

Poor Denny's face just fell when he saw this place!  I was surprised by the number of pancake restaurants  and 'dinner-theater' establishments.  And I swear there were at least 5 putt-putt golf parks within a 6-mile stretch.  Well, that's 'progress,' I reckon!

This is called 'Wonderworks' - it has over 120 interactive adventures...and the funniest dinner show in town (or so they say)!  I thought the exterior was the coolest thing about it.  = /

And then the rains came to Tennessee.  Nashville (about 200 miles from Sevierville) received 13 inches of rain over the weekend and the Cumberland River flooded the city.  The Little Pigeon River flows through our campground backyard.  We didn't receive much rain, but we could see a change in our river on Monday and Tuesday.  Here is a shot of our view before the rain:

These are shots of a little inlet just below the bench...

one at the flooding peak and the other just after it receded:

We were looking forward to seeing the Nashville area before heading north into western Kentucky next week.  However, after learning that the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame have been flooded and are closed for what may be months, we've regretfully changed our plans. 

(Sorry, Nancy & Phil, there'll be no pictures of Murfreesboro from us this time around!) 

Our prayers go out to all the folks in western Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky that lost loved ones in the flooding and tornados over the weekend. 

Well, May is here and the thermometer is beginning to creep upward.  May you revel in this year's spring-to-summer transition.  Time does march on; join in the parade!  

Love and peace,

Lori & Denny