I've decided that although this blog was designed for Doug and my trip across the USA last fall, this would be a great place to journal all our travels. Even those that we don't take together. If you should check this out at other times, you might find some of our wanderings recorded or even just some of our wandering thoughts.
There are many things I want to do before I die and one of those is visit all 50 states. Doug and I managed to visit 29 on our trip across the USA. Plus, there are ones already visited. Well, I'm now going to make it to Hawaii. Doug won't be on this trip as I'm going with my book club. Doesn't that sound like great fun? We'll be going to visit Dolores Godwin, the book club's founder, at her place on Oahu. I'm really looking forward to this trip. Eight women, one condo, 5 days...should be exciting.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Friday, November 2, 2007
We're Home!
Doug and Judi in front of Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson.Actually, we have been home for a week but it has taken this long to find time to sit and write. What an amazing trip! Doug and I have spent lots of time talking about all we saw and did, all that we would like to go back and do again and all that we missed that would make another trip or two.
Where was the best place we stayed? Kingsleigh Inn in Southwest Harbor, Maine and second would be Chestnut Hall in Gettysburg, PA.
Where was the worst place we stayed? Toss up between the B&B where the Inn keeper never came out to meet us and argued with her husband loud enough to be heard in the dining room or the smoking room in KY or the last night by the train tracks.
Funniest moment? Judi - when Doug drove the wrong way in a round-about.
Favorite place we visited? Really hard since we enjoyed so many but here are several favorites: Acadia National Park, Custer State Park, the Louisa May Alcott home, the drive along the Green Mountains in Vermont, Wilmore Kentucky, Mt. Rushmore, Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, plantation drive along James River in Virginia, Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame, Gettysburg Battlefield, and much more.
Favorite Meal/Restaurant? Dobbins House, Gettysburg and lobster place in Maine.
Most thought provoking? slavery issues versus obvious wealth of slave owners and written words of founding fathers ("...all men are created equal.)
Contrasts? The varying landscape of the country really struck us. From the coasts of Maine, to the deserts of New Mexico and everything in between - farmlands, forests, rolling hills, etc.
Well, there is much more to be said so we may have to revisit the blog to continue to put down our impressions and thoughts of the trip.
We are glad to have taken the time, money and energy for the trip and look forward to the next opportunity for just such an adventure.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
Windshild Wipers
Windshield wipers are a wonderful invention. It sure beats hanging your head out the window to see in the road in the driving rain. We were on the road today for 11 hours and it rained for all but about one of those hours. At times the wipers were on intermittent and at times we needed super speed which of course is not provided with the standard wipers. It made for a long drive but we arrived safely in Oklahoma City around 7:30. There is nothing really exciting to report. We drove, we arrived, and now we sleep.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
A Day of Rest
We've been on the road for a long time. It's been a really good time, but long nonetheless. So today we decided we needed time to recoup before beginning some long stretches of driving over the next couple of days.
Sleeping until you wake up rather than being woken by the alarm is the perfect start to the day. Since last night was late, we also slept late this morning. A long shower and a light late breakfast and we headed out to see a few sights. It was already late morning but it felt so good to not be in a rush. We stepped outside into sunshine and wind. The Opryland Hotel is just down the street so we began there. What a fun place! We walked around enjoying the beautiful indoor gardens, waterfalls, and canals. Watched the water show, did a little shopping, ate lunch and finished with a HaagenDas ice cream cone. Doug always needs to test chocolate chip ice cream to see if it is up to par. It was.
Next stop was the Grand Ole Opry. It was closed but at least we can say we saw it.
The seventh president of the United States, General Andrew Jackson, had his home here in Nashville. He named it the Hermitage and it is a beautiful old southern plantation. The home is filled with original furnishings, wallpaper, and art work. The family owned the home until it was sold to the preservation group in the 1890's which is why there is so much of the original furnishings in the home. One of Jackson's slaves, although freed during the Civil War, lived on the property until 1901 and was a tour guide when the home opened to the public. It would have been so fun to have him give you a tour. I'm sure there would have been much to learn from his stories. He is buried in the family cemetery which is on the property.
The tours of old houses, battlefields, monuments and memorials has been very informative. We've had glimpses into the lifestyle of another time and, really, of another culture. It's been thought-provoking. We have much to be thankful for to those who founded and built our country. But we also should learn from the mistakes of those that have gone before us. Understanding where our country has come from, both the good and the bad, should help us make better decisions for the future. We found ourselves sitting in front of the slave quarters at the Hermitage contemplating how slavery was ever justified. Trying to understand how people could own other people and think it was okay. The enormous wealth and lavish lifestyle of plantation owners was dependent on the labor of slaves. What an impact this aspect of our history has on our society today. We have found ourselves bewildered by men like Thomas Jefferson who wrote that 'all men are created equal' yet was a slave owner. I guess we all justify things in our lives. It does cause us to contemplate human behavior, sin and self-justification. No answers, just lots of questions.
Well, after all that thinking and contemplation, it was time to do some necessary grocery shopping in preparation for long travel days. Once the food was put away in the cooler, Doug picked up some dinner and we are now watching the play-off game between the Indians and Red Sox. A good ending to a good day. Well, the good ending part may depend on who wins the game. :)
Sleeping until you wake up rather than being woken by the alarm is the perfect start to the day. Since last night was late, we also slept late this morning. A long shower and a light late breakfast and we headed out to see a few sights. It was already late morning but it felt so good to not be in a rush. We stepped outside into sunshine and wind. The Opryland Hotel is just down the street so we began there. What a fun place! We walked around enjoying the beautiful indoor gardens, waterfalls, and canals. Watched the water show, did a little shopping, ate lunch and finished with a HaagenDas ice cream cone. Doug always needs to test chocolate chip ice cream to see if it is up to par. It was.
Next stop was the Grand Ole Opry. It was closed but at least we can say we saw it.
The seventh president of the United States, General Andrew Jackson, had his home here in Nashville. He named it the Hermitage and it is a beautiful old southern plantation. The home is filled with original furnishings, wallpaper, and art work. The family owned the home until it was sold to the preservation group in the 1890's which is why there is so much of the original furnishings in the home. One of Jackson's slaves, although freed during the Civil War, lived on the property until 1901 and was a tour guide when the home opened to the public. It would have been so fun to have him give you a tour. I'm sure there would have been much to learn from his stories. He is buried in the family cemetery which is on the property.
The tours of old houses, battlefields, monuments and memorials has been very informative. We've had glimpses into the lifestyle of another time and, really, of another culture. It's been thought-provoking. We have much to be thankful for to those who founded and built our country. But we also should learn from the mistakes of those that have gone before us. Understanding where our country has come from, both the good and the bad, should help us make better decisions for the future. We found ourselves sitting in front of the slave quarters at the Hermitage contemplating how slavery was ever justified. Trying to understand how people could own other people and think it was okay. The enormous wealth and lavish lifestyle of plantation owners was dependent on the labor of slaves. What an impact this aspect of our history has on our society today. We have found ourselves bewildered by men like Thomas Jefferson who wrote that 'all men are created equal' yet was a slave owner. I guess we all justify things in our lives. It does cause us to contemplate human behavior, sin and self-justification. No answers, just lots of questions.
Well, after all that thinking and contemplation, it was time to do some necessary grocery shopping in preparation for long travel days. Once the food was put away in the cooler, Doug picked up some dinner and we are now watching the play-off game between the Indians and Red Sox. A good ending to a good day. Well, the good ending part may depend on who wins the game. :)
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Backcountry Roads of Kentucky
"Aunt Rachel Lived to 102 yrs Slave to Her Mistress" -- a slave buried next to the woman she served -- a great storyNew roads are great but back country new roads are even better. Today we traversed the back roads of the hills of Kentucky. Oh the sights we saw today!
To begin the day, we drove to Springfield, KY. to see the birthplace of A. Lincoln and of course, discovered that Lincoln was not born there but only spent some of his boyhood there. So back to the books to figure out where the actual birthplace was located. That would be Hodgenville, KY. Lincoln's birthplace was about 40 miles of great country roads through the hills from where we were.
The drive was fascinating. The hills are dotted with neat little farms. Houses ranged from the grand brick Colonial with tall white columns to the run-down mobile home with a front yard filled with every possible piece of non-working machinery and junk. Most of the homes were somewhere in the middle, brick or white clapboard with neat yards. One thing all the homes had in common was a front porch with at least two chairs. The richer homes had white wrought iron benches and the poorer ones had plastic chairs. The best ones were the white or wooden rockers that filled most of the porches. Watching the neighbors and passing traffic is obviously one of the Kentuckians pastimes.
As we drove through the farmland we began to noticed all the black barns. Farm after farm had big black barns. Our travels have taken us through hundreds of miles of farmlands and most of the barns we have observed are either white, grey or red but never black. We saw hundreds of these black barns just today. The barns fascinated us and as we began a closer observation we realized the barns were filled with drying tobacco. Although we never did see tobacco fields, we saw plenty of tobacco hanging in the barns. Question; are the barns black to produce extra heat to help dry out the tobacco? Does anyone know the answer? Regardless, the black barns and black rail fences against the green fields and Autumn colored forests made for a beautiful scene.
Detail, log-built Old Mulkey Meeting House -- this bump-out portion of the building is where the speaker stood to address the congregation
Not far from Tompkinsville was a place on the map called the Old Mulkey Meeting House State Park. This sounded interesting so off we went. This was the first log meeting house in Kentucky built in 1807. Hannah Boone Pennington was a member of this church. She was the sister of Daniel Boone. Both she and her father, Squire Boone, are buried in the church cemetery as are several soldiers from the Revolutionary War. It is a beautiful log church set amidst the forest, quiet and peaceful.
Old Ford along Kentucky highway -- old cars, old appliances, old stuff . . . right along the road for our entertainment
From there our last stop for the day was to be Nashville, Tennessee. There was not a major road anywhere near the road we were on but the map showed that it would connect with the major road to Nashville that we needed. Maps are not always accurate. We headed south. The back country road kept getting smaller and smaller till we were on a one lane road traveling through the hills of Kentucky. The housing continued to get poorer and poorer, more junk in the front yards. The road dead ended. We turned left. That didn't feel right so we turned around and drove into the sun. After all, our overall destination lay to the west and south. We just kept taking turns to the south or west until we found the road to Nashville. This unintentional tour was totally fun as we were able to really see the back country of the Kentucky hills.
To begin the day, we drove to Springfield, KY. to see the birthplace of A. Lincoln and of course, discovered that Lincoln was not born there but only spent some of his boyhood there. So back to the books to figure out where the actual birthplace was located. That would be Hodgenville, KY. Lincoln's birthplace was about 40 miles of great country roads through the hills from where we were.
The drive was fascinating. The hills are dotted with neat little farms. Houses ranged from the grand brick Colonial with tall white columns to the run-down mobile home with a front yard filled with every possible piece of non-working machinery and junk. Most of the homes were somewhere in the middle, brick or white clapboard with neat yards. One thing all the homes had in common was a front porch with at least two chairs. The richer homes had white wrought iron benches and the poorer ones had plastic chairs. The best ones were the white or wooden rockers that filled most of the porches. Watching the neighbors and passing traffic is obviously one of the Kentuckians pastimes.
As we drove through the farmland we began to noticed all the black barns. Farm after farm had big black barns. Our travels have taken us through hundreds of miles of farmlands and most of the barns we have observed are either white, grey or red but never black. We saw hundreds of these black barns just today. The barns fascinated us and as we began a closer observation we realized the barns were filled with drying tobacco. Although we never did see tobacco fields, we saw plenty of tobacco hanging in the barns. Question; are the barns black to produce extra heat to help dry out the tobacco? Does anyone know the answer? Regardless, the black barns and black rail fences against the green fields and Autumn colored forests made for a beautiful scene.
A non-black barn with hanging tobacco . . . so how many cigarettes will this barn's contents produce?
Continuing on the back roads of Kentucky we drove to Tompkinsville. Doug's grandfather and his family are from this town in Kentucky. We've heard lots of stories over the years about Tompkinsville so it was interesting to actually see the town. It is the county seat for Monroe county, named for President Monroe and his vice-president Tompkins.
At the Old Mulkey Meeting House -- Doug gets 10 seconds to push the shutter, run around to the front door, across the room, and look casual just before the photographic moment
Detail, log-built Old Mulkey Meeting House -- this bump-out portion of the building is where the speaker stood to address the congregation
Not far from Tompkinsville was a place on the map called the Old Mulkey Meeting House State Park. This sounded interesting so off we went. This was the first log meeting house in Kentucky built in 1807. Hannah Boone Pennington was a member of this church. She was the sister of Daniel Boone. Both she and her father, Squire Boone, are buried in the church cemetery as are several soldiers from the Revolutionary War. It is a beautiful log church set amidst the forest, quiet and peaceful.
Old Ford along Kentucky highway -- old cars, old appliances, old stuff . . . right along the road for our entertainment
From there our last stop for the day was to be Nashville, Tennessee. There was not a major road anywhere near the road we were on but the map showed that it would connect with the major road to Nashville that we needed. Maps are not always accurate. We headed south. The back country road kept getting smaller and smaller till we were on a one lane road traveling through the hills of Kentucky. The housing continued to get poorer and poorer, more junk in the front yards. The road dead ended. We turned left. That didn't feel right so we turned around and drove into the sun. After all, our overall destination lay to the west and south. We just kept taking turns to the south or west until we found the road to Nashville. This unintentional tour was totally fun as we were able to really see the back country of the Kentucky hills.
Friday, October 19, 2007
SERENDIPITY
American Heritage Dictionary -
ser·en·dip·i·ty (sěr'ən-dĭp'ĭ-tē) Pronunciation Key n. pl. ser·en·dip·i·ties
The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
An instance of making such a discovery.
ser·en·dip·i·ty (sěr'ən-dĭp'ĭ-tē) Pronunciation Key n. pl. ser·en·dip·i·ties
The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
An instance of making such a discovery.
Setting out today for a long drive designed to get us from one place to another and not much more we didn't realize we were in for a day of serendipity. Last night we stayed in Lexington, Virginia and today our goal was Lexington, Kentucky. To achieve this goal we drove over the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Appalachians and the Allegheny. Our first serendipity was the fall color. The hills were alive with the sound of fall colors. Absolutely spectacular. The rain last night and a little today, helped with the beauty of all we saw. Clouds, wet roads, cold, all elements that give that feeling of fall. Our necessary trip turned into one of astounding beauty.
Around 1:00 we stopped for lunch and an oil change for the car. Having put over 6,000 miles on the poor thing to date, it was time to take care of the car. Then, back on the road with Lexington Kentucky as the next stop. I was born in Lexington while my father was in school at Asbury Seminary near there.
My connection to Kentucky is very tenuous. Almost an accident. My father was in school and so I was born there and then my parents returned to California when I was 2 months old. I don't have any memories of Kentucky nor do we have any other relation to the state. However, I found myself strangely affected today being in Kentucky. I do have a relationship to this place. This is my birthplace. Doug and I found the hospital where I was born, the house my parents lived in and the school where dad studied. Feeling connected to this place was a serendipity. Something I definitely did not expect to find.
This is the chapel at Asbury Seminary in Wilmore Kentucky. 
Judi standing in front of the Good Samaritan Hospital where she was born just a few years ago.
Before we left Lexington to head for Wilmore, home of Asbury Seminary, we stopped at the home of Mary Todd Lincoln. Her home is on the same road as the hospital. That was a fun discovery. Also, the home of Henry Clay is the opposite direction on the same road. We did not have time to drive there. We also stopped by the Shaker Village but were too late to tour it. Our travel philosophy is that it is always good to leave some things to do the next time you visit. On this trip, there are many things that fit into that category as we keep discovering new things to do and see.
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