On our way home.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.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Plantations and Presidents
What would it have been like to live on a southern plantation? I'm not sure but I do know that the locations of the James River Plantations would have made life there beautiful. We visited three different plantations today; Westover, Berkeley and Shirley. These are wonderful examples of Georgian architecture with formal gardens and lawns rolling right to the rivers edge. We toured the inside of the Berkeley and walked around the grounds of the other two. All three are still working farms and families live in two of them on the upper floors with tour groups going through the lower floors. Not sure that is a lifestyle I would enjoy but the houses were amazing. The Berkeley was the home of President William Henry Harrison who was grandfather of President Benjamin Harrison. The first ten presidents of the United States all visited and dined at this plantation. 
Westover Plantation on the James River
We drove on to Western Virginia to Monticello the home of President Thomas Jefferson. We were especially interested in Jefferson after listening to Undaunted Courage about Lewis and Clark. Jefferson sent them on the journey to discover a northern passage to the Pacific. Many of the artifacts brought back by Lewis and Clark were given to Jefferson and there are some still in his home and replicas of those that have been lost over the years. It was so interesting. The grounds and home are incredible.
Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello
Sugar maple at Monticello
I'm having a little trouble trying to give justice to what we did and saw today since it's very late and I'm tired. Maybe later I'll come back and edit this entry. But if not, know that we had a very interesting day.
Colonial Williamsburg, VA
Although many in our family are the get-up-early-and-leave-early-type of people, Doug and I are not necessarily that way. Wednesday morning we wanted to have some time with Jack and Joan so we did not get away from their house until about 9:30. That still left us enough time to drive to Williamsburg and spend the afternoon there.We arrived in time for a great and authentic old world lunch at the King's Arm Tavern. Then we began to walk the old Colonial town of Williamsburg. We wandered the streets enjoying the houses and buildings and envisioning ourselves as 18th century citizens of the town. Of course, we also carried our cameras to record the event. Not very 18th century of us.
Eventually, we left to find a motel for the night, walked back to Williamsburg and continued our visit of the old town. At one point, Doug went off to take pictures and I spent a little time shopping in the market area. Once we were reunited, we ate dinner outside, it was a warm evening, at The Trellis Restaurant. This is a very famous restaurant due to it's chef, the author of Death by Chocolate. Yes, we did have a chocolate dessert and it was incredible. Then we walked back to our motel. It seems that we may have walked about 6 miles yesterday. Today we are feeling the effects but it was worth the effort.
The toy store in Williamsburg, VA.
The Christmas Shop in Williamsburg, VA.
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