Unbridled Spirit(s)

Bob and I were excited to go to Blue Grass country this week, but when we got here, the grass was all brown. We were told it has been a very dry year in Kentucky. There wasn’t much green anywhere. We were also surprised to find that most of the barns and fences in this area are painted black. The barns are historically black to aid in warming and drying tobacco. Many of the fences are treated with creosote to discourage horses from rubbing and biting the fences. That look is very different from the rest of the country.

We spent our time in the Lexington, Frankfort and Louisville areas that are known as bourbon and horse country. Frankfort is the state capital and we enjoyed visiting Daniel Boone’s grave. We also went to a unique Vietnam Memorial with a giant sundial that points to the names of those who were killed on the anniversary date of their death.

I don’t like bourbon and neither does Bob, but we were interested in seeing how it was made, so we toured Woodford Reserve, a small batch bourbon distillery. They produce high quality bourbon and we did our tasting at 11am. What a way to start the day. Then we did a tasting at the Wild Turkey distillery where we discovered a bourbon liqueur named American Honey. Maybe bourbon isn’t so bad after all. One interesting thing we learned is that the USA is the only place in the world that is allowed to produce bourbon and 90% is made right in this area. Whiskey is made in lots of places, but there are strict regulations on bourbon. Bourbon has to be 51% corn based. Other ingredients include rye and malted barley.

After the bourbon stops, we went to the Abbey of Gesthemany, an old Trappist monastery. The famous Catholic mystic and writer Thomas Merton lived here for 27 years. The monks have seven prayer sessions each day starting at 3:15am! We spent some time in the chapel, but the monks were not at their prayer stations. I guess they were off making cheese and fruitcakes at that time.

This part of Kentucky is known for their horse farms and they are everywhere and very beautiful. We spent a day at the Kentucky Horse Park which houses the International Horse Museum and the American Saddlebred Museum. It was also the site of the 2010 World Equestrian Games. Bob had actually watched some of it on TV. We met some champion horses and saw a wonderful breed performance. A high point for us in horse country was watching five races at Churchill Downs in Louisville. It was great to sit in the stands and see the horses thunder by. One jockey was having a very good day and won 3 of the races we saw.

Kentucky also has some unusual foods that we had to try. Bourbon candy was not as good as I expected. You really couldn’t taste the bourbon. We also had burgoo stew which is a thick mutton vegetable soup. I really liked Kentucky Old Brown, which is a baked open faced sandwich with turkey, ham and tomato, smothered in cheese sauce and topped with bacon. Bob tried the barbequed mutton and I had the Kentucky ribs – both were delicious. It’s a good thing we didn’t try all the pies or I would be having even more trouble zipping my jeans.

Next we’re heading south to Tennessee and then on to North Carolina.

Happy Howloween

Bob and I donned our costumes and joined in the Halloween fun at the Dragon Pub in downtown Frankfort on Saturday night. Mary was a leopard and Bob was a kilt wearing Robin Hood. Many people were decked out in costumes and they had a great DJ who played very danceable songs. We drank and ate too much, but it was a fantastic time and my legs only hurt for a few hours this morning. Let’s do the time warp again……………

Virginia Mountains

I’m not much for big cities, but Washington DC was much nicer than I expected. After three days in the city though, I was ready for the country. Bob and I set up camp at the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Staunton, VA. We visited the Frontier Culture Museum which was wonderful. They purchased existing homes in Ireland, England and Germany that were built around 1700 and then brought them here to reflect the people who settled in this area. The museum also included an African homestead representative of Nigeria and several early American homes. We were able to go inside these homes and talk with people dressed in period clothing who were well versed on daily life. I especially enjoyed visiting with the livestock - cows, sheep, pigs, chickens and a cat.

We spent a full day in Shenandoah National Park which is gorgeous. It was also very crowded on this Saturday with people taking in the fall colors. We drove 70 of the 105 miles of Skyline Drive, which runs the crest of the mountains and were lucky to see a black bear cub crossing the road. This park has 500 miles of hiking trails and Bob and I found one that wasn’t too busy – a nice loop that included 1.5 miles of the Appalachian trail. The AT runs near Skyline Drive through the entire park. We hiked on it a bit in Maine and will try to catch several more sections as we work our way south.

We took advantage of a sunny day in the low 70s to tour Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home. This beautiful estate sits high on a hill overlooking Charlottesville, VA. It was great to hear about his life and accomplishments. Jefferson and I would have really gotten along well since we both love wine, skylights, great views and travel.

After many hours at Monticello, Bob and I had a lovely dinner on the pedestrian mall in downtown Charlottesville. This is a very livable city with many fine restaurants, shops and entertainment. It is also home to the University of Virginia, which Jefferson founded in the early 1800s. Hampton Roads, the publisher of my book, is also here.

The Blue Ridge Parkway connects Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. This 469-mile road, runs the ridges of the Appalachian mountains. We drove the first 30 miles of it, but it started raining and thick fog settled in, so we had to come back to our campground. We’ll pick it up again later.

I think we’re almost at the end of the fall colors especially with the wind and rain we’ve had recently. We’ll see how things look as we cross West Virginia and stay a few days in Kentucky.

Washington DC

Neither Mary nor I are real history buffs, and it isn’t always easy to be proud of some of the things our country does, but when DC reminds you of the ideas and ideals that created this country, it is very easy to be patriotic and feel grateful. The monuments, buildings and museums represent a powerful mix of concepts, ideas, ideals, irony, deeds, achievements, beauty, hypocrisy, eloquence, wisdom, sacrifice and bureaucracy.

The layout of the National Mall is fantastic. The Capitol, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and JFK Tomb are all in view of each other. We also noticed that the White House is in direct line-of-sight with the statue of Jefferson in the Jefferson Memorial. Presidents can look over to Jefferson for inspiration in times of crisis. It was important for Mary to visit the Viet Nam Memorial (2 of the photos).

Museums highlight accomplishments in space and our evolving knowledge of the natural world. They also recount man’s inhumanity to man (Holocaust), and seek to acknowledge once overlooked events, achievements or significance (African American, American Indian, Women in the Armed Services).

The Hubble 3D Imax film was outstanding, and the café at the new American Indian Museum had selections representing cultures from South America to the Arctic.

Washington DC actually seemed pretty nice and the Georgetown and Alexandria, VA areas are really great. We met up with a friend of Mary’s from her flight attendant days that she hadn’t seen in over 30 years, and we even happened to come across one of the people from this year’s Dolphin Trip just walking along the street in front of the White House.

I am not a big believer in fate, but when you look back on the history of the US it seems strange how some of the very large evolutions were spurred by some very unlikely events. Given how difficult it is to shoot firearms with accuracy, how strange it is that 4 non-professional assassins on their first try brought down Abraham, John, Martin and Bobby. And, how absurd that the ideas and eloquence of our leaders is enhanced by untimely deaths and war-time struggles.

Sacrifice and death seem to be an ever-present theme in our history. As I look upon the monuments, memorials and graves of the famous and ordinary, it is easy to feel a certain sense of guilt. But, I am learning to turn feelings of guilt into feelings of gratitude. So instead of sorrow and sadness, I try to cultivate emotions of thanks and love as I consider their sacrifice.

We were also reminded that personal sacrifices are not limited to death and the battlefield. In this land of personal freedom and liberty, there are countless instances of individuals having to forego their rights for the sake of others, such as people removed from their land to make way for a national park or highway, and, of course, slavery.

One of the current teachings Mary and I are learning is to accept what “is”. That doesn’t mean you can’t still strive to improve or change things. But once “it is, what it is” it is best to accept it and move on. It is odd, but accepting or even embracing those things we don’t like, and even forgiving the unforgivable can have transformative powers of healing and well-being.

It is easy to be disgusted when watching the News and listening to the current political ads, but sharing the foundations of liberty with the other visitors in DC, and seeing the awe on the multi-colored faces and hearing the wide range of languages reminds us that we have a unique and distinguished system of government and laws. It’s not perfect, but let’s embrace it, forgive it and do something to make it better.

Wild Horses

Bob and I made the big drive from the Catskills to the middle of Delaware on a very windy day without any issues. We were surprised to see all the agriculture in Delaware. We found fields of soybeans and chicken farms, and sometimes corn in this sparsely populated state.

I am very happy to have warm weather again – about 73 degrees today. We drove south into Maryland to Assateague Island and spent the day riding bikes and walking on the beach. Assateague is a barrier island off the Maryland and Virginia shore that is home to hundreds of wild horses. We ran into quite a few while we were biking. They have lived on the island for about 300 years and are domesticated horses than have become feral. For the most part, they are small and stocky, with quite furry manes. We watched two wild horses giving some corralled riding horses a bad time. They were pissed that these guys were in their territory! We also saw two wild horses “grooming” each other by nibbling each other’s back simultaneously.

After Assateague, we drove the coast north to Ocean City, MD, which is a lot like Atlantic City, NJ - large hotels, condos and a boardwalk full of shops and food (just no casinos). We did find some outrageous carmel corn with peanuts. At the north end of the coast road, we stopped at a lovely beach in Delaware where we saw a dolphin offshore and lots of monarch butterflies. The butterflies stop here for a shot of nectar on their way south. Rehoboth Beach, DE was a lovely little city with a much smaller and more tasteful boardwalk.

Delaware seems like a quiet place to live. Not much going on and unfortunately we’re going to miss the big Punkin Chunkin on Nov. 5^th - the world championship of gourd hurling.

Woodstock

Bob and I think the fall colors here in New York State are redder and more vibrant than we saw in Vermont or New Hampshire. Hopefully we will continue to enjoy these displays as we travel south this month.

I really like the Adirondacks and Catskills. They are much larger and wilder than we expected, and there is so much park land to enjoy. Bob and I did a great hike in the Catskills to a spectacular rock ledge overlook, and like many of our east coast hikes, it was pretty steep. It was a gorgeous sunny day though with no wind and temps in the high 50s.

On the way to the hike, we came upon Emerson Resort and Spa, so we stopped for a chocolate and looked around. This is the second Emerson Inn we’ve discovered in New England. After the hike, we drove into the lovely town of Woodstock, NY and shopped at the farmers market. Many of the townsfolk looked like they came in the 60s and never left. We even saw a classic old hippie couple that had to be in their 70s on a bicycle covered in Love posters.

I have always been sorry that I missed Woodstock – THE Woodstock in 1969. If I were able to go back in time, to any time, and experience an event, I’d pick Woodstock. So of course, I wanted to see Yasgur’s farm, but in checking things out I was surprised to find that it was in Bethel, NY, about 90 minutes from the town of Woodstock (the original plan was for it to be in Woodstock but the site changed three times). The farmland was purchased several years ago by a foundation and it is now the site of the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts and the Museum of the 60s and Woodstock. They preserved the stage area and hillside where the main action took place (green grass photo) and next to it is an amazing array of event venues including an outdoor concert pavilion. It was done very elegantly and harmoniously with the land.

We spent three hours in the Museum, which is fantastic. The beginning section is dedicated to the 1960s with timelines of important events and multimedia presentations on fashion, culture, the suburbs, TV, music and movements. I am always deeply touched by documentaries on that decade. It was an amazing time. The second half of the museum is dedicated to the musical event itself – history about who put it together and how the venue kept changing. They expected 150,000 people to show up but there were three times that. There were several large screen video and movie presentations that we enjoyed. By the time we left, Bob and I both felt like we’d been in a Woodstock IMAX movie for the afternoon. Don’t miss this place if you are anywhere near here. It is awesome!

It has gotten cool, even downright cold some nights, and we are expecting snow above 2000 feet tonight. We start our trek south in the morning – first to Delaware, then DC and on to Virginia. I hope we can still visit the mountains before the snow really flies.

From Lake Champlain to Lake Placid

Mary and I left Vermont via a ferry across Lake Champlain from Grand Isle, VT to Plattsburgh, NY. The ferry was small and the 5^th wheel looked pretty large. It was the trailer’s first ride on a boat.

We stayed in a campground just across the street from Whiteface Mountain, which was the site of many alpine skiing events for the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics. We also drove to the top of the mountain via a toll road on the backside. This trip also included a great hike to the summit observation area along a rocky exposed ridge. We then returned to the car via a 260’ vertical elevator ride and 400’ long horizontal tunnel - quite a neat arrangement. As a side note: unlike the west, a lot of the scenic features and wonders of the Northeast are privately owned. Therefore, you often have to pay private tolls or fees for roads and hikes into the scenic wonders. For the most part they seem to be well run and not too exorbitant…kind of like paying fees to enter a state park. This actually makes sense since the northeast was settled and privately owned for the most part, long before the state and federal forest and park systems began.

At the top of Whiteface Mountain they have an observatory that is tracking the acidity of the air and moisture. Acid rain is due historically from the heavy smoke stack industries of the Ohio Valley, and is still now an issue primarily from coal fired power plants. The high acidity affects the general health of trees and lakes and also serves to modify the mix of flora and fauna. We heard that the infamous biting black flies are doing especially well in the acidic environment. We were also told, and did notice, that some of the higher elevation deciduous trees were impacted and dying.

The town of Lake Placid and the surrounding area are very beautiful and US Winter Olympic training facilities are in evidence everywhere - an outdoor speed skating oval, huge ski jumping towers and large arenas. There are also several lakes in the area for swimming and boating. Lake Placid’s small downtown area has a similar feel to Whistler or Park City.

We only stayed one night since the cold weather is starting to settle in but Mary and I both agreed that this would be a nice place to spend a few weeks some summer.

More Cheese Please

Bob and I camped outside of Burlington, VT for the last five nights. It’s a great RV park with lots of seasonal people who are here shutting things down and putting their rigs into storage. The park closes on the 15^th which is pretty common around here. Time to move south.

We expected the fall colors to be about the same here as New Hampshire, but it’s past peak in northern Vermont. This is beautiful country with rolling hills and small mountains, rivers and Lake Champlain. We didn’t find the towns as nice as New Hampshire, and Burlington was sort of hard to get around and didn’t seem to take advantage of its shoreline on Lake Champlain, but we’ve still had a good time here.

Vermont is loaded with factory and farm tours and we took full advantage. Ben and Jerry’s was a wonderful and tasty tour. They even have a flavor graveyard with headstones for the retired flavors. We gained several pounds from our time at Dakin Farms, Cabot Creamery and Shelburne Farms. Shelburne Farms is a beautiful working farm originally built by a Vanderbuilt in the late 1800’s as a ‘model farm’. It is now run by a non-profit and is open for day visits, classes and the main house is now an Inn. The grounds and architecture are absolutely stunning. The animals are well cared for and actually seemed to enjoy interacting with the visitors, even during the milking demonstrations. Bob and I tasted many cheeses, maple syrup, smoked meats, honey and more. We also brought home pounds of lovely and unusual cheese, like hot habanero – Yowza!

Bob took me on a tour of the Rock of Ages granite quarry. It was quite impressive and fun to see how they cut and move tons of rock at a time. We drove around the Hope Cemetery that has some impressive, unusual and often whimsical headstones. The area is a center of granite carving and stone works, and has a great granite statue of the Scotsman Robert Burns, Bob’s favorite poet.

Bob also discovered an obscure state park that had some great hiking trails. We wandered in hardwood forests to viewpoints over Lake Champlain and down to the shoreline as well. Most of the other hikes we checked out were very steep. The mountains around here are not that high but the trails usually go straight up with elevation gains of 1000’ per mile very common.

It’s gotten cold in this part of the country with frost in areas. I want to head south ASAP, but we really want to see Lake Placid and the Catskills in upstate New York, so we’ll brave the forecasted nighttime temps in the high 20s for a couple more days.

New Hampshire

Bob and I managed to avoid the giant rainstorm that flooded much of the east coast this week. We did spend three hours driving in it, and got soaked setting up at our campsite in Ashland, NH, but it was short lived. The humid warm weather has gone away and now we have much cooler weather. It was 38 degrees one morning!

New Hampshire is a lovely state. It has lots of mountains, rivers, waterfalls, hiking, camping, lakes, forests, charming little towns, covered bridges, inns and restaurants, and the people seem very nice. Even the drivers are polite. Too bad about that winter weather because this state has many of the things I’m looking for in a new home.

Bob and I visited some of the top NH attractions this week. We did a tough but worthwhile hike in Franconia Notch State Park that brought us to a granite mountaintop overlooking a colorful forest and valley. We also did the harrowing drive to the top of Mt. Washington, the highest peak on the east coast. It was a sunny day, with only a light breeze so we lucked out. The highest wind ever recorded in the world was at this peak in 1932 – 231 mph. The private road is very steep, has no guardrails and is barely wide enough for two vehicles to pass, but the view from the top is spectacular. I don’t know why they don’t spend some of the admission fees on guardrails. It certainly would be worth it.

We drove the Kancamagus Highway through the White Mountain National Forest. This road is famous for fall colors and the “leaf peepers” are definitely out and about. The leaves are starting to change here and the hillsides have an orange and pink cast to them, especially at the higher elevations. I hope we will get to see some flaming red hills before we leave the northeast.

Moulton Farm in Meredith, NH, was a really fun stop on our tour around Lake Winnipesakee (gorgeous lake). We went through their corn maze, bought pastry and veggies and admired the many types of pumpkins and gourds they grow. We also spent several hours at the Canterbury Shaker Village. This settlement began in the late 1700s and lasted until the last elder died in 1993. Now there are only 3 Shakers left and they live in Maine. I visited the Maine village a few years and was really happy that I could now introduce Bob to this fascinating group. They were great inventors and craftspeople.

Tomorrow we are off to explore Vermont, and will be spending five days near Burlington.