goldenshoe RV trip

Happy Valentine's day!

2012-02-14T13:08:00.003-08:00

We hope you are all having a great day! I did get a gift from my sweetheart. It is very cute, but I am still trying to decide what her message is:)

Elfstedentocht

2012-02-10T20:06:00.000-08:00

The Netherlands is currently occupied not so much with the severe weather in Europe, but rather that this may allow the skating race known as the Elfstedentocht to be run. This race has been referred to as almost mystical. It is a 200KM (125 mile) race between 11 Frisian towns in the north of the Netherlands. It is not very often that the weather conditions allow the race, since at least six inches of ice is necessary across the complete route which includes canals, rivers, and lakes. It is expected that more than 16000 skaters will take part.

The first mention of an 11 city race was in 1760 and it became an organized event in 1909. What helps to make it so special is that since 1909, conditions have only allowed the race to be run 15 times. The last time was in 1997 with the fastest time of 6 hours and 49 minutes.

Now you may be wondering why this is a topic in a RV blog. In 1997, we were living in the Netherlands and were one of the many who braved the freezing conditions to watch the race. We were up before dawn to head to the town of Balk, so that we could watch the lead group of the race come flying through the town’s main canal.

I had purchased a sweatshirt from the 1987 race, so I would look like an old hand. Later we learned that the reason the shirt was so cheap was because the race that year did not actually took place. It had to be cancelled due to unsafe ice. It was so cold that we went back to Anneke’s parent’s house and watched the race in comfort. Later in the day we followed along the route to see the race at various points.

It is truly a Dutch tradition that is not to be missed if you are lucky enough to be there in one of the years that it occurs.

We are hoping that the weather continues to get colder, so the race can be run again after 15 years of waiting.

In addition to the race, this cold weather allowed us to spend some time enjoying some Frisian traditions ourselves, since Anneke’s parents lived on a canal in the boating town of Lemmer.

The party

2012-02-06T18:18:00.000-08:00

Victoria’s first birthday bash was a big success. Her fellow toddlers seemed to have a good time along with the moms. The gifts and cake were all great and the party was rowdy but fun for all.

There was even a visit from Victoria’s aunt Katie via Skype. Her generation will find this technology unremarkable. I can only wonder what new gadgets will be around for her tenth birthday.

I am glad to report that the pink car was a big hit.

I was also pleasantly surprised that none of the kids had a meltdown during the event. What more could you ask for:)

Preparations for the big day

2012-02-05T19:00:00.000-08:00

This weekend was Victoria’s first birthday. This milestone was going to be celebrated with a small gathering of friends and family. But first there is the preparation. Now, our kids left the nest some time ago and I had forgotten some of the rituals that went with this kind of party. We had to decorate, make the birthday cake and the dreaded assemble the toys routine. I had promised myself that I would never buy something again that said: some assembly required. Clearly, I failed to take into account the parents plans.

Making the carrot cake involved me only as far as prepping the carrots. No Problem. Since mom had the forethought to get a bottle of helium, getting the balloons filled was also no problem. Then came the -easy to assemble- Little Tike Cozy Coup which was another matter. The instructions that came with it were nearly useless, but we were able to go to their web site and watch a step by step video .It was pretty good, as long as you turned the volume down on the music. Two hours later, it was done.

Now the preparations are complete, next phase-the celebration!

Shopping and a Lunar Halo

2012-02-03T09:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had absolutely nothing planned, so we ended up going to Destin, which is the area tourist trap. If you love shopping for all kinds of stuff or restaurants, you will love Destin, FL. We had a quick lunch at Panera Bread and then walked two of the shopping areas for those elusive bargains. Anneke did find a few items, but luckily I did not have to hire any bearers to bring the loot to the car.

When returning to the motorhome after dinner with the kids, Anneke noticed a strange ring around the moon. She wondered if an invasion from space was underway. This is a relatively rare event when the cloud conditions are just right. The ring is apparently caused by the light reflecting of the ice crystals in the high cirrus clouds. After a number of attempts, I did manage to get a couple of pictures that, while not really doing justice to the beauty of it, do give some idea of what it looked like. As far as I can remember, this is the first time I have seen one that had he complete circle around the moon. It was something to see!

Exercise and an invasion

2012-01-31T19:57:00.000-08:00

Today, we decided it was time to exercise the motorhome. We have been sitting for 10 weeks with only cycling of the slides, jacks and running of the engine in place. It was definitely time to get all the moving parts into play. Normally, we spend a maximum of two weeks in one place, so there is no need for this kind of program. We headed out to the Gulf Islands National Seashore to enjoy the Gulf views and surf on this windy day. Halley is not allowed on the beach, so she had to be watched closely while she was outside. The last time we were here with Halley, a park ranger stopped us in the parking lot to just remind us that she could not put her paws in the sand.

We were able to enjoy the surf, run the generator and not get a fine for sandy paws. It was a nice few hours underway and lunch with a view.

When we returned I almost immediately had a conversation with one of the ladies in the park who was hobbling around with red and swollen feet. She had a nasty encounter with some red ants and was on the losing end of the meeting. Since I had a similar problem a few years ago in Brooksville, Fl, I immediately checked our campsite. Sure enough there were two fresh ant hills that had not been there yesterday. They certainly looked like the same as in Brooksville.

At the risk of offending those who think all creatures should co-exist, I immediately got out by Home Defense Max strength ant spray and sent at least several hundred ants on their way to their final reward. I have plenty of the stuff left in case I missed any.

All in all an enjoyable day.

It finally happened!

2012-01-28T17:04:00.000-08:00

The last week has seen a big change in Victoria’s mobility and curiosity about her surroundings. She is walking more steps every day and moves around the house without restriction. She has been watching the cat come and go thru the pet door to the garage for some time. She would sit in front of it and seemed to be thinking about a transit.

Today was the day that she made the big move to try the door. It was quite funny and we could not help but think about the Winnie the Pooh video where Pooh gets stuck in the rabbit hole.

There is more child proofing in the works as she expands her horizons of adventure. It must be great to have so many new things to explore with wonder and innocence.

A quick trip to Hawaii

2012-01-25T14:27:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend, we broke out of the grandparents and house hunting modes for a short stint as snowbirds. We attended the campground Luau, which turned out to be a lot of fun. With cooperating weather with temps over 70, you could almost imagine that you were in the Islands –almost:)

The entertainment was provided by a U S Navy trained musical husband and wife team. They did a great job on the steel drums with songs from the islands, the keys and pop hits. There was dinner followed by the campground Hula dancers. They practiced for weeks before the event under the tutelage of one lady who grew up in Hawaii.

I have to mention that Anneke was one of the most colorfully dressed in the group. In a lucky find at the Salvation Army store, she found just the outfit for the occasion. I am pretty sure it was purchased originally for a cruise.

There was dancing inside and under the stars (once the overflow outside dinners moved around).

It was good to spend the evening in the RVing mode.

Flirting with change

2012-01-17T21:13:00.000-08:00

Since our return from the Netherlands, we have been concentrating on our possible lifestyle change and spending time with our granddaughter Victoria. We have spent a lot of our physical and mental energy on looking for that perfect house. While we are seriously thinking about giving up the full time lifestyle, we are still planning on traveling and exploring those many places we have not yet seen in the last five years or so, just not in the same way. We love what we do, but change is inevitable.

Having said that, the housing hunting has not been going that well. Our last experience was in 1999, when I was about to retire from the Coast Guard. Since my last duty station was overseas, we had to decide not only where we would live, but also find a job and a house. Once I had found a job, we made a quick trip to the states and found a house and made all the necessary arrangements in only four days.

This go around, there is no time pressure, as we are living in our moveable home of five years. So after over two months of on and off looking we are not much closer than when we started. Perhaps we are a bit smarter on the market here, but otherwise no closer.

During this process, we are still enjoying spending time with family. Victoria is getting to be a hand full. She is mobile now and has to be watched like a hawk. Turn your back and she is pulling stuff down on herself or taking diving lessons off the couch with Grandpa being held accountable for the black and blue injuries.

Today, we took a complete break from our schedule and sat on the beach and watched the waves braking on shore.

Tomorrow, we will hit the newest listing on the housing market.

Amsterdam trendy

2012-01-05T17:07:00.000-08:00

Our last stop on our Netherlands trip was a hotel at Schipol Airport. This made our departure a lot easier in the morning, since we had mid AM departure. We could walk just a few minutes from the hotel to the airport. Additional we could check in the night before while shopping in the many airport stores.

After checking out the hotels near or on the airport, we settled on the CitizenM hotel, mostly because of location and cost. Some of the hotels wanted as much as 260 dollars. This relatively new chain of hotels is designed to be trendy hotel. It is also designed for primarily overnight guests. The first thing you notice when arriving is that there is no traditional check-in desk. As you enter the door, you are met by a bank of computer monitors, not unlike the new check-ins at airports. You check yourself in and create your own key.

The lobby consists of a self serve food and drink station. There are also four mini lounges with tv’s and chairs to relax. There is a computer lounge for internet access.

Upon entering your room you find a space that is as wide as the bed at the far end of the room, although it is not very far away. You see a “facility” in the open wide opaque sliding glass column for semi privacy if you feel the need. Ditto with the shower. Not a room that two relative strangers would care to share. A sink stand only a midget could love. Then you discover that the entire room’s controls are contained in the mood remote. I am sure some of those even younger than me would have a tough time making this minicomputer work. I admit that once I got the hang of it, I spent a lot of time playing with it and testing all the mood lighting.

For us, it was a fun one night stay. Long term, the restricted space would wear thin fast. If you are looking for a trendy hotel, this is apparently it! They have one downtown Amsterdam and apparently will be opening one in NYC soon.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T15:24:00.000-08:00

We have returned from our journey to attend the funeral of Anneke’s mother. It was a long journey with a sad purpose, but within the context, it was a good trip. The funeral was well attended and Anneke was able to visit with family that in some cases she had not seen in a very long time. Her father is holding up as well as can be expected and he was supported through the process by his children and grandchildren.

We did spend Christmas with Anneke’s sister and her family. This was a good time and they prepared a gourmet meal in the bargain, as well. We were able to use the Dutch version of a camping park model owned by her BIL’s parents. It was very nice of them to let us use it and it was very comfortable.

While there was really no time to visit some of our favorite places, we did manage to hit a couple of places in the province of Friesland in the north. The towns of Lemmer and Urk are associated with the historic tradition of the Dutch as seafarers.

Lemmer was where her parents lived after they retired for many years and is famous for its boating activities. From the town, you can access the huge inland waterway system and the IJsselmeer, which was for most of its history completely open to the sea. This area is also famous for racing of the traditional Dutch sailing vessels that is seen in many of the Dutch Masters’ paintings. While in Lemmer we managed to take in a Dutch style Indonesian/Chinese meal.

On one of our north/south trips, we stopped in the traditional fishing village of Urk. From here, before the IJsselmeer was dammed, fishermen braved the elements to bring home the fish to meet the constant demand of the region. The water’s edge memorial demonstrates the hazards of this occupation from the earliest of times until the present. This town is also well known for its kibling (a deep fried fish) and we were able to have some for a quick lunch stop.

We are working on getting ourselves back into the swing of things here and are looking forward to the New Year.

We want to wish all of you a happy and healthy New Year!!

A passing and Christmas plans that look like scrambled eggs

2011-12-20T14:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Anneke’s mother passed away peacefully in the Netherlands at the age of 88. She enjoyed a long life and passed with family at her side. Since we had extensive plans for the holiday with our daughter Katie and her husband coming for the holiday and long with Victoria’s first Christmas, it was a difficult situation. In the end, we are heading early tomorrow to the airport for the long trek to Amsterdam. I have spent much of my life traveling the world, often in commercial planes. For many years it did not bother me, now I dread it. At the Christmas rush, I am sure it will be a trip to remember.

Making plans for such a immediate departure are a lot simpler with the internet, but certainly not inexpensive when you want to leave –like now. Then there is the packing and making sure you have all the credentials necessary to travel, can actually get a rental car and hotels, as needed. Surprisingly one of the hardest is the packing. After all, we have no luggage or other items normally used in such endeavors. So we are borrowing what we can and then went shopping for some clothes appropriate for the occasion. I do not even own any regular shoes! The last time I wore a tie and dress jacket was several years ago and I had to buy them for the occasion. Living in an RV is definitely a casual affair.

So we are nearly ready for an early AM departure for a week in the cold and windy North Sea country of the Netherlands-oh, I do not own a real winter coat anymore either.

We will have a small early Christmas with Victoria tonight.

I am also taking the daring step of not taking a computer, so my usual lackadaisical updates may be even more so. If we do not post again before Christmas, we want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Destin boat parade

2011-12-10T15:10:00.000-08:00

It has been a busy week, but little that could be called exciting. It started out with some fun. One of the fellow teachers at our daughter’s school also operates a couple of charter sailing boats. We were invited to go along to take part in the Destin boat parade and decorating competition. Since the weather promised to be good, we jumped at the chance. Last May we went on one of their boats for a sunset wine cruise had a great time.

We arrived early so we look at some of the decorations on the boats while there was enough light to see how they had decorated. We knew that pictures taken during the event, in the dark, were definitely going to be tricky. Clearly some of the boats had gone all out for the competition and others just enough to justify being in the parade.

It was a great night on the water and we had a great time. Our major plan for the completion was for the invited guests to form a caroling group that was going to WOW the judges as we motored by. It was a lot of fun, but apparently the judges did not feel that our singing was more impressive than some of the over the top decorations on other vessels. Among the competition was the oldest schooner in the United States, the Governor Stone, all decorated in white rope lights.

After the parade, we headed out in the inlet entrance area and hovered around waiting for the fireworks display. We could not have had a better location for the fireworks. We were literally on top of the barge that was launching the rockets. If it were my sailboat, I would have been sweating hot residue landing in my sails. We had to look straight up for some of the explosions.

The rest of the week was spend playing with our granddaughter, who we are pretty sure is only days away from walking, and carrying out our study of lifestyle change in the form of looking at houses we might like to live in. This is always been a stress factor in our many moves over the years, but now includes changing a lifestyle we still enjoy and dealing with the wild housing market that exists in this area and indeed, around the country. At this early stage, nothing has been decided.

Happy Anniversary

2011-12-04T11:30:00.001-08:00

Today is our daughter Heather’s and SIL Ryan’s 7^th anniversary. This is a special one since it is the first with their daughter Victoria, who is 10 months old today.

This was a great reason to look back on that fun day.

Happy Anniversary!

I had the Coast Guard on speed dial

2011-12-03T15:19:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when we are staying in one spot for a few months, it can be challenging to find something interesting to do. The other day, as I was pondering just what I was going to do with myself, fate intervened and offered me some unexpected entertainment.

I had talked to the folk’s just behind us and we discussed his newly purchased fold up boat that he planned to use for fishing. I have spent much of my life involved with ships and boats big and small, but I have never had any experience with a fold up boat. So when I noticed that he was going to launch it on its maiden voyage with the help of another neighbor, I could not help but rubber neck the event.

Rarely does a new adventure such as this go off without a hitch, and certainly this was no exception. The boat had to be moved from the camp site to the beach for launching. This involved placing it on a two wheel dolly not unlike that used for kayaks. The procession was moving smartly toward the beach until they came to the first speed bump. They took this at speed and promptly separated the dolly from the boat bending the dolly pins in the process.

In order to get things back on track, the pins had to be straightened for the dolly and the outboard removed from the boat. Next there was a lot of checking and pushing, but the boat was again underway toward the beach. Getting the boat into the water proved a bit more difficult than planned. I think they made a note to themselves not to launch again at dead low tide. At low tide, the water depth necessary to get the boat floating and be able to get the engine shaft lowered into the water was several hundred yards off shore. This meant getting wet.

Finally, they were afloat and had to use the oars to push them far enough off shore to use the engine. Now the thing about using oars as walking poles is that you have to hang onto them tightly or they will pull out of your hands and be left behind. If you are lucky, they will stick up out of the water and you can go back and get them-if you have any energy left.

Finally, they were far enough offshore to lower the engine and head off. There was a slight delay in departing while they got the engine started. I should mention that not only was this the maiden voyage for the fold up boat, but also for the engine.

After a number of false starts, the engine was running regularly and they enjoyed a nice trip with no more mishaps. Luckily, I did not have to call the Coast Guard

The best laid plans

2011-11-27T12:55:00.000-08:00

Now that a great Thanksgiving is behind us, it is time to start thinking about the Christmas season. That involves lots of activities, but one of the first we decided to tackle was getting a special picture of our Granddaughter-Victoria. One of my main hobbies during our five years on the road has been photography and I think I have gained a bit of experience and gotten a good number of great photos of our journey. So taking some pictures of Victoria should be a snap.

Given the needs of assembling all the gear a small child needs to travel with these days and other interruptions, we did not hit the beach until later in the day than I would like for ideal pictures, not to mention the strong winds blowing off the water. The other major factor not considered was the fascination that Victoria was going to have with the beach, sand and water.

So with three people working on this project with at least two taking pictures for close to 45 minutes, we managed to take over 300 pictures! How many, you may wonder, met the planned need for a great Christmas picture of Victoria-noneL

We had a great time and certainly have some pictures that will be cherished through the years, but not the “one” we were looking for. At one point Victoria appeared to be a lemming returning to the sea. She just turned toward the water and started forward at full speed. With Grandma yelling, her mother intercepted her before she got wet, but clearly she has no natural fear of the water.

I have not given up and will get that picture before Christmas arrives-I hope!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T10:08:00.000-08:00

We hope you all are enjoying a great day with family and friends!

Back in Florida

2011-11-20T12:51:00.000-08:00

We left Gulf Shores on Tuesday, feeling at least a bit better after the cold packs the doctor prescribed. We did finally get to walk the beach before leaving Gulf Shores, but did not get to the list of places we wanted to visit. So I guess we will have to go back.

The short drive to Navarre, FL was uneventful, except for when we pulled into a Love’s truck stop for fuel. After we entered the truck entrance we came to an abrupt stop with trucks lined up. The station did not put up any notices but half the fueling spots were closed for construction with heavy equipment scattered everywhere. Several employees were trying to keep some of the hostile truckers happy. The main problem appeared to be that the outgoing trucks could not get by the incoming traffic as the layout was one big loop mostly blocked by trucks and construction equipment. I had nowhere to go, so I just had to wait. Long story short it took almost an hour to get the 75 feet to the refueling location.

Our home for the next three months will be the Emerald Beach RV Park. This is a very nice place on the water and very near our daughter’s home. It is certainly one of our favorite campgrounds. This week has been spent catching up with our daughter’s family and especially getting reacquainted with our granddaughter Victoria, who at nine months, is a whole different person than we left six months ago.

Happily, she did not scream at the sight of us and quickly accepted us back into the fold of her “circle of trust”. We have already taken her for a doctor’s visit, which she did not care for, but apparently has not blamed us for the visit.

We will be adjusting to the lack of travel and considering the possibility of yet another of those transitions in lifestyle, as we enjoy our time here.

We surrender

2011-11-11T20:15:00.000-08:00

It has been almost a week since we both developed colds. Also I have managed to get not one but two pink eyes. It has been unpleasant but not overwhelming. After this period of time we were just tired of it. So today, it was decided we would call our doctor direct. Well, actually I texted him about our problems. He called in some prescriptions to the local pharmacy.

We now have a little cheat sheet to figure out when we have to take all this stuff. It is great to have a doctor that I can call directly and discuss our issues without dealing with his office staff. He is available to us 24/7 by phone, if needed. In fact, this is only the second time we have needed to call him on the road in the two years we have been with him. But it is nice to know he is there.

We will now wait and see if any of this will really speed up the recovery process. He mentioned that those grandkids carry some powerful germs:)

We have mostly been enjoying our waterfront site when the sun shines. We have yet to see our first alligator to “not feed or aggravate”. We have found a good fish market and have looked at the beach. Basically, we are just resting and waiting for the bugs to DIE!

Veteran’s Day

2011-11-10T17:52:00.000-08:00

This is a time to remember the many who have served their country at home and around the world.

Without those who served, there would be no freedom.

Last year, I covered my family’s service history. Click here if you would like to see that.

The Perfect Storm

2011-11-07T17:05:00.000-08:00

Now that is perhaps a bit of an overstatement, but that is how it feels. It seems that I am doing another post that we normally do not do, namely anything about our health. Again, no particular reason, It just worked out that way.

The last few days with our grandson Aleister, I started to feel not so good, and soon Anneke and Aleister’s mom, as well. The boy had gotten all of us. He was out of Pre-K for awhile with a really bad cold/flu.

We cut short our final visit, as I was not feeling well. The next day, Sunday, was our departure day. Anneke and I were taking the usual over the counter stuff to keep this crud at bay. Oh yes, we had to remember to change the clock. I did not get a lot of sleep and we did not adjust to the time change well. We were off our bio-rhythms, if you believe in such things. It was a long four hours to get to our overnight stop south of Montgomery, AL. To add insult to injury, we had another hour added to the day. All evening we kept saying, is it really only this or that time. Since we did not feel that hot, we were in bed at nine-unheard off. So, of course, I was done sleeping by 4AM.

Today we had an uneventful journey to the Gulf Shores State Park, AL. I was dragging and looking forward to a quick set up and some rest-right! We were instructed to drive around the five hundred sites to pick the one we wanted-really? Anneke does not let such a challenge go unmet. After a long and for me painful search, we did end up with a pretty nice waterfront site. This was much to the chagrin of the two folks behind her at the registration office, since they both wanted the same site.

I quickly set up thinking about sitting out by the water. Somewhere in here, we heard from Aleister’s mom that she had to go to an urgent care because of a fever and sinus infection. This does not bode well for us. Anneke had spotted a fish market on our way in and so off we go for fresh fish for dinner. I was definitely not improving. Upon return I checked my temperature-yep, I too, now had a 101 temp.

As I write this, I am drinking lots of water and hoping that I do not need to find an urgent care by morning. I cannot remember the last time I had a fever, it has been years.

There are no pictures to go with this since pictures of my red face are not that pleasing and I have taken no others for several days-also very unusual.

Harvest Moon

2011-11-05T18:21:00.000-07:00

We do not talk much about the campgrounds we stay in. There is no particular reason for this, it just worked out that way. As we prepare to depart tomorrow for point south, we were discussing how much we really like the Harvest Moon RV Park here in Adairsville, Ga. This is one of the few places that we have returned over and over. The simple reason for this is that it is the best place we can find near our grandson.

Way back in 2006, we searched out the places we might stay and the closest was the KOA in Calhoun, GA. Now we generally are not KOA fans, but we gave it a try during our first stop here. It proved to be an absolute disaster. Since we were only months in to our adventure, we did not have the good sense to just turn around and leave. As we approached, we were greeted by a prison like sign with harsh words about condition s there. We pressed on and were greeted by a hostile staff but again, we continued on. Our site was small and very unlevel. Again being new at this I was worried about getting out already. We mentioned that we would be having our daughter come to see our new motorhome. That was okay but for the privilege of sitting in our motorhome she would have to pay $3 a person plus $5 for parking her car. The day of our departure was pouring rain and I was worried about making the tight turns. It turned out this was a valid concern , in that, the trees and a power pole at the far end of the park, where I was required to go, had sagged and were hanging over the road. It was the first and (so far) the only time I have had to disconnect the car to extract myself from a situation.

Anyways, the second place we tried was the Harvest Moon RV Park. It has very wide roads, great pull thru spots, full hookups including cable, WI FI, and laundry-all at no charge, and the cleanest we have come across. If you like movie theater popcorn, you can get all you want free in the office. The owner handles the office and is friendly and helpful. The one funny thing is; he does not use a computer and writes everything down in a notebook. Yet he has one of the best WI FI’s we have seen. In our five years on the road, this is definitely one of our top ten campgrounds.

This would make a great overnight spot as it is also very close the freeway.

Family Time

2011-11-03T18:46:00.001-07:00

We have spent the last four days enjoying our time with our grandson Aleister and his parents. Aleister is in preschool, but we still have been able to spend time with him every day. This has included a visit to a pumpkin farm, trick or treat, and picking him up from school to hear all he has learned that day. The pumpkin farm included some fun activities including a maze, hay ride and games. Trick or treat was at the outlet mall, which provided a good location to see other kids enjoying the holiday, as well.

Aleister’s dad has built him the Taj Mahal of playhouses in the back yard. It will stand up to any weather and provide Aleister a place of his own for many years.

The only disappointment has been with the weather, even as we move south, we have had freezing nights so far this week.

We have two days left here and then we continue south, with our next extended stop planned for Gulf Shores State Park, AL.

American Art

2011-11-01T18:23:00.000-07:00

Our last excursion before leaving Chattanooga was to visit the Hunter Museum of American art. It is dedicated to American Artists from the early 1700’s until the present. The museum takes its name from the gentleman who donated his riverfront mansion to create the museum. Since those beginnings, it has grown to include a modernistic building surrounding the mansion. When you tour the museum you will find yourself seamlessly entering the mansion on the second floor.

We enjoy all types of art exhibits, wherever we find them. I have to admit that modern abstract art is not among my favorites. This museum has a number of pieces that fall into this category. My personal problem is that I find it hard to think of some of this stuff as art. In this museum there is a classic example of my problem. It is a painting of painted stripes of canvas. Even I could do this. To add insult to injury, the plaque notes that this particular piece was purchased with federal funding. Why does that not surprise me!

The vast majority of the pieces depict life in the USA during various periods of our history. This includes Native American life, immigrants and the simple life of most Americans along with some of the more noteworthy in our history.

One painting from the late 1800’s I found particularly interesting. It depicts horse shoe falls at Niagara Falls. It has a structure in the river above the falls that looks a little like a lighthouse base and a plank walkway from the shore to the edge of the falls. How would you like to walk that plank?

It is well worth a visit.

Happy Halloween!!

2011-10-31T07:54:00.000-07:00

We hope you all have a fun Halloween.

Along the Tennessee River

2011-10-29T18:14:00.000-07:00

Our last stop before we visit our daughter’s place in GA was Chattanooga, TN. We have been here a number of times and really enjoy this city and area. On this stop, our first outing was to see the fall colors along the Tennessee River onboard the Southern Belle. It offers a three hour tour including a lunch and onboard entertainment.

The lunch was fine and we could escape the entertainment by spending time out on the deck. The weather was good and we enjoyed the colors and river traffic. We did get an extra event during this trip. Two of the tour buses managed to miss the departure time and the company agreed that they would pick them up along the river. This was apparently a very special exception to the rules. The captain noted that we would get to see how the real paddlewheel steamers picked up passengers and cargo in days gone by, namely by lowering the bow boarding ramp.

The captain allowed visitors to the bridge and he provided some lively conversation as we moved along. I should mention that he was a retired Coast Guardsman, who was in charge of the navigation aids on this river just before he retired.

It was a pleasant afternoon on the water and another look at the fall colors.

Bluegrass

2011-10-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

We managed to extract ourselves from our campground in Salvisa, KY, only meeting two small vehicles in the process, without the complete road blockage we feared. We then headed the short distance south to check out The Renfro Valley Entertainment Center in Mount Vernon, KY. The music center has been in business since 1939 and is primarily into country, gospel and bluegrass music.

We pulled into the nearly empty Renfro Valley campground on Monday. There is an older 30 AMP section and a newer 50 AMP section. Both have level sites and full hookups. There is more room in the 50 AMP area with views of the open fields that I assume are for big outdoor events.

We walked over to the complex and found it nearly deserted, as well. There were not going to be any big concerts until the weekend. It appears that the place is winding down for the season with just a few big events left. There was a small restaurant open and the visitor center of a very small Appalachian village on the grounds. The village was not much and while the doors were open there was nothing going on. We talked to the lady in the center about her basket weaving and he history of the music center. It seems that an older couple bought the place in 2005 to try and get it back on its feet and make it better. Unfortunately, they both died shortly thereafter within a few weeks of each other. One of their children is continuing to try and run the place.

There was a gospel group in the small red barn on Monday, but we passed on that preferring to get settled in to our site. Tuesday night, it was a blue grass group , so we walked over to the barn and enjoyed a great concert from the All American Blue Grass Band from Indiana. They have been coming here for years, as often as three times a week. It was a great performance and the small crowd did not seem to bother them at all. We had a brief chat with one of them during intermission and he mentioned that this was the last Tuesday concert of the season, but that they would be back for a big Dance Barn event in Nov.

We just wanted to see what the place looked like, so a good concert was a bonus. If you enjoy this type of music, it could be a good place to enjoy it, with the campground in walking distance of all the buildings.

Pioneers, Indians, and Lincoln

2011-10-26T18:56:00.000-07:00

I had never heard of Fort Harrod and when I learned that the fort located in the state park in downtown Harrodsburg was a replica, we almost decided to give it a pass. But in the end, we visited the fort and were very glad we did.

The fort was the first permanent settlement in Kentucky and the original cemetery located adjacent has some great history. The cemetery was founded in 1775 and holds the grave of the first white child to be buried in Kentucky. Most of the graves before 1800 were marked with simple field stones without names. On the rugged frontier there were no stone masons. In this cemetery is a son of the preacher who married Abraham Lincoln’s parents’ right here in Harrodsburg. Also resting here is a soldier of the Revolutionary War.

The Fort itself saw a large number of battles with the Native Americans during the Revolutionary War. As the need for the fort waned, it was disassembled and the lumber and other materials were used to build homes on farms or buildings in the growing town. The docents at the park brought the history of the fort and pioneers of the then wild west to life.

We also discovered that on the grounds was a federal monument to these same pioneers.

Wandering around, we saw what appeared to be a small church, but it turned out to be a “temple” that was built to protect the log cabin where Thomas Lincoln married Nancy Hanks in 1806.

Lastly there is the home of a local prominent lawyer from the Civil War era. There were a number of Civil War memorabilia along with his family history. What I found most fascinating were the summaries of personnel histories of the people that lived in the house. Hopefully you will be able to read the account of a slave girl in the picture at the side bar. It should be quite clear if you click on it and enlarge.

It would have been a shame to blow off this historical site.

Oh,yes-Anneke scored some Osage apples from the cemetery. They were everywhere. These are supposed to make spiders crazy. Coming from a historical site should just make them more powerful.