Reconnected to the virtual world

 Once we arrived in Bardstown, KY , we unknowingly entered an internet free world for the rest of our three week trip. Normally, one of the advantages of coming home is the fast internet available, but  on our return Tuesday, the service was out and remained so until late yesterday evening.  Sometimes you cannot catch a break.

 Our stay at the Old  Kentucky  Home State Park was short lived.  We could not handle the crazy campground sites.  Besides the complete lack of level ground, the placement of the utilities was designed by a sadist.  The pictures do not do justice  to how bad it really was.

We did manage to revisit the Old Kentucky home grounds that was originally called Federal Hill. This plantation style farm was originally founded by Judge Rowan  in 1795.  Like our last visit in 1988, no pictures are allowed inside the home.  The property included over 1300 acres at its peak.  The Rowan family lived in the home until the great Granddaughter of Mr. Rowan left the property to the state in her will.  She lived in the home until 1924.

Why the home has become important was principally because a cousin of the Rowan family was Stephen Foster, who was prolific song writer, who penned the state song-My Old Kentucky home.  Mr. Foster only visited the home on one occasion.  Foster wrote many well known songs before his death at the age of 37.  Because the home was occupied by the same family for so long, there are many original pieces in the home.  The state has done an excellent job of maintaining the property over the years.  It is well worth a visit despite the photo restrictions.  Also on the property is Mr. Rowans original log cabin law office and a private family cemetery.

Shipshewana

We have been to Shipshewana, IN a number of times.  It is, from our view point, really nothing more than another form of a tourist trap.  Having said that, we have come back to pick up some real Amish food products at their source. We are not opposed to tourist traps and actually find them amusing at times.  So first thing yesterday morning before the sun was up, we hit the flea market which attracts folks from all over the country.  With very light foot traffic, we were able to walk the whole place and spend a bit of time at the auction house and be out of there in just about two hours.  We spent a couple of dollars on coffee. Definitely cheap entertainment.

After that we strolled around the small downtown area and surveyed the latest gift shop offering, with not much new trends that we could see.

Perhaps the thing we most enjoy is driving the back roads and enjoying the scenic country and the Amish way of life.  While it is not that much removed from my life on a farm 50 plus years ago, I cannot imagine living that lifestyle today.  It certainly is a less hectic life, but given the world they are surrounded by and the lack of new genetic input to their gene pool, I can only wonder how much longer they will continue as they are. 

We have now moved to Bardstown to My Old Kentucky Home state park that has not seen an apparent update in thirty years.  The word level is not in their vocabulary.

The Fish Fry

We left our daughter's home in Dayton to head up to the southern shore of Lake Erie and the big annual event of our Ohio Winnebago Club-The Fish Fry.  This is the biggest turnout of the year and no one wants to miss it.  As always it is held in one of our most favorite state parks anywhere-Maumee Bay State park.  We camped here for the first time in 1987.  It has changed a lot over the years and all for the better. 

We came a day early so we could visit with some friends we have not seen in several years who were spending the summer in their Michigan home.  Lunch turned into six hours of fun, so much so I never thought about breaking out the camera.

The club members started to arrive on Wednesday and by the time of the big fry, there were 18 rigs and a number of drive ins for the event.  It was a good time catching up with folks we had not seen for awhile.

The fish fry got off to a good start with a cheese and wine party and everyone was in high spirits. While most of us partied, the fish crew was putting the final touches on the 20 pounds of perch and getting ready to start the fryer.  That was when the first signs of a problem developed.  This was the first time ever that they were not going to use a propane powered fryer.  They had brought a commercial deep fryer and a big generator to power it.  The generator started right up and was connected to the fryer.  The little red on light failed to shine and the oil remained cold.  Various attempts and looking for the problem only resulted in no power and a potentially ugly crowd.  A backup generator was called for and on its way when, thru trial and error, a correct combination of bangs and tweaks got the power restored.  All was right with the world and a great fish fry was enjoyed by all.

The next morning we said our goodbyes and we settled down to enjoy a few more days in the park with lots of quiet and cool temperatures.  Halley is always happy here with all the wild smells.  This time she could claim that she jumped five deer from around the park's movie screen. 

Today we shifted to Shipshewana, IN for a Amish bulk food fix and to visit the well know flea market here.  The only negative is that the temperature today is 24 degrees higher than yesterday at a whopping 96 degrees. 

Another hobby ruled out

We have traveled about 900 miles north of home and currently visiting our daughter Katie and her husband Dain in Dayton, Ohio.  We made a stop in Georgia to visit our Grandson Aleister and his parents.  It was great to see them for this brief visit, but we plan to be back in just a few weeks.  In one of my rare photographic failures, I did not get a single picture. 

 

Katie arranged for us to take a painting lesson with a local organization called Raise Your Brush.  I agreed to go along as the comic relief for this experience.  I was known in college as a the guy who had a hard time drawing a straight course line on a chart with a straight ruler, so I knew this was going to be a humbling experience for me.

One of the good parts of this experience was apparent right away.  They encouraged you  to have a glass of wine to relax and let the artistic juices flow.  I was beginning to feel artsy.   After gathering our color palettes and setting up in a position to view the instructor and her canvas, let the magic begin.

Our leader walked us through each  phrase of the project.  There was a finished work on display that  we were essentially going to copy.  We started with the back ground, which worked out for me, as it was basically like getting the right color for a house painting project and just applying the right amount of paint.

Then came the hard part, actually putting in the details of this landscape scene.  Following the instructors examples and keeping an eye on the finished sample, we moved along.  It turned out that my deciding that more trees was better tended to deform the symmetry of the structure.  So much for more is better. Finally, we closed in on the final steps and a new piece of art was complete.

Anneke and Katie did a pretty good job on theirs.  I can honestly say that I was not as embarrassed as I expected to be, but clearly my future as an artist is not in the works.  Perhaps as one of those starving artists that were selling their works for give a way prices.