October 23, 2015. Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig.

October 23, 2015.  Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig.  We have been out of touch for the last three nights.  We watched the playoff series between Toronto and Kansas City on the laptop the first two nights.  Because we were watching the game, the laptop was unavailable to type the blog.  Last night, we had no electricity and the battery on the laptop was low, so we couldn't produce the blog.  Tonight, we are home and the trip is over.  So, this is a summary of the last three days and a wrap-up of the trip.

On October 20, I told you about our visit to the Kentucky Horse Park.  We left Kentucky and crossed the Ohio River into Indiana.  We also crossed into Illinois and spent the night in Mount Vernon.  That left us about 70 miles from Van City, where we had an appointment this morning. 

So, we drove to a Cracker Barrel Old Country Store yesterday - five miles from Van City - had a late lunch, then settled in.  We went to bed about 9:30 PM only to be awakened by a large moving van which parked next to us about 10:30 PM.  We were awakened again later by another large truck, and night noise.  It was a fitful night's sleep until we were finally awakened for good by the sound of small gasoline-powered lawn equipment about 6:00 this morning. The equipment sounded like weed-eaters at first.

It turned out that the equipment was chain saws.  A lawn company was felling all the trees in and about the parking lot, including two which were less than ten feet from T-Harvey.  I bounded out of Harvey and started the engine.  Tree limbs were in front of Harvey and one of the workmen saw me behind the steering wheel with the engine running.  He moved a sizeable limb in front of T-Harvey.  I pulled into another parking space away from the tree activity. 

I asked the foreman why they were cutting perfectly healthy trees.  He said that they were doing so because the trees hindered camera surveillance.  The bizarre series of happenings kept us awake most of the night followed by an abrupt awakening this morning.

We easily made our appointment at Van City at 9:00 AM this morning.  That was the only good news of the morning.  We had 4-5 items on our punch list, two of which were actually completed by the shop.  The others involved ordering parts which would not arrive for a week or two.  Moreover, only one of the items was covered under warranty.  We gnashed our teeth, then turned T-Harvey west on I-70 toward home.  We arrived home about 5:00 PM.

So, the fall-2015 trip has ended. We covered nearly 3500 miles, averaged over 15 MPG in fuel and spent about 70 hours behind the wheel.  We spent 23 nights away from home.  It was good to be away and it is good to be home, as usual.  Join us again in January, when we plan to be in Gulf Shores, Alabama, on the Gulf Coast.  For the first time, we plan to spend nearly the entire month in one campground, Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama.  See you then.  Goodbye for now. 

October 20, 2015. A Day at the Horse Park.

 

 

 

October 20, 2015.  A Day at the Horse Park.  It was like stepping back in time.  Yesterday, we visited the same horse park we first visited in 1988.  It was different this time.  We didn't have four daughters to look after. 

Not much has changed.  There is the massive statue of Man of War by the entrance.  There is a new statue, Secretariat, the most successful racing Thoroughbred in the second half of the 20th Century. 

There is also the Hall of Champions, occupied by, of course, champions, racing champions.  The kids will recall that John Henry was there in 1988.  He was stalled with a goat as a companion to keep him calm.  John Henry has gone on to that big stall in the sky.  There are horses in heaven, aren't there?  I am certain there are dogs there.  I'm not so sure about cats. 

But, there still a good number of horses stabled there who won lots of races.  Thoroughbred legends Da Hoss, Funny Cide, and Go For Gin, as well as American Quarter Horse, Be A Bono are housed there.  Clips of their notable wins were shown followed by the horse being led into the arena by a handler to the applause of the audience. 

We also went to the show on several breeds of horses including the American Paint and American Saddle Bred.  We were entertained and educated. 

The weather cooperated.  It was clear and 66 degrees.  It was a good day at the horse park. 

October 18, 2015. The Horse Park, 27 Years Later.

October 18, 2015.  The Horse Park, 27 Years Later.  We drove a short distance from Huntington, WV, to Lexington, KY.  By short, I mean 140 miles or thereabouts.  We are staying the night at the campground next to the Kentucky Horse Park.  We were here in 1988 during our grand tour of America.  It remains one of the nicest public parks we've stayed in. 

As we left the KOA this morning, there was a Mileormore sunning on the dock in the lake.  I snapped a quick picture because I wanted to use the word, Mileormore.  The remaining pictures were taken here at the horse park.  Obviously, Halloween is in the air.  There are many sites with decorations in place nearly two weeks before Halloween gets here. 

I went to the shower - the scattering of the bridesmaids in Huntington caused me to think I should shower more often - and bumped into two Kentucky Horse Park Mounted Police.  I asked if I could take a picture and they graciously agreed.  I have at least one daughter who would love to have their job.

We have traveled far enough south that the trees haven't turned here.  Lexington is about the same latitude as home, so I am wondering if the trees have changed there.  If not, we may get to enjoy the fall colors twice this year.  That would be wonderful.  That would be like living another year without the aging. 

We like it here.  We may stay another night or two.  The countryside is beautiful and there are sights to see.  We like to see sights, you know. 

Adios, amigos. 

  

October 17, 2015. The Wedding Crasher.

October 17, 2015.  The Wedding Crasher.  Let's see, I left you in Dorset, VT, a couple of days ago.  Because of an arctic front moving in from the west, we decided to move south.  We drove from Dorset to Campbell, NY, Thursday.  We spent last night near Morgantown, WV, (home of West Virginia University).  Today, we continued southwest to Huntington, WV.  We are in a KOA campground because we wanted cable TV.  We wanted to watch the ALCS game between Toronto and Kansas City.  As it turns out, we couldn't find the game on TV, but I was able to download an app which enabled us to watch the game over the Internet.  I am pretty proud of myself.  However, my Royals are trailing the Blue Jays 3-0 in the bottom of the 6th inning.  Go Royals! 

Oh, by the way, the temperature tonight is supposed to be 32 degrees here.  The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry . . . 

There was an outdoor wedding here in the campground this afternoon.  Annie accused me of being a wedding crasher.  After we set up, I went to men's shower room.  Not surprisingly, the men's shower was in the same building as the women's restroom and shower.  It just so happened that the bridesmaids and bride were using the restroom as a staging area for the wedding.  The bride, in white, and the bridesmaids were gathered outside the restroom in the moments before the wedding.  The bridesmaids were in periwinkle chiffon dresses and cowboy boots.    

As I approached the shower room the wedding party scattered like a busted covey of quail.  I have no idea why.  I don't think I looked scary.  Maybe I smelled bad.  It has been a while since I cleaned up.  Anyway, the wedding was quick.  Annie was spying on the ceremony with a pair of binoculars when I returned to Harvey.  She said the whole wedding lasted four minutes, almost like a typical shotgun wedding.  And, I noticed  a strong familial resemblance between the bride and the groom.  Well, this is West Virginia.

We are on a slow-drive to St. Louis where we have an appointment in an RV shop for minor repairs to Harvey.  No road trip would be complete without a stop in a shop.  We may lollygag around Missouri before returning home, don't know yet.  Shoot, I didn't know we would be in West Virginia this trip, either.  Ah, the joys of free-styling. 

October 15, 2015. Quiz Results.

Here are the results of the Veggie Quiz.  It was a hard quiz.  Shoot, I didn't know half of them.  Annie didn't know many more.  I have marked the correct answers with an asterisk.

Cobbles:

1. Radishes
2. Potatoes
3. Parsnip *
4. Squash*
5. Table legs
6. Sourdough bread dough
7. Plums*
8. Brussels sprouts*
9. Romanesco broccoli*
10. Onion

Tourtillotts:

1. Turnips*
2. Potatoes
3. Carrots
4. Squash/cucurbita*
5. Cutting tool
6. Milk*
7. Blueberries
8. Green onions
9. Broccoli*
10. Celery

Thurmonds:

1. Radishes
2. Rutabaga*
3. Ginger roots
4. Squash*
5. Table legs
6. Cream*
7. Blueberries
8. Brussels sprouts*
9. Artichoke
10. Green onions

The Correct Answers:

1. Purple topped turnips
2. Rutabagas
3. Parsnips
4. Delicate squash
5. Garden stakes (the slate top is to identify the vegetable)
6. Raw milk
7. Damson plums
8. Brussels sprouts
9. Romanesco cauliflower/broccoli
10. Fennel

Because it was a hard quiz, I have graded it liberally.  If your answer is close to the correct answer you got full credit.  The Cobbles got five correct answers; the Tourtillotts got four right; and the Thurmonds also got four correct. 

So, Annie owes the Cobbles $20.  Since there is a tie for second, the Tourtillotts and Thurmonds each get $15.  Don't forget to remind Annie.  She is a little forgetful, you know. 

Hope you had fun and learned something.  I did.  I still don't understand why anyone would eat fennel. 

From Campbell, New York, goodnight.