Happy Anniversary Blog!

Since I have an hour of peace before I have to start getting ready for work I thought I would start on my one year anniversary blog entry.  So the first thing I thought I would do is look back and see how I have done.

I have written 45 blogs all but 2 have been published. I don't know if I will ever finish them or move on past them. Of the 45 I have written I have 2 different blogs. Day One the first I started with my rules and my poem,For the Love of Lilly. I have used that for world news and views of the world and the people who share this planet with me. The second is Sunshine and Shadows. This blog is a reflection of myself. I write about my relationships with friends, family and my values, memories and travels.

When I sat down today I wanted to check out some statistics on blogging. I found one site that says 60% of bloggers are guys. Only 40% girls. Guess that is not bad. Even though adult women between 21 and 35 read over 50% of the blogs. Most that write blogs do not make money from them even the ones with advertising. I do not have advertising. No subtle mention of some product I do not believe in. Anything I talk about is all me.

One of the pages I read said write about a subject you know about and like and that you should write a draft then sleep on it and make changes the following day. For the most part when I am writing I sit down to start I will stay in the chair until I am finished. I am usually home alone. It is easier for me to think without interruptions. I have my satellite radio playing a station with no commercials that plays Pop, Rock and Folk music. A pleasant mix I can sing along with.

Usually the reason I sit down to write is that something is in my head and I can not let it go. I find it easiest to write it out and share it than to keep it inside. I do have a few subjects that are inside that bubble to the top but I don't know if I am ever going to share. And some of you may think what the heck could it be. You'll just have to wait and see. I have tried to stick with my rules I began with. I try not to talk about others at least not directly. I have written blogs for, or should I say to friends. Even when it is not my situation the opinion I am writing about is all mine. Brian is the first to hear my blog. I read it out loud to him. I listen to his opinion but I am going to write what I am going to write. I just don't want to hurt anyone.


I have had over 1750 hits to my blogs. I am still amazed by all the places that people have read my blog from: US, Russia, Germany, Sweden,  Philippines, United Kingdom, Netherlands, France, Indonesia, Israel, Malaysia and Poland my newest.

The countries are listed in order of hits.  I am still amazed by the number of people and where they are from. I want to say Thank you to all of you for reading along. I am not sure how many have read all of my blog posts or just one. Either way if you walk away thinking then I have done my job. All I want out of my blogs is a good nights sleep. It may seem crazy but that is usually what I get. My conscious is clear and my mind is no longer cluttered with worry or anxiety. 

In the next few weeks I have thought about starting another blog. I have 2 ideas one has to do with places named for people and what they did to get a park or street named for them. The other is to write about books that I have read. Not ones that are popular today but older books. Some of my favorites have been older books. Maybe not considered classics but still well worth the read. If you have an opinion or a favorite book or place you want to know about let me know. It may help me make my decision. I will still continue Sunshine & Shadows. It has earned a place in my heart and I hope yours.

Lets tie it up and put a bow on the Family Vacation

 So we have completed the family trip to Kentucky. It was everything a family vacation should be. Long, Tiring, Fun and a success.

Mom got to show the kids all her favorite places in Kentucky. The kids got to find a place they would like to visit again. Maybe even bring their own kids back as Emily said.



We headed out on Friday. Got a great start. Stopped in Macon. Had a great barbecue dinner in a place that played country music older than me.

 

Al and Paul Tennessee Valley RR

Saturday we drove into Chattanooga, TN. Drove through a tunnel. Rode a railroad through another tunnel twice and learned all about steam trains and the city of Chattanooga in the Civil War. Down by the river is an open area that has a small version of the Tennessee river for you to walk across the stepping stones and soak your feet. Sit in the shade. Enjoy the flowers and a view of the real river. We were going to go to the aquarium but it was getting late and expensive so we skipped it and moved on towards are goal of Nashville but getting confused and rain stopped us from stopping there. We again moved on and Al missed on the two things he wanted a night out and to see the aquarium. We will do that part again.



We stopped in White House, TN at a Days Inn. It had a wood over where the front door should be. The guy said search White House Days Inn on You Tube. There had been an accident and a man drove through the front of the building. Paul had to see the video. Just video of after the fact. No video of the actual accident.

Paul and Abe

Sunday morning we were in Kentucky before we knew it. First stop, Hodgenville, Kentucky. The birthplace of Abraham Lincoln. The center of town has two statues. Abe as a boy and another as President. The Presidential statue has been there since his 100th birthday. The boyhood statue is newer. Took some pictures of Paul with his hero's statue. We then drove down Hwy 31 E south towards Mammoth Cave. Drove through corn fields and soy bean fields. Saw old barns and new houses. Beautiful rolling hills and a deer in the middle of a field. We had to make a u-turn for our first deer. Went to the National Park at Knob Creek where Abe's boyhood home stood. Saw a tree that had been standing from the late 1700's through when the Lincoln's lived there and was taken down in the 1980's. Showed the rings inside the tree and and markers for important times in history. It was very cool. Paul filled out a Jr Ranger booklet and got a Jr Ranger badge. We all learned a lot about the area and the time he lived there. There is a spring in the park near where the Lincoln's house would have been. We walked down and it is amazing to stand in a place you know that Abraham Lincoln once stood and got his drinking water. It was also a place where people traveling west would have stopped for water in that time. Mom met up with a lady and sat and chatted she does not live far from the park and likes to hang out and visit with people. We could have left mom there to hang out all day.

We moved further south and stopped in Park City outside Mammoth Cave and had a late lunch and then got to Mammoth Cave National Park. Funny how you get off the exit even the things that have changed are somehow familiar. Big Mike's a place to buy you souvenir and tour a fun house for fifty cents. Paul had to do it twice. Once by himself then when Emily and Ashley got there he had to do it again with them.

The next day we went to Diamond Caverns. Al wanted to pan for gems. So he and the kids with the assistance of Beth and Billie paned for gems. Found some pretty rocks. Not sure if any are worth anything but they all had a good time. That afternoon the kids became little spluenkers and took a kid only tour through the cave. I think they all liked it. Ashley liked crawling through the cave on her belly. Cooked out on the grill and made s'mores. Yum.

Tuesday, Al, Mom and I started off for a drive but found one of the tires to be low. Went into town to have that taken care of first. Beth and Billie took the kids on a hike down to the river. The kids had a great story of how Beth went where she shouldn't but clawed her way out and was filthy dirty with the red clay. Good thing she had a spare pair of shoes. That afternoon we took the family cave trip. Everyone went. The kids saw cave crickets by the 100's and a single bat welcomed us from high on the ceiling. Stalactite's hold tight to the ceiling and stalagmites may grow up from the floor of the cave to become a column. We had a great guide Jamie. We had explained that the kids were the 5th generation to the cave and he said there is a guide that works there that is a 5th generation guide. His family started off as slaves giving tours. Wish we could have met him but we did run into a guide there that taught us about stalactites and stalagmites many years ago named Joe. Joe has been at the park himself for 53 years. Can't imagine the number of tours and expeditions he has been on in the park. It was drizzling when we got out but we were going to cook out again. Beth went over and started cooking with the aid of Emily and I helped Paul and Ashley with their Jr Ranger books for this park. Each age group had to do so many activities for bat points to get their badge. Since we had the whole evening. The over achievers completed almost every page and the next morning got a badge and certificate for their achievement. Quick trip through the exhibit and gift store then off to Louisville.

First stop Churchill Downs which was not open so we could not walk out to the track but we showed them the twin spires that you always see on tv and the names across the top of the building for all the past winners. We had lunch there and then headed past mom's old neighborhood. We had walkie talkies between cars and Beth had all the kids so we did a play by play driving tour through downtown. Here is where grandma went to school, here is where she lived. Here is where your great-great grandfather used to work and the L&N building (Louisville & Nashville Railroad). Around the block and to Louisville Slugger. Somethings have changed and some are the same. We did the factory tour. The last time we were there everything was hand done. Now machines. One guy that showed us how it used to be done and it would take 20 minutes to make a bat and now 2 machines spitting out bats in 30 seconds. Not quite the same. They are still hand dipped if they are stained and the logo is hand burned into the bats and everyone gets a little bat for taking the tour.

Next stop, Calvary Cemetery. I knew this was not the highlight for anyone but me and mom but we did it. Showed the kids where their relatives are. Saw some really cool old headstones. Tried to get by another but it was closed and getting late. Needed to get to the relatives for dinner. The kids had the best time there. Swam in the pool that had to be freezing because the air temp was only in the 70's. Dinner was great. Some of mom's 2nd cousins were there. We all visited then we hit the road towards Bardstown.



My Old Kentucky Home



Talbott Tavern
Bardstown, Kentucky



Jane and Jim Yearout
Mammoth Cave, Ky



Entance to Mammoth Cave

2013



This week sure did go by fast but I am exhausted. Stayed in Bardstown. The most beautiful small town in the country. Really. Stopped in at the Talbott Tavern. A Pony Express stop from 1779 or as the kids like to call it the haunted hotel. Yes. This is the one that Brian and I stayed at years ago. They had a bad fire in the 1990's and are still working on getting part of it back. But part of the fire damage is still seen in the old bar. The cross beams have scorch marks and so does some of the stone. We then went around the down square and a few more blocks south and took the kids to My Old Kentucky Home State Park.



Perryville Battlefield

 You now have to pay to just walk the grounds but at least kids are free. Billie and I took the kids out walked around the house. Explained who Stephen Foster was and that he wrote the state song for both Kentucky and Florida. Everything was to show kids the tie from Kentucky to them. Last stop on the trip before heading home was Perryville Battlefield. The only Civil War battle that was fought in Kentucky. Yes we have a relative that was killed in Perryville during the battle. Oct 1862. Drove through the battle gounds. Stopped and played and had lunch at the picnic area. All we have left is the drive home. As the hills of Kentucky fade in the rearview mirror the memories lighten and the smiles are fresh and yes. We are on are way home.