Kentucky Horse Park
Lexington, KY
I know nothing about horses. It’s all spavins and heaves to me. But I got an education this week at the Pony Finals held at Kentucky Horse Park.
I’m winding up my solo trip after a spending a couple of days with my folks – Happy Birthday, Dad! – and I’ve landed in Lexington as an almost-home respite.
This summer we welcomed part of our expat family for an extended visit. They live in Europe and haven’t been back to the US-of-A in a while. So home seemed a little foreign. “The cars are so big!” they said as soon as they stepped off the plane. Other American habits struck them as odd, like our super air-conditioned buildings and the constant drone of background noise from TVs.
A two week stay at Summer Camp was on the girl’s agenda. They came halfway around the world to get dirty and sweaty at a good old-fashioned American camp in the woods.
Springfield, Kentucky
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We went to Washington County to visit the Springfield Opera House. Where’s Washington County? Oh, the next town over. Just a horse trot away.
Kentucky has a record number of counties – 120 to be exact. That ranks us third in the nation. Just about every little town is its own county. Why all this local government? Blame it on the Revolutionary War.
Back in the 1770’s bounty warrants were a form of payment for military service. Essentially a land grant, the warrants gave soldiers parcels of land on the far western frontier of the Virginia colonies. You would be entitled to a big chunk of Kentucky land if you were a veteran of the French-Indian War, Revolutionary War, or Lord Dunmore’s War.
This year the Kentucky Derby wasn’t so much a Run for the Roses as a Swim for the Roses. It poured, drizzled and dripped all weekend. Broke the 100 year old record for the wettest Derby. Talk about your sloppy track!
One of the perks of living along the Bourbon Trail are all the festivals and events the distilleries sponsor.
What’s the Bourbon Trail? Well, it’s kind of a self-guided sightseeing tour. There’s two dozen distilleries scattered around central Kentucky and the idea is to visit all of them and sample their spirits. Not all in one day, mind you. Even true bourbon aficionados would be hard pressed to make it through that many tours in a single day!
Bardstown, Kentucky
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Old Bardstown Village is a recreated pioneer settlement located a few blocks below the downtown area. Historically this area was where wagons and horse teams staged before climbing the big cliff into town.
There’s about a dozen log cabins at Old Bardstown Village situated alongside a lively creek. The buildings are quiet and dark inside with a sprinkling of artifacts on display.
Septarian rocks from Morocco
We’re Rock Hounds. There’s no hiding it. One look around our house will confirm that – there’s piles of rocks everywhere.
The front door sports river stones from Vermont and Wyoming. The porch railings are festooned with crinoids and slate found on the farm. Limestone slabs line our flowerbeds. And every table in the house features a rock cluster; Icelandic lava, petrified wood, chunks of crystals, obsidian and amethyst. If I stick a hand in the pocket of any jacket there’ll be a pebble I’ve picked up somewhere.
So the Rock & Gem Show in Lexington was a perfect Sunday diversion for us.
Here in the Near South we have Nearly Winter. There’s hardly any snow and temperatures usually stay within a tolerable range. Our Springs are glorious, Autumns colorful, and Summers are blazing hot. But Winter is mostly just blah with its miserable grey skies and weather that never gets cold enough to break out Aunt Minnie’s old fur coat.
Boone Tavern
Berea, Kentucky
Interested in Arts & Crafts? Then Berea is the place to go. It’s a modern day artist colony, wrapped around the renowned Berea College of Arts. Artisans of every ilk are showcased here, and the shops on North Broadway offer goods from a wide spectrum of hand-crafted items.
Bardstown, Kentucky
The Craft Beer Fest is becoming our Fall tradition. Each October regional brewers come to show off their specialties. It’s an evening of beer sampling from a large menu of choices. Some craft beers are very good, others are weirdly experimental, and a few are downright awful.
