BACK HOME AGAIN!

Hi All!

Our last update came to you from KY. We didn't drop off the end of the world, get trapped in a cavern, or fall into a canyon.

We traveled from KY to Pittsburgh to spend a day touring the downtown area. It was amazing to view pictures of 'the old days'. The pictures showed buildings that were black, day time pictures looked as though they were taken at midnight, and streets appeared to be in a heavy, dark fog. All that has changed for the better. The air is clear and the views of the city from the tops of hills is spectacular. And there are many hills, tunnels and bridges mixed with the three rivers of Pittsburgh to form the “Golden Triangle”. Another one of those places you don't expect to find anything special, but get pleasantly surprised.

Leaving Pittsburgh, we visited the Pocono's! Not be be missed! Well, OK we could have survived the trip without a visit to the Pocono's! George did have a little excitement while there! No, no heart shaped bed, no heart shaped hot tub, no heart attack, just another night of 'no nothing'! Except for an equipment malfunction! The computer got a bright white flash on the screen and then 'locked up'. I couldn't do anything with the system. It wouldn't re-boot, it couldn't be powered off, it just sat there with a blank screen! My 4:00am wake up gave me the opportunity to 'play' with the system. The battery was dead, so I powered the system from the power cord. All appeared to be good, so a quick backup of the hard drive was taken. All my files are safe, but the computer is still acting flaky and will require more attention!

We visited Nancy's family in NY and CT Saturday and returned home late Sunday. Now, it is back to the tasks of resetting clocks, grocery shopping, checking through seven week's worth of mail. Thanks to Gail's pre-sorting we only have a box full of mail. I've been looking at the leaves in the back yard, but I just can't bring myself back to reality to rake them.

All said, “IT WAS A GREAT TRIP AND EXPERIENCE!!!”

Now begins the task of compiling all the statistics! Drop one of us a note if you're interested in the details or just wait until we see you in person. We will be the ones pushing a shopping cart from the local grocery store with all the pictures and memorabilia we acquired!

And for our final statements: 

For us - 'What's next??' 

For you – 'You have to do it!!'

Thanx for following along. 

Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

George & Nancy

Cars, Quilts and Caves

We started Monday with a walk along the bank of the Tennessee River in downtown Paduach.

The river has flooded the city many times over the last century, so they have built a cement flood wall to hold back the water. Each panel of this barrier now has a painted picture depicting an historical event or period of Paduach. As more sponsors come forward, additional panels are painted. The project has turned an eye sore into a major attraction for the downtown area.

After our stroll along the waterfront, we shuffled off to the National Quilt Museum! One display that held my interest was a quilt carved from laminated basswood. It weighted about 60 lbs. and was displayed hanging on the wall just like any other quilt in the building. Fascinating to view while standing three feet away. For more details, check out the artist / quilter / carver's web site at WWW.GOFRASER.COM.

Nancy comments on the quilt museum are: the quilt exhibits were outstanding! The exhibits include a collection of antique quilts, tops and some clothing such as beautiful quilted petticoats. The more contemporary quilts featured AQS winners over the last 20 or so years that ranged from traditional to breath-taking art quilts. The miniature quilts defy description! Imagine pineapple squares that were not larger than one inch square with precise points and undulating patterns. Now, the downside. Who would figure that “Quilt City, USA” has only one small, very minimally stocked, quilt shop! I was truly challenged to find even just one bolt or fat quarter that would remind me of my visit. The town of Paducah is quaint and certainly working at becoming a destination but as far as a quilt mecca, it has a really long way to go.

We decided to stay off the large interchanges and take a scenic route through a state park reserve called 'The Land Between the Lakes'. This is a beautiful area of Kentucky and should not be missed. It is a 25 mile trip over the 'high land' between the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers before they join the Ohio River. The negative side of the route is that there are limited views of the water. To see the water, you must travel about one mile off the main road. These side roads tend to be NARROW! When you approach the waters, there are small hidden stops for fishing, picnics, hiking trails and some campsites.

We arrived in Bowling Green Monday evening and had dinner at Rafferty's, at the end of BG's main strip. Off to the Corvette Museum and a tour of the factory on Tuesday.

The visit to the NCM was great. It was nice to see many of the older pictures and get some pleasant flashbacks. My how time flies! Checked out a number of bricks! Even managed to turn a few over! The plant tour was quite interesting and provided a novel comparison to out tour of the Ford F150 plant in Dearborn near the beginning of our trip. The Ford plant produces about 450 vehicles per SHIFT, while the BG Corvette plant produces about 80 Vettes per DAY. Although both plants are very automated, the BG plant does have a lot of 'hands on' steps. Also interesting was the bell system used at BG. Every employee on the line has the ability / duty to pull a cord hanging next to every work station. Pulling the cord stops that section of the assembly line, sounds a tone unique to that particular work station, and brings the line foreman to that particular station to address to worker concern. We heard an alarm sound on three occasions during our 90 minute tour! The first time we heard the bells toll, we were at the station where the chassis and body come together. A rather hefty gentleman showed up about 30 seconds after the alarm began ringing. I saw the foreman arrive, turned my attention to the tour guide for about a minute, then looked back at the activity on the line. For the next 5 minutes, the foreman was reaching into the engine compartment from the front of the vehicle then from the area near the right front tire. The four foot long crowbar didn't quite fix the problem, a second (smaller) foreman handed the big guy a mallet! That seemed to fix the problem and the bell was shut off. 

Wednesday afternoon we went to the Mammoth Caves National Park. There were a variety of guided tours from which to choose, each being rated on levels of difficulty. Our options were Difficult to Strenuous, meaning at the very least more than 280 steep steps down and tight spaces and 2 hours in length. George decided that his knee would much prefer an above ground rest so Nancy took off for the New Entrance Cave tour, rated Difficult but not impossible! Nancy returned safe and sound, reporting that the tour was a pretty good workout, very interesting with a humorous guide and good views of stalactites and stalagmites. 

The Daily Planet and More

It's Sunday, and we made it to Paducah yesterday afternoon, just in time to help with locking the doors to the National Quilt Museum! Sew you know where we're heading today! Wrong! Saved by a couple we met while having breakfast. They were dressed in their 1700's garb to attend an Encampment event at the local state park and historic Fort Massac in nearby Illinois. They were heading back for today's continuing festivities! What luck! Their explanation and enthusiasm 'convinced' us to follow along! And you thought The Man doesn't look out for George! Guess again!

George's Saviors

You would not guess who we saw while driving to the encampment. That's right! We were in Metropolis, IL and standing on the pedestal outside town hall....was Superman! What luck again! How could my day get any better? Time will tell.

The Encampment was interesting. Many individuals, re-enactors, dressed in period outfits and carried historically accurate knives, pistols, and rifles. The re-enactors included British, French and U.S. Marines as well as Indians and pioneers. Several musical groups were in a tent performing and selling CDs, while other groups were marching to fife and drum on the parade grounds and/or firing their weapons and canons. Many of the participants camped on the grounds in canvas tents for the weekend and prepared meals over open fires using wrought iron utensils. Quite the dedicated group. 

One article we read, explained that the military uniforms could be valued at over $1,000 while other outfits were hand made by the re-enactors. There were numerous food and merchandise vendors attending. Some of the re-enactors were actually making their own wares, like the blacksmith, basket weaver and tanners. Thankfully, only a limited amount of 'Made in China' merchandise was offered for sale. Nancy did manage to pick up a trinket – pictures to appear in a future blog! I'm trying to build suspense!

So, our trip to the quilt museum is rescheduled for tomorrow! One can only drag his feet for so long.

Fleur de Lis Everywhere

Nancy and George - Until Tomorrow

St. Louis Arch

The arch is big! Approaching St. Louis, the most prominent structure is the Arch, reaching 630 feet into the sky. It is truly a man made marvel. The structure is a steel and cement sub-frame, covered by a series of stainless steel panels welded together. We watched a movie about the construction, (OK, so I only watched parts of the presentation. One does need their beauty rest!) and rode in a very tiny pod to top of the arch.

The movie consisted of movie clips of the construction and explanations but the principles applied to the design. It was interesting to see the construction people moving around the steel structure without any safety harnesses or netting below them. I think that I would have been bringing magnets to work in my pockets and lunch pail each day. It was interesting that there was not a single fatality throughout the entire construction process.

The ride to the top revealed our recent rides through the mountains of the west. The pod had two sliding doors, each with a slit window that opened to reveal 5 seats arranged in a very cozy 'U' configuration. We shared the pod we a couple and their 4 or 5 year old daughter. The youngster was the only one who could sit up straight in her seat. My guess is that the designer of the pods was less than 5 feet tall! The trip in the pod takes 4 minutes to reach the top and 3 minutes to get back down. Enough said! When reaching the observation station at the top, if you do manage to open your eyes, the views were spectacular! We were fortunate to have a bright clear day!

The base of the arch contains a extensive display of the Lewis and Clarke expedition. The exhibit rivals the displays of the Route 66 artifacts. These two historical 'things' are the West's version of 'George Washington Slept Here' on the East Coast! So much for George's history lesson. Now it's off to Paducah for a real lesson!

I almost forgot! We did make it to the Classic Cars Auction north of St. Louis. They had 167 vehicles to sell! We watched about a dozen cars run through the auction line, but not many being sold. As the cars drove off the line, they were offered a sign for their window to indicate that the car was still for sale. Most owners did take the signs and parked in the large lot outside the auction house. Quite an event. I do have a list of the vehicles , VIN's, mileage, etc. - if anyone is interested for future reference! This event occurs several times a year and they offer instant credit, transportation, and they do take credit cards!

Hold on Paducah!

George and Nancy - heading home?

Leaving the Legends in Branson

Found in Branson!  Who Would Have Guessed!

On Weds. we arrived in Branson MO. Quite an experience, Branson – not the drive! Definitely a place everyone should experience once in their lifetime. The key word is ONCE! I've seen more signs for 'tribute' shows, tickets for the shows, flea markets, and time shares in the past two days than I've seen in the past 5 years. As honky tonk as the downtown area is, the country side is beautiful. Narrow country roads lined with trees, winding up and down the Ozark mountains. The area is very scenic and picturesque area to drive through.

While Nancy searched the area for the one quilt shop that did not offer 'Made in China' products, I visited the Branson Auto Museum. The museum had over 100 cars, with most being offered for sale. The majority were restored stocks, mild modified and exotics. About 10 cars were housed in the 'Barn Finds' area. These were 'drivers' and and would require some level of restoration. The cars were from the early 30s to the 1970s. Nancy left the quilt shop with material, I left the museum with a flier for an auction in St. Louis on October 17 and 18. What a coincidence! Do you want to guess where we plan to be Friday! If this is the last entry in the blog, either I paid a visit to the pawn shop with the computer or Nancy should be considered a 'prime suspect'.

I almost forgot! The weather is sunny and a little cooler today – in the mid 60s. We had a fantastic hamburger at Chester's on the strip in Branson today. Definitely good, but I'm still not convinced it's the reason to come to Branson, but if you're here do stop in.

Tonight we will be attending a 'legends' show at the Dick Clark Theater. I plan to get a few autographs for my collection and maybe join a fan club or two! More to come later.

We did attend the show which provided a few laughs! The performers did a good job recreating the 'early days'. Marilyn Monroe put on a good show, spending some of her time walking though the audience and finally 'inviting' one gentleman to center stage. He was very cooperative and added many laughs to the show. The Blues Brothers were OK, but how could anyone expect to compare to the originals! They were very energetic! My vote for best of show would be The Temptations. They sang a number of hits, had great harmony and definitely got the crowd involved. The final act was Elvis. He has definitely been on the Weight Watchers program, since last sighting at Lake George a couple of years ago and has even managed to look much younger. It appears that the move to Branson has been good to Elvis!

Off to St. Louis...Keep your fingers crossed!

George and Nancy

Happy, Happy!

No Toto, But Great Museum!

It's Monday Columbus Day, Toto still eludes us and now the Tin Man will rust away in some field. And, there are many, many fields in KS.

This was a day of firsts for us. It was the day of extended driving in the rain and we had lunch at a Sonic! Our first choice was a local original drive-in restaurant that could accommodate about 25 cars. We passed the drive-in while driving to the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum.

Quilts of Valor

Unfortunately, when we return at 2:30, they had closed for the day. The Sonic was across the intersection from the old time drive-in, so it became our second option. The food at Sonic was better than we expected. The rain began when we arrived at the Museum and continued until about 4 o'clock. This was the first time we drove in the rain, since we left on this trip. Not bad for beginners!

Tuesday began with a visit to the Kansas Museum of History located in Topeka. This is a definite MUST SEE! The staff was very friendly and enthusiastic about the Museum and extremely knowledgeable about the exhibits. A section of the museum is dedicated to special exhibits that change about every six months. By the luck of the draw, the current exhibit is about the various Kansas race tracks and drivers – The Need for Speed. Who remembers that the first NHRA Nationals was held in Great Bend KS in 1955? Paul – a trivia question for the Dominators! The exhibit covered drag racing as well as short tracks, midgets, NASCAR, and stock cars. Quite the display!. Leaving this area, you progress through exhibits depicting various time periods in KS history. The display cases were informative and interesting. Many antique weapons (including a Gatling gun), both military uniforms and NA implements and dress were displayed. This was a spectacular building and even more impressive is that it was built in 1984 using public funds.

Our last stop in KS was at the Moon Marble Company. Not the stone – marble, but rather glass marbles. This is one of the last US based companies that produces hand-made glass marbles! And, no, we haven't lost our marbles but maybe that's up for debate.

George and Nancy - on to MO

Getting to the Land of Oz!

Friday finds us at the Anchor Inn in Walsenburg CO (with a Population of 4,182 in 2.3 Square Miles), can we find them or what! The trip from Santa Fe to CO could be completed by either the High Road or the Low Road. Although the projected time for either route is the same, the High Road is considered to be the 'Scenic Route'. From my point of view, Scenic Route translates to slower speeds and more opportunities to stop to take pictures. Both of my views were validated by taking the High Road! The following pictures were taken on a short section of the trip – traveling over about 200 feet of roadway provided the opportunity to get these shots. Note to self...Get video camera for the next trip.

At another location a DOT sign stated: 'No Dividing Line Next 1.2 Miles'. This led me to expect a construction project. WRONG! As we rounded the next curve in the road, we entered a town / village with the road narrowing to the width of about 15 feet. If a dividing line were present, the road would have been restricted to motorcycles! But they did reduce the speed limit to 15MPH. The only thing missing was a LEO with a radar gun!

Saturday we spent the day in Colorado Springs CO and visited the Cliff Dwellings, The Garden of the Gods, and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. The Cliff Dwellings were built by NA's between 1100 and 1300 AD. It was very interesting to see what could be accomplished with no architectural drawings, no knowledge of engineering principles, and no mechanical lifting devices. And their dwellings survived to today. With today's knowledge and superior products, we're replacing bridges and tearing down building due to poor construction after 50 years. So much for progress!

The Garden of the Gods is a park which is free to the public. I'm don't know if funding is through taxes or a foundation. This place is like a mini NP, but not all that mini. It is situated on the outskirts of Colorado Springs and contains numerous trails among the red rock formations for hiking, biking and horseback riding.

Our third stop was the unexpected bonus for the day, the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. We were awed by the displays honoring the heroes of the Rodeo profession. The displays were outstanding! The display cabinets contained heavily tooled saddles, silver belt buckles, boots, chaps, and biographies of each individual member elected to the Hall of Fame. There was even a case honoring the Bucking Bulls! Fact: One owner offered a silver bowl to the first person who could ride this particular bull for 2 minutes. The bull had already been ridden over 200 times without anyone lasting 2 minutes. The bull was ridden another 78 times before the silver cup was won! The bull was ridden over 1,000 times in it's career. No Bull! In addition to all of the rodeo memorabilia the interior and exterior grounds were heavily decorated with beautiful bronze sculptures of life-sized, and larger, horses, bulls and cowboys. 

Sunday was spent traveling from CO to Kansas. No we haven't seen Toto! This place is flat, with many ranches or farms. We're still not sure of the difference! 

We visited the Santa Fe Trail Museum and got the bonus of attending the “Tired Iron” annual fair. The Tired Iron was a display of old farm equipment, both static and working, a car show, and food! What a novel combination! These was a demo of log cabin construction, wheat threshing, and, most interesting – milling planks from tree trunks with a John Deere-powered portable sawmill. Lot's of machinery and manpower were needed on the farm/ranch! It all most made Home Depot look appealing, but not as much fun.

Nancy and George - Still looking for Toto!