Three To Kentucky

We've been back from Kentucky for more than a week. Christopher came along and the three of us enjoyed spending Christmas together right before we all banded together to help Annabel (Connor's sister) get married. But in between all the business of the season we had some fun. We did things like...

Chop wood.

Christopher had his first Waffle House experience. He ordered the peanut butter waffle, expecting there to be real peanut butter. The fool. They put peanut butter chips on peanut butter waffles at Waffle House!

The three of us hiked up to Natural Bridge.

Natural Bridge is in the background as we stand at Lover's Leap.

We did a tour at Buffalo Trace Distillery.

I tried to make friends with the chickens. 

Only one was brave enough to eat from my hand.

It got so cold that the creek began to freeze over and we had to keep the wood stove burning.

Before we left, a thin sheet of ice developed across the whole creek

Christopher chopped more wood.

It was all this and more. It was a good trip, but we were all tired by the end. I'm still glad that Christopher got to have a taste of Kentucky.

Mid-South Pt.1: Kentucky Caves, Blueberries, and Fireflies

Connor and I just got back from 10 days in the South. We didn't go to the Deep South... more like the Mid-South: Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, and then back to Tennessee. 

Our journey started with us landing in Nashville and getting picked up by Connor's brother, Mason. We stopped for a meal and some live music in Bowling Green before reaching our destination for the night: Cave City. I'd read about the cement teepee hotels that had risen in the age of the road trip, but I didn't think I'd get a chance to stay in one.

This one was known as Wigwam Village No.2 and was built in 1937. The room isn't terribly big, but when Connor's cousin ended up driving to meet us, we did our best to get us all in. We couldn't open the front door while everyone was asleep though...

In the morning we had breakfast before taking the Historical Tour at Mammoth Caves. I never thought I'd ever get to visit, but I am so happy we did. We learned about Stephen Bishop, who was a slave. He was asked to map out more of the cave during his time there. What was especially impressive is that his name was put on the map that he developed rather than his owner. The park ranger told us that the only other slave that he knew to have had his name on his own work was Fredrick Douglass.

I took all of one picture at the end of the tour. This is the historic entrance.

Connor's cousin had to go his own way after the tour, but the three of us continued on sight seeing. We stopped by Abraham Lincoln's birthplace, now a monument. We learned that in the corner stone of the moment is a time capsule, which includes a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation in Lincoln's own hand.

Lincoln's family dealt with many land disputes where they were cheated. They moved to a different area, where Lincoln grew up. Another land dispute followed them before the moved to Indiana. What we saw wasn't the original Lincoln boyhood home; it was the neighbor's cabin which was partially restored. There were some original boards and it is thought that Lincoln probably played with the neighbor kids in this particular cabin.

After all the sightseeing, we drove on to Connor's family house and had a cookout with friends and family. We ended up spending a few nights visiting with people. It was also blueberry season, so a couple of us when out to pick some. I found a dragonfly caught in the blueberry net, so I helped him out. He rested a little before flying away.

But the best part was that we came during firefly season! Each night Connor took me out to the fields and we would catch fireflies with our nets and let them light up our jars. We made sure to release the fireflies after an hour or so. One evening we even caught two jars of fireflies each.

I also got a chance to paint a bit. I suppose it is no surprise that I wasn't to capture the magic of fireflies. Ever since I met Connor, I've talked about seeing the fireflies. Fireflies in California are energy efficient... they don't light up.

Other paintings I did on the trip can be found on my tumblr page.

Kentucky was lots of fun, but the next part of our trip was going to take us into the mountains, including the highest peak east of the Mississippi.

Just Around The River Bend

After Joe and Emily's wedding, Connor and I spent a few more days in Kentucky with family. On one of the evenings, we had a big ole potluck. There were even several rounds of volleyball played. I've never had enough relatives to play volleyball with, so it was extra fun for me.

Watch out Hammer! Connor can't see you there.

The donkeys had been nervous around me the whole time we had been on the farm, but on potluck day they let me feed them. If you'll note that in the back left of the image there is a cow lurking; a cow named Mouse.

Mouse got in on the action. Imagine if you were feeding Jabba the Hutt from Star Wars. That is what feeding a cow feels like. Its tongue is so hutt-like. I did my best to drop the carrot on top of her tongue, but I still got cow spit on me.

In the evening all the cousins went searching for fireflies so I could see one up close. I'd only ever seen them once when I was really, really young. It was the end of firefly season, but there were a few out. Logan caught one for me, but it refused to light up after we put it in a bottle. After releasing the firefly, Connor and I spent some time taking pictures of the cows.

Snowball was an excellent model

The next day a bunch of us went on an 11 mile (18 km) canoe trip. It should have taken four hours, but it took us closer to six.

I'm really glad I got to be part of this trip. The views were amazing and I enjoyed everyone's company.

Just around the river bend! 

Make no mistake, though. By the end of the trip, we were all pooped out. 

But as we drove off, the fireflies came out again to share their magic with us. I can't wait to go back. 

Wedding In Kentucky

Connor and I were in Kentucky earlier this month for a wedding. I'm not a big fan of weddings (I find them overwhelming), but there is a short list of ones that I am committed to go to. Luckily that list got shorter now that Joe has gotten hitched. We last saw Joe earlier in the year when he came out and saw Sequoia, the Alabama Hills, and Death Valley with us. At the time he hadn't proposed just yet, but he told us a good story about he and his now wife, Emily. When we learned the wedding date, I felt that our wedding gift needed to be inspired by that story. Although I was a little nervous about going a slightly less traditional route for a wedding gift, the reaction they had when they opened it made it all worth while.

And the gift? Well, early in their relationship, Emily agreed to play Joe's all time favorite video game series: Mass Effect. In the first one, there is a vehicle called the Mako that you drive around for parts of the story. Using that vehicle can best be described as trying to drive a drunken rhino. It just isn't easy. Joe told us about how Emily would drive the Mako as if it was invincible; driving into lava (instant death), driving into oncoming fire (near instant death), without a second thought. He said it was like she was a member of the Cult of the V8 from Mad Max Fury Road. She might as well have been screaming "Witness Me" while facing down hundreds of space pirates. The thought was irresistible, so I drew this for them. 

This picture wouldn't have been completed without Connor's help. He kept encouraging me even after the third and fourth drafts of this picture didn't work out. 

Two days after giving the gift, the love birds were married. It was a beautiful wedding with neat touches. Each table had a book theme. I got to sit at the Lord of the Rings table with Connor's family. Joe sat us there on purpose since Connor and I had an accidental Lord of the Rings themed wedding. Connor delivered his best man speech, explaining how he and Joe were soul mates. He went on to let everyone know that they were so close that the two of them got to the point where they would finish each others..... sandwiches. Things like that.  It was a great speech. As the reception was winding down, Joe and Connor got a last moment to themselves. Then Joe was off with his lady love.

Soul mates to the end

Christmas In Kentucky

Back in December, I flew out with Connor to spend two weeks in Kentucky with his family for Christmas. After landing, Connor's brother picked us up. Unfortunately we took a wrong turn and accidentally ended up in Indiana.

We took advantage of it and had a look at a nearby fossil bed that was along the Falls of the Ohio State Park.

It was a work trip for Connor, but he still had a few days off to spend on adventures. His brother, cousin, and I went to Natural Bridge on a particularly beautiful day. But, I got to spend plenty of time with different family members while Connor was working. An adventure that stands out is the day Connor's brother and cousin took me out on an excursion that ended with me falling into a river (because of my own pride). Luckily I had packed extra clothes. Also, there aren't pictures because I had enough sense to leave the camera in the car so as to keep it dry.

On a different day, Connor's Mum and I went off to Buffalo Trace distillery. It was fascination to learn about how the distillery was one of three that was allowed to remain open during Prohibition in order to manufacture alcohol for "medicinal" purposes. We also learned that there are remnants of laws from Prohibition that allow pharmacies to sell liquor because of its medicinal qualities.

Last year was the first year I ever had a Christmas tree. But this year I joined the family to cut down one. It was quite an adventure. I fell into a creek during that excursion as well...

I also learned how to chop wood. Connor told me it would be tough because much of what we had to chop was Hedge Apple. I chopped and chopped. Eventually I looked at the axe and noticed that it was pretty flat. I told Connor, "I'm no expert, but is the axe suppose to look like that?" To which Connor replied, "That is the dullest axe I've ever seen." 

We told his Dad about it later and I was asked if Connor had been hazing me. Connor replied that it was chopping wood on "hard mode."

I had a fantastic time out in Kentucky. The only thing I missed was snow. The day we left the temperature dropped. Ah well, I'm sure I'll get to see it in the future.

Vineyards Of Blenheim

After two wonderful weeks in Christchurch, I flew on to Blenheim to stay with Dennis and Chris' brother, Jon.

Above Christchurch

Jon owns a vineyard that is contracted out to a winery.

He has 10,323 vines and over the course of the week I spent there, I had the pleasure of meeting them all.... twice.

We started with the job of wire lifting. It gets quite windy in Blenheim. The wires help protect the canes from snapping off in the wind. It took Chris, Jon, and I two days to lift all the wires. Later on, another set of wires get lifted. The wire lifting wasn't too difficult, but what I hadn't realized was how much walking we'd be doing. Chris and I measured the longer rows. It was 250 meter and took up an average of 10 minutes to do.

Between the work at the vineyard, Chris and I had a few excursions. One day we spent time out in Picton. We caught sight of one of the ferries that goes between the north and south island.

We had also seen this place earlier. I just had to eat there. It was too funny to see a place called Kentucky in a place so far from Kentucky. It was a fish and chips kind of place. My official impression was while the food was enjoyable, the most Kentuckian thing about it was the name.

We spotted a WWI monument as well. In the States, monuments tend to commemorate WWII. But in New Zealand, they all seem to be related to WWI. Even the smaller towns have monuments. It is quite clear that New Zealand gave many men to the Great War.

Get Lucky In Kentucky

I am clearly a crazy person because I week before leaving for New Zealand, I travelled out to Kentucky. It all came about after Connor said, "It's too bad you can't meet my family before you go to New Zealand." And I said, "I've got a weekend."
When we landed in Kentucky, I noticed that the Kentucky themed shirts were printed with the words, "Get lucky in Kentucky." There was an outline of the state and a horseshoe. I imagine they were talking about horse races.

The three days we were there were packed. Connor's sister picked us up and we went to a Crackerbarrel where I ate catfish for the first time. I quite like catfish. We then went to his parents' house, which was built a bit before and after the American Civil War. It even has a name: Mount Lookout.

After visiting with his parents, we took a walk around the farm. I've always wanted to climb up one of those round hay bales, but never had the chance... until now! Connor was kind enough to show me the method of getting up. I'm a bit shorter than him, so it took me a few tries to get up. A few, rather undignified tries. Eventually I got up.

Being from California, most fire related things are off limits because everything is so dry. But that night, Connor's brother, Mason, and cousin, Keenan, came over and we had a bonfire. There isn't a good sense of scale in this photo, but the fire was much taller than me. Afterwards there was a discussion about fireworks. Fireworks were procured. Connor and I watched Mason and Keenan lean over the box, mutter to each other, then take some over to where we would launch them, mutter some more, ending with, "Good enough." It was an excellent night.

The next day I visited with people a bit more. But in the afternoon Mason, Keenan, Connor, and I went canoeing up the creek that is by their house. We paddled up, dragged the canoes over various obstacles, like cattle gates, until we couldn't go any further. Then we grounded the canoes and walked up the creek some more. We came upon crayfish battling. It was then that I realized that I was the only one with open toe shoes and there were lots of large crayfish around. I asked for a piggyback ride to safety.
On our way down I caught a few frogs and Mason pointed out buckeyes. I started to collect them and Connor asked, "Are you collecting them because they are pretty?" Me: "No, I want to throw them at Mason and Keenan. Is that ok?" Connor: "Yes." The mission was dubbed Operation Buck You In The Eye. After all the boys helped pull the canoes over the last cattle gate, Keenan and Mason got a better start than Connor and I, so he and I paddled like hell to catch up. After ramming their canoe with our own, we started hurling buckeyes at them. There will be a rematch in the future. But for now, Connor and I hold the upper hand.
We all smelled like frog afterwards, so showers were had before going out for dinner.

This is where we put in the canoes

The last full day in Kentucky, I met Connor's best friend Joe. We went to a Steak And Shake. (Another thing that isn't in California) Connor said it was "their" restaurant. I asked if they ever split milkshakes. We all laughed about how Joe liked the Strawberry, Connor like the "Nana" and when their straws touched they had a moment. We talked about life stuff well into the evening. Later on Connor said that it took having Joe and I in the same room to realize how similar we were.

On the way to the airport the next day, Mason was kind enough to take a Bourbon County jumping picture for me. This is the county where Bourbon was invented. (The liquor was named after the county) and I thought it was pretty neat that the creek that ran by Connor's parents house was used for the first Bourbon.

All in all, it was an excellent trip. I hope to go out again in the near future. It will have to wait, though. Today I arrived in New Zealand.