Horses to Heaven, almost

It takes some Street Sense to watch the Run for the Roses and we are the luckiest people in the world. Not only did we bet a little on the winners but we feel like winners in general just getting to be there. Thanks to Bruce and Debbie we got to see the race close up and in person. Churchill Downs is lot different than the track we are used to in Ruidoso. For one thing the personnel in Ruidoso don’t go around handing out mint julep’s even on the day of the Rainbow Futurity. The Derby in these here parts is more than a horse race. It represents a bygone era of elegance and wealth. It was amazing to see all the very well decorated hats and gorgeous outfits. They really do go all out for the KD. There is more to Louisville (that’s only 2 syllables btw – loo-vill) than just the derby. It is home to Muhommed Ali, Dianne Sawyer, Louisville Slugger and the Ohio River. We started out with lots of rain but it stopped for the Derby and the last few days have been beautiful spring days. Debbie has a dog that is the size of a small horse called Diesel. We are heading on to Lexington to visit our cousins then back over the Blue Ridge for some more east coast adventure. Mark has returned to NM so it is just the girls and I trying to run the gauntlet of the east.
We have moved on to Lexington where we are visiting my cousins who live here. Instead of reiterating meals and conversations I want to share some more observations. We are currently in the Ohio river valley, an incredibly fertile area that has enough pollen to build a planet with. I have come down with a condition called the Ohio Valley grunge. It is a lot like allergies in NM but with more flu like symptoms. I watch people cut grass here every 3 days. Coming from a place where we coax the grass to grow like a baby’s first steps, it is strange to see grass gone wild. People leave dinner parties to go home and cut grass because if they don’t, they won’t be able to get out of their houses in the morning to go to work (and we don’t go to school if there is an inch of snow on the ground!). It sure makes it pretty though.
If you look at one of our pictures, you will see Mariah lounging in a hammock our friends from Louisville gave us. It seems their garage had too much stuff and they were in pitch mode and we couldn’t let it go. I am going to need a garage trailer soon if I keep this up. Setting up house now is a whole new adventure. We have to look for sites with trees that are appropriately spaced and a flat spot for the new grill (also a donation).
One of the things I am enjoying the most about Kentucky is all the horses. They are like stars at night, beautiful and plentiful. We went to a horse show yesterday and was great to see the giant warm bloods being run through their paces with capable riders upon their backs. They remind me of home. The park we are staying at is the KY horse park and it is next to the area where they have many horse events like polo and show jumping.
The reason we are in Lexington is to visit family and everyone knows that sometimes that is not like going to an amusement park. We had a great time visiting with ours. Tom is my mom’s sisters son and Ellen is his wife and we don’t get to see them very often. Tom’s dad is my Uncle John who we visited in Florida. He comes and lives in Lexington in the summer. We all got together several times and one night we played Apples to Apples and there was a whole group of us. It was hilarious and fun. Tom and his brother Johnny and his dad are involved in an organization that connects handicap children and horses. We toured the facilities and saw the new barn that is being built there at the horse park. That evening we had a barbeque at our campsite which I tried to spoil them like they had been spoiling us.
Moving east to West Virgina, almost heaven for weather but tough on trucks. This is part of driving that I don’t like because we have to take interstates to make sure the grades don’t get to steep for Fluffy. One of the daintiest things we saw was the gold leafed dome of the capital building of WV. It looked liked a giant Faberge egg glinting in the sun. With a state as pretty as West Va, it is no surprise that there are nice state parks, one of which is called Babcock State park and this is the time of year to camp. There was no one there. Our friend Bill from Florida came and joined us and we had lots of fun hiking, biking, playing music and exploring the area. Nearby is the River Gorge bridge park where we saw the westeren hemisphere’s largest single span arch bridge and a movie about its’ construction. Personally, I am always in awe of boys who can design and play with erector set pieces that are larger than a football field. At the park there is an old grist mill that is still in operation and one can purchase stone ground corn there if you like. With all the creeks and rivers everywhere, all I can think of is tire swings.
At the outbreak of the civil war it seems many people in West Virginia did not want to join the Confederacy so to prevent their having to, the state of WV was created and admitted to the union. As you pass from one state to the other there is little difference in the magnificence of the scenery. I think Mariah must have taken a hundred pictures while we were driving. We are now in Harrisonburg Va visiting a high school friend of mine and her family. Her husband is also in the throws of chemo and they are all handling it very well but more collective spirit gathering is in order for Steve Parks.
That wraps up this edition of the Meanderthals adventure. Hope this finds all of you healthy, wealthy and wise.
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