May 2007

These are the good ole’ days especially when compared to 400 years ago…

Mariah goes to new high school and I visit my mom’s old one in Stauton VA. We are walking down a different memory lane these days. Mariah had the pleasure of going to the hormone infested high school of my friend’s daughter’s high school while Olivia and I went and visited the school my mother and her sister went to. It was a venerable institution that reminded much of the school I went to. The alumni director kindly showed me the yearbook in which my mother was in the tenth grade. It is funny to think that someday my children may realize I was once in the 10th grade too! I have to brag on my mom for a minute. She is currently in Cleveland OH receiving the distinguished alumni award for her graduating year. It seems someone else knows how terrific she is beside the small inner circle she tells. All jokes aside, we are all very proud of her and wish her well on her continued success. Mariah has fun at the high school and feels she is up to speed with her internet high school and I am glad for that. On our trip to Richmond we were passing through Charlottesville and stopped at Monticello. What a great place to build a house. One really feels like you are walking in history’s footsteps at some of these places. I feel very patriotic taking my kids to the past presidents’ homes. There were a few items that struck me as “gee, I would have wanted that in my house.” The collection of copper kettles for one.
We are spending a few days in Richmond with my mom’s friend Micky. She has a friend, Maryanne, who is graciously letting us camp in her backyard so we can spend more time with Micky and her family. Maryanne came to check on us and let it slip out that she was going to the mall. I had to hold the kids back from rushing out the door to ask if they could go with her. Gosh you’d think I never take the kids shopping…
It was very nice of her to take them and they had a great time.
Mariah had some more teenage time with Mickie’s grandson who she has been emailing for several years but had never met. I love the new penpal era. One night we all went bowling and despite Mariah getting 2 strikes I still proved the old adage that “Age and treachery will overcome youth and skill!”.
It has come to my realization that you cannot drive in this area without tripping over history. We were on our way from Richmond to VA beach when we came into the town where a replica of one of the 3 ships that discovered Jamestown was docked and the park was having a historical reenactment demonstration. Men and women dressed period costumes explaining how they survived with just the small amount of things they brought with them and help from the Native Americans in the area. The costumes were very authentic and so very intriguing. They were roasting chickens over an open fire and trading beads with Indian re-enactors for real animal skins. It was the best history lesson the kids could have asked for. We got close to the Godspeed replica which was on its way to Richmond but we couldn’t get a tour ticket. We did get to see a surgeons kit which made me grateful for modern and Chinese medicine. We are now at Virginia beach and there sure are a lot of people out east….Next stop Williamsburg, Jamestown and Busch Gardens – whooppppeeeeeeeee!

Reasons I am glad we took this trip when we did:
1) With gas prices projected to soar over $3/gallon, I suspect we will all look fondly back when it was only $2.65/gal (trip avg). Ah, nostaligia – it’s a beautiful thing.
2) It is a time in which no one in either Mark or I’s family was in need of direct medical intervention or attention. Lest we not forget, there are those whose needs still require a shoulder and I look forward to that. PS (and we are grateful to have our health so far on the journey).
3) The children were at an age that they will remember the trip and were able to “endure” it without to much hardship.
4) The technology that keeps us in touch is affordable, accessible and has less glitches than expected.
5) People still feel safe enough to welcome strangers into their towns and homes. I have to believe that will never change but…..

Sure more will come to mind but this is long enough, farewell to yarns...the Meanderthals - 1
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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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Sometimes a little unexpected down time can return a person’s spirit to where it needs to be. We stopped at a KY state park (Barren Lake, in case you are ever near there) just over the state line and we happened to be there on their camper appreciation weekend so not only did we get two nights for the price of one but there were many families with lots of kids camping too and many child friendly activities. I think we saw Olivia 3 times the whole weekend. The rangers put on a big feed on Sat night that was terrific and then they had a talent show. We played a little and then tried to get other people to show their talents and it was down right funny when they started doing karaoke. After everyone left it was a very empty campground but we did some catch up repairs, practiced our instruments and rested. Did you know that Bowling Green KY is the home to the GM plant that assembles Corvettes? There is a museum there dedicated to them and you can get a tour of the plant. Modern American car assembly is something to behold. Corvettes are a little different in that there is more hand work than robotics but it is amazing to see 1000 people build 170 cars a day. Henry Ford would have been proud. Olivia couldn’t go in because she didn’t have closed toed shoes. Her first foray into why high heels can be a pain. We had to go back the next day so the kids could see it.
Somewhere in our Nashville wanderings we had heard that the Bluebird Café was the place to introduce new songs so we decided to run down and see what that was all about. Unfortunately, Mariah didn’t get to sing but Mark and I watched singer songwriters. We now have piece of paper that if we ever get back to Nashville, Mariah will be guaranteed a spot. She has written several very good songs and I will be curious to see an audience reaction in Nashville.
I am sitting in Louisville KY listening to the rain and the geese across the road honking while reading all my wonderful emails. It is so peaceful. We stopped at Mammoth Cave Ky on the way north and did the grand tour. It is so fun to compare the various types of geology and tourism associated with National Parks. Mammoth cave is like stepping back in time because it is not so touristy. The hotel and visitor center seems quaint when compared to newer ones like Carlsbad. The park is so big that all the tourist towns are far away so you are shielded from the overt commercialism that is often associated with parks.
We took backroads from Cave City to Louisville where it is so green it almost hurts your eyes. The rolling hills are fun to drive even in a rig our size. Along the way we stopped at the log cabin where Abe Lincoln spent some of his childhood. Lincoln once said “I hope to have God on our side but I absolutely must have Kentucky.” We can see why.
We are staying with our new friends Bruce and Debbie who we met in Florida and helped convince us to re-route our trip through the ‘original” west to see the Kentucky Derby. It is funny to think that after the revolutionary war you were considered a pioneer if you went over the Blue Ridge mountains. When you are here, it is easy to see the attraction. You have to be careful where you spit your seeds because something will surely grow as a result. That is about all the news fit to print right now. I would like to add one small note of cloud on the horizon. A good friend of ours has been diagnosed with cancer and for all those out there who believe in the power of combined spiritual goodness please hope for a good outcome for John Marshall of Socorro. Together maybe we can make a difference. Thanks, Hugs to all from the soggy Meanderthals.
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