May 30 - Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

Welcome to Pleasant Hill Shaker Village!

All the images herein were captured at Pleasant Hill Shaker Village in Harrodsburg, KY. These original buildings were erected around 1800. Their superlative construction atop Kentucky limestone has enabled them to stand the test of time. We enjoyed a morning and early afternoon with Pete and Willie amidst the beautiful grounds.

Did you know:

• Shakers were originally the Wardley Society
• They became the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing
• Folks called them Shakers because they sang and cavorted around during services to such tunes as:
• Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On
• All Shook Up
• Shake Baby Shake
• Shake Rattle and Roll
  while they were attempting to rid themselves of demons. The moniker stuck!
• Shakers believed in celibacy, albeit they had many adopted children. That's how they perpetuated there religious sect.
• They were believers that all men are created equal and thus, accepted all races and colors into their ranks.
• They were neutral during the Civil War while feeding, clothing and nursing both sides.
• They were pretty fair carpenters, builders, masons and farmers as well.

 The grounds are beautifully manicured by the current preservationists

There are only 1 or 2 remaining Shakers alive today. Their beliefs make recruitment a bit difficult in our modern society.

Yet another durable, stately structure that has lasted two centuries

 A current resident

The Pleasant Hill Shaker Village is fully functional today. Not only can you tour the buildings and grounds, you can also stay in the minimalist lodging facilities and partake of the hand grown delights of their working farm and gardens. Part of the tour included a comprehensive lecture/demonstration of growing your own food. They demonstrated planting, harvesting, composting, etc. all in a very impressive circular fashion. They buy only seeds and few, if any, powered equipment is utilized during the process. They are loyal to the original Shaker methodologies.

 Scottish style stacked stone fences rule in Lexington and the surrounding area.

A handsome circular stairwell inside the entrance to the restaurant.

Pleasant Hill provided a truly beautiful 3-4 hours of education and exploration. Their attention to detail has, in and of itself, provided a lasting legacy.

May 29 - Thoroughbred Center and Beyond

 Hop aboard...the bus is leaving

At the entrance to the Thoroughbred Center

Tuesday we headed out for our first visit to the Lexington Thoroughbred Center accompanied by Willie and Pete. The center is a training facility accommodating upwards of a thousand young race horse wannabes. Affiliated with Keeneland Race Track, the young horses learn everything from the feel of their first saddle to the routine surrounding the ominous starting gate. Like Keeneland, the facility abounds with trainers, farriers, vets, exercise riders and all other manner of horse lover. Our tour was educational and brought us up close and personal with several of the residents.

Warm meet & greet

Yeah...that's the spot...itch me right there!!!

It's hard to spend an extended amount of time in horse country without a)seeing horses daily and b)developing your favorite breeds and colors. Liz's favorite horse breeds all tend to have four legs; yep...she loves 'em all.

A few horse facts we picked up on our tour:

• Young colts (typically 1-2 years) enter the Thoroughbred Center (hereinafter referred to as TC) as unbroken, untested, racing wannabes. They learn everything from A-Z at TC.
• Price for boarding alone at the TC = $7+/- per day. All other costs are paid by the owner. Typical total training investment at TC is $20K +/-.
• Each horse's diet is specialized individually by the trainer.
• Spring and summer blue grass grazing intake is limited because it's very rich and sweet.
• Each horse's training is limited to 15-20 minutes daily, 365 days per year. Galloping/sprinting time about 5 minutes per day.
• Most of the horses spend 22+ hours in their stall per day. Some are allowed time to graze in a paddock.
• It can take up to a month for a horse to become comfortable with the starting gate - some never do.
• Horses breathe solely through their noses yet can inhale and exhale enormous volumes of air.
• Many TC exercise riders make their entire living doing just that at $20 +/- per 20 minute workout per horse. Thus 10 rides/day = $200/day.
• Race jockeys have agents who book their race rides.
• The straw and hay from each horse's stall is removed and refreshed daily. The "muck" from each stall is processed at right on the TC grounds and sold as fertilizer. This recycling is also an additional source of income for TC.
• The TC was originally owned by Churchill Downs, but is now owned by Keeneland.
• Similar training and boarding goes on at Keeneland, but we suspicion the rates are higher there.
• Seventeen of the 20 horses that ran in this year's Kentucky Derby were born or trained in this area.

Ladies love horses

What does one do when you cut down a tree and are left with an unsightly 3-4' diameter tree stump sticking out of the ground in your back yard.
Answer: Call your friendly neighborhood chainsaw artist and turn it into a work of art, of course. The carving of the fox below was created in 1 day in about 6 1/2 hours. The young man that performed the job claims he cannot draw and has no other significant artistic talents. He simply cut away everything that did not look like a fox.

Give this a try on your next downed tree...

Last night we spent the evening staring at the side of Pete and Willie's Tiffin motor home. 

Oh...by the way...did I mention that it has a 48" flatscreen TV in the middle of its side?

Sadly, the clock is ticking and our time here is slip-sliding away. I'd say more about that, but I might get too choked up. So...we'd better be running along.

Stay tuned for more fun adventures...

May 27 - Farm, Friends and Fun

Without getting super sentimental and sloppy, I just feel compelled to combine Memorial Day with a little thanksgiving celebration. We are so fortunate to be living our dream and sharing it with good friends and family. We're especially grateful for finding the Finks and their fabulous property here in Lexington. Mike and Michelle are the consummate host and hostess. Here we are, invading their space and upending their routine while their lives go on with all the responsibility of running a first class business. Their place is always immaculate and they always have a kind word and friendly greeting every time we cross paths. Our hats are off to you awesome people with whom we are honored to have become friends.

Next imagine that we have been graced with visits from my brother and sister-in-law, Al & Jo; Texas friends Charlie, Cindy and Beth; and, of course, our bedouin buddies from all places unknown, Willie and Pete. We've also made a visit to Atlanta to see son, Nathan and Kori. Like Lizzy's tee-shirts read..."Life is Good!"

Happy hour with Willie, Pete and Beth

Our magical stay ends this week. Beth leaves and heads to Lake Placid tomorrow; but, we'll see her again up there next week. Pete and Willie are riding out the storm, Alberto, which is headed for their Florida home in Tallahassee. They'll be with us a few more days. 

Liz and I have enjoyed being enthralled playing tour guide and showing off Kentucky like it was our second home. Who knows? Maybe someday that's exactly what it may become. We've visited all the surrounding cities, a couple of distilleries, Keeneland Race Track several times, found new eating haunts and spent cool evening just enjoying the Kentucky sunsets.

Awesome Kentucky Sunset

After you've lived or spent extended time somewhere it's easy to become complacent. Kentucky, especially "horse country," never seems to wear out its welcome. Just cruising around the area is soothing to the soul. The following are some of our last fews days' adventures:

 Outside the Capitol building in Frankfort, KY

Frankfort near the Capitol building

Cove Springs Park

Beth meets Gunner - ain't them some apples?

 Z_Donk Meet and Greet with Beth

Ladies love Z-Donks

May 25 - Hands-down a great day!

It's great to be back with our buds, Pete and Willie. It would be hard to count the days and hours, let alone the miles we have spent together over the past 8 years. It's always great when temperaments and interests are closely enough aligned that they overshadow the dissimilarities. Good folks, Pete and Willie!

Today we took our third trip through the backwoods of ole Kentucky as we made our way to Berea. By the way, Berea is a town in Kentucky and not something for which one needs Pepto-Bismol. There's a liberal art college in Berea; we learned about it while touring a cheese factory in Lexington; but then, I digress. The girls were interested in the "handiwork" of the students which is available throughout Berea in small artisan shops. Pretty handy, I'd say.

While the girls toured the hand-crafted clothing and jewelry joints, Willie and I observed other handicraft. It was, hands-down one of the better touring days thus far. I think we should all give Berea a great big hand for their dedication.

 Let's all give the folks of Berea a great big hand!

 Lots of hand crafted stuff to see

From Lexington it's handy to get to...

 It's a place where the students of Berea College display their handicrafts

I've got to hand it to 'em...they're quite unique.

This is Memorial Weekend and the traffic and the patriotic decorations attest to that fact. Beth arrives tomorrow afternoon as well...let the celebration begin!

 Berea street scene

 Couple of chicks Willie and I found crusin' the town.

Have a great Memorial Day everyone!!

May 19-22 - Brotherly Love

What could possibly be better than letters from home?
Answer: Visitors from home!!

Friday, May 19th we headed up to Cincinnati/KY Regional Airport to meet brother and sister-in-law Al and Jo. Together we enjoyed a whirlwind, action-packed, fun-filled weekend. We didn't miss much having visited Keeneland, Clairborne Farms, Kentucky Horse Park, Woodford Distillery, Paris, Georgetown and Frankfort, KY, Wallace Station, Windy Corner, Mirror Twin Brewery and Pizza, and, of course, evenings with Gunner...pant, pant, pant.

Posing with Stallion, Orb. He's no cheap date, but the ladies love him...literally.

Even though the weather forecast was 80-90% chance of thunderstorms, we never got wet. In fact, the only rains we encountered were short spurts while driving. We walked roughly 12 miles during their stay without a drop of rain.

Touring Claireborn Farms - Thoroughbred breeding farm

 Meeting War Front - $250,000 per date x 120 dates per year. Do the math...

Liz and Jo

We saw lots of beautiful sights, had lots of laughs, and even enjoyed a bit of Kentucky bourbon. The fun ended all too soon! Thanks, brother and Jo for taking time out of your hectic schedules to embrace us with a super fun time! Let's do it again soon!!

After returning Al and Jo to the Cincinnati Airport Monday morning, we returned to Fink Farm anticipating the arrival of Charlie and Cindy. They were just passing through en route to Niagara Falls to celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary - congratulations guys!!

Charlie and Cindy and, of course, Gunner

Charlie and Cindy were here and gone in a blink of an eye, They arrived between 3&4 PM and left the next morning at 10:30, so our time was limited. We did, however get to visit Keeneland, Midway, and tour  "horse country." We enjoyed a leisurely pizza and Prosecco party in the barn before visiting our four-footed friends in a nearby pasture. Even though Charlie is freshly injured and suffering from a bruised rib, he was up and at 'em by 5:00 AM as we headed to Keeneland to watch the thoroughbreds training in the wee hours of morn. All that, and Charlie is neither a morning person nor a horse lover. How's that for a friend? We loved their stay, and the special treat of Cindy's home-made chocolate chip cookies...yum! Thanks guys; let's go to Steamboat in July!

Gotta run... Pete and Willie are next to arrive in just 4 hours. Can't wait for more friends and fun!

Stay tuned...

May 15 - Cumberland Falls

First of all...
...many thanks to those of you who have come through with letters from home. While we've only been away a month, it is really nice to keep up with you and hear about things back home!

If you recall, we had a bust the last time we tried to visit the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame. The good news is, we had to go back. We made the return trip today and extended it to include Cumberland Falls near Corbin, Kentucky. The music museum was really fun as we discovered how many music greats hailed from Kentucky. Remember names like "Boots Randolph" (Yackety Sax), "Merle Travis" (the father of Travis Picking on guitar), "Rosemary Clooney," and "Exile" (I Want to Kiss You All Over)? There were so many more beyond the obvious (Loretta Lynn, Crystal Gayle, Dwight Yoakum, Billy Ray Cyrus); what a rich contribution to music Kentucky has been.

Our journey took us back down many of the same roads, Paint Lick, White Lick, Castle Hills, we traveled the other day. Selfish, I know; but what great fun. Just west of Corbin is Hwy 90 that winds its way up among limestone cliffs through tree-covered trails until...voila...you reach Cumberland Falls. What a serene and peaceful place. Enjoy; won't you?

Click the Pic to enlarge

Now that we're back home we'll have to suffer through the same old, same old, here at Fink Farm. Darn it!

This is how we suffer through an evening at Fink Farm...say goodnight, Gunner.

But. hey...starting Friday, friends and relatives begin to arrive! How cool is that?...we get to share the beauty of this gorgeous, pastoral place in the center of "Horse Country." First, my brother, Al and sister-in-law, Jo arrive on Friday, followed by Charlie and Cindy on Monday. Next, comes Pete and Willie and Beth. Talking about ending our stay with a BANG!

May 12 - Crusin' Kentucky Backroads

On this beautiful Saturday we decided to head south from the Lexington farm to visit the new home of the Kentucky Country Music Hall of Fame in Mt. Vernon, KY. Of course, we could have slabbed it  down Interstate 75 and arrived in roughly an hour, but...what fun would that be?

Instead we chose a 2+ hour route that included such famous  and familiar roads as:

• Jack's Creek
• Tate's Creek
• Paint Lick
• Frog Branch
• White Lick
• Hurricane School Rd
• Copper Creek Hill

Kentucky is very frugal when it comes to wasting resources like, well...asphalt. So, many of the aforementioned byways, while being two-way are only one-lane. It makes for some very exciting driving considering the elevations changes are many and often severe. If you're willing to travel the really back backroads, then here's some of the rewards:

 Reminiscent of our motorcycle days. A cycle group awaiting the ferry.

 Lotsa ways to cross the Kentucky River; this just happens to be the most fun!

The wildflowers are in full bloom along Paint Lick Road

 Ah...Kentucky backroads

 Some White Lick Road residents

Wish you were here!!

There's frequently both good news and bad news strategically intertwined. Today the bad news was the new Kentucky Country Music Hall of Fame was inexplicably closed upon our arrival. The good news...we have to go back!

Stay tuned...