My Kentucky Adventure: Settling in.

Getting out of the house was made even more interesting, i forgot to say, because Bigger Girl tried to get me to take the taser her friend the EMT lent her.  When i refused, she said, "But, mom!  You are going to Tennessee!  It's full of Tennesseans!"

When i told her that i was actually going to Kentucky, she said, "That's even worse! It's full of Kentuckians!"

Laughing, i still refused.

Part of the adventure of the driving itself which made it fun for me was the roller coaster nature of the roads.  Living in the swamps, it's all flat.  (Sometimes i jokingly say it goes downhill both ways, but that's an exaggeration, even though we are at or just below sea level.)

Also, i got to see rocks!  As much as i could, i took glances at the beautiful valleys, the hills above me, and the rocks.  It is also so nice to be seeing trees besides the typical pulp pines that line our roads.  The variety is nice, and some of them are starting to just barely get the tinge of autumn.  That's something else i don't see back home.  Yes, i'm a tourist, and i wear a badge.

Last year, driving with Little_Ninja, she swore that she never gets a ticket for speeding because she says hello to the cows and horses whenever she sees them, and it brings her luck.  While i do enjoy exclaiming over seeing the cows and horses and rocks, i swear by setting my speed at the speed limit, and only going a bit faster if i have to pass someone, then slowing back down.  It served me well, as i did see officers out, and even saw a couple of people pulled over.

The motel was the only one in the small town.  Eighteen rooms, clean, comfortable, owner operated, and very reasonably priced.  When i finally got in to stay for the evening, i didn't piddle around much but went to bed, and it was around midnight.

The next morning, my abnormal brain woke me at 4am as usual, so i got up and read and prayed and showered and went to the local McD's for coffee.  Then i searched out the local grocer, and found a place very similar to our MomAndPop Store back home.  They had a bargain price for grapes, and i got a few things i needed, and wandered back to the motel, where i rested and talked to the owner and talked to Little_Ninja.

The owner of the motel was quite a character.  He saw me eating my dried seaweed snack, and tried some.  He liked it!  He said that when he first took a bite, he didn't think he would, but the stuff is tasty.

Fivecat came and we met her dogs, Paisley and Her Glorious Highness Cinnamon Barks-a-lot.  The latter is a Pomeranian, and she lives up to her name.  We went down to the marina for a while  then Fivecat took the dogs home.  We got to feed the fish cat food at the marina, which is always.  For lunch we tried a small local restaurant, and by the time we were done, the resort called.  Our resort house was ready.

It was time to move in to where i will be staying with Grace, Eagle, and Script for the rest of the trip.  Gads but Cicero had a lot of stuff packed in her, which i actually finally realized when we got there to unload.  Fivecat and Little_Ninja went to freshen up at their own places, while i got settled in and started the gumbo preparations.


Today is:

Arafat Day -- Afghanistan; Bahrain; Djibouti; Kuwait; Libya; Saudi Arabia; United Arab Emirates

Bayfest Mobile -- Mobile, AL, US (world class musical entertainment and fun, with thousands of dollars earned going toward giving young people musical scholarships; through Sunday)

Buttering-Up Semi-Finals -- Fairy Calendar

Children's Day -- Singapore

Come and Take It Festival -- Gonzales, TX, US (celebrating the cry of Texans fighting for independence when the Mexican military demanded a cannon be returned; through Sunday)

Eid al-Adha -- Islam (Festival of Sacrifice, a three day commemoration of Abraham's obedience and willingness to sacrifice his son; begins at sunset, local customs of date and official government days off in many places will vary)

Fell's Point Fun Festival -- Baltimore, MD, US (a festival in Baltimore's original seaport; through Sunday)

Festival of Bacchus/Dionysus -- Ancient Roman Calendar (tasting the old and new wine and celebrating the harvest)

Independence Day -- Iraq

Kae Chun Jul -- Korea (National Foundation Day, BC 2333)

Kentucky Apple Festival -- Paintsville, KY (apples, music, arts and crafts, antique cars, rides, food, and fun; through tomorrow)

Lee National Denim Day ® -- US (but i'm sure they want this one celebrated anywhere jeans are sold and worn!)www.denimday.com/

Morazan Day -- Honduras (Soldier's Day, trad.; will be observed on Monday)

National Butterfly and Hummingbird Day -- internet generated; celebrate these beauties today, no matter where you are

National Carmel Custard Day

National Diversity Day -- US (vow tolerance, embrace how differences make the world a better place)

National Storytelling Festival -- Jonesborough, TN, US (a three-day celebration of storytellers, stories, and oral tradition from around the country and around the world, all in Tennessee's oldest town)

Oschophoria -- Ancient Greek Calendar (in honor of the return of Theseus after killing the Minotaur; deities celebrated were Dionysius and either Athena or Ariadne, depending on the source cited; date approximate)

Ozark Fall Farmfest -- Springfield, MO, US (largest agricultural trade show in the Ozarks; through Sunday)

Relief of Leiden Day -- Netherlands

Reunification Day /Unity Day-- Germany

Springs Folk Festival -- Springs, PA, US (Amish crafts and food at the height of fall foliage; through tomorrow)

Sts. Ewald the Black and Ewald the Fair's Day (Patrons of Westphalia)

Swappin' Meetin' -- Cumberland, KY, US (through tomorrow; celebrating the rich heritage of mountain people)

Techies' Day -- give your techies some well deserved appreciation

Tennessee Valley Old-Time Fiddlers Convention -- Athens, AL, US (200 contestants, 18 catagories, all crammed into two music filled days; if you love old time fiddle music, this is the place for you)

Thimphu Tsechu -- Thimphu, Bhutan (Drukpa Buddhism festival, the last days of the Drubchen; through Monday)

World Smile Day -- do one act of kindness, help one person smile, in honor of Harvey Ball, who created the Smiley face
     some sites tag this as Send A Smile Day, or have it on different days

Yom Kippur -- Judaism (begins at sundown)


Birthdays Today:

Neve Campbell, 1973
Gwen Stefani, 1969
Janel Maloney, 1969
Clive Owen, 1964
Jack P. Wagner, 1959
Dennis Eckersley, 1954
Stevie Ray Vaughan, 1954
Dave Winfield, 1951
Lindsey Buckingham, 1949
Roy Horn, 1944
Chubby Checker, 1941
Erik Bruhn, 1928
Gore Vidal, 1925
James Herriot (James Alfred Wight), 1916
Harvey Kurtzman, 1902
William Crawford Gorgas, 1854
George Bancroft, 1800


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"L.A. Law"(TV), 1986
"Scarecrow and Mrs. King"(TV), 1983
"Quincy"(TV), 1976
"The Dick Van Dyke Show"(TV), 1961
"The Andy Griffith Show"(TV), 1960
"The Pat Boone Show"(TV), 1957
"The Real McCoys"(TV), 1957
"Captain Kangaroo"(TV), 1955
"The Mickey Mouse Club"(TV), 1955
"Father Knows Best"(TV), 1954
"Our Miss Brooks"(TV), 1952
"The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet"(TV), 1952


Today in History:

The state of Gojoseon (modern-day Korea) is founded by Dangun Wanggeom during the reign of the Chinese emperor Yao, BC2333
The siege and battle of Alesia is ended by the surrender of Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls, to Julius Caesar, BC52
Julius Caesar's assassins suffer a decisive defeat at the First Battle of Phillipi, BC42
Jews are expelled from Eger, Bohemia, 1430
The Duke of Montrose issues a warrant for the arrest of Rob Roy MacGregor, 1712
British Captain James Cook anchors in Alaska, 1778
General Napoleon Bonaparte first rises to national prominence being named to defend the French National Convention against armed counter-revolutionary rioters, 1795
George Washington proclaims the first national Thanksgiving Day will be held on Nov. 26, 1789
American author Edgar Allan Poe is found delirious in a gutter in Baltimore, Maryland under mysterious circumstances; it is the last time he is seen in public before his death, 1849
J.S. Thurman patents a motor-driven vacuum cleaner, 1899
The first conference on wireless telegraphy agrees to adopt SOS as the warning signal and sign of distress, 1906
Leon Trotsky, Adolph Joffe, Matvey Skobelev and other Russian exiles in Vienna, Austria, found the Pravda newspaper, 1908
Mrs. W.H. Felton, of Georgia, becomes the first woman seated in the US Senate, 1922
A V-2 /A4-rocket from Test Stand VII at Peenemünde, Germany is the first man-made object to reach space, 1942
The United Kingdom successfully tests a nuclear weapon, 1952
Germany is reunified, 1990
Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy is attacked by one of the show's tigers, 2003
Archaeologists on the Egypt-Gaza border find the first evidence of a 2,000-year-old city, 2010