7-19-03: Day 10 of Summer Trip_Churchill Downs!

Saturday, July 19 2003

Day 10 of Summer Trip (Louisville, KY)

2:00pm (102349)
Departing James & Tammy J’s house after a BIG day (ok, half a day).

Last night after meeting & greeting & getting the dogs settled, went out to dinner in Louisville to a place the (other) J’s like. Had a good meal in the outdoor patio, with the locals commenting on the pleasant weather due to the low humidity.

I guess we finally brought someone good weather.



After dinner, home to chat & ignore the TV; lively conversation about dogs and dog training. Around 11-ish, to bed, with us downstairs in the finished basement on a pull-out couch supplemented by an air mattress which led to a few comedic moments…

6:am – We got up, dressed, and pre-packed the truck for later departure. Dog duty was easy here because of the fenced yard. At 7:15am, Jamie took David & I (in his Wave 3 TV Truck) to Churchill Downs to watch the early morning exercise----

SHIT! 2:20pm & just realized I left purse & camera behind at the Joslyn’s. David is NOT a happy camper, and I'm pretty mad at me, too. We’re both very quietly mad…

3:06pm – Been back on the road a while, and I think the steam is subsiding, so I’ll just be quiet and finish my recap. So…

-----exercise riders, and walk around the “backside” as the horse people went about their daily tasks. Jamie knew a few people from his video work for a local TV station, and he knew all the ins and outs of the backside and general workout schedule.

The 'backside' of Churchill Downs

David & Jamie in front of Churchill Downs

The famous Twin Spires, 2003

Another view of the Twin Spires

Tina and David at Churchill Downs

Morning workouts at Churchill Downs, 2003
(Thanks Jamie, for setting me up with this shot!)

Churchill Downs was undergoing major renovations  in 2003.

@ 9:30am we went to breakfast at Wagoner’s Pharmacy which according to Jamie is quite popular with the horse people. Some of the big name trainers life Baffert & Lukas can be spotted there, especially around Derby time.

After 10-ish we headed to the Kentucky Derby Museum and were joined by Betty and Sam. Had a wonderful time browsing the gift shop (some pricey Slew posters) and viewing all the exhibits. Saw one of the horse “stand-ins” for Seabiscuit in the soon to be released movie.

After a few hours we were saturated with horse racing info and ready to go. So, back to the house after a brief driving tour of Louisville, rounded up the dogs and everything except my purse & camera, and departed with talk of seeing each other again since we’re only @ 5 hrs. apart.

4:20pm – near Cincinnati, OH – (102468) Fuel & potty stop. $25.68, 19.8gal, 297.8 miles. 

@6:20pm – Near Columbus, took exit and walked & fed dogs by roadside.

7:38pm – (102654) Arrived Home!

End of Entry

7-18-03: Day 9 of Summer Trip

Friday, July 18 2003

Day 9 of Summer Trip (KOA to Louisville, KY)

10:00am (102196)

Departing KOA. David got up @ 6:30 with the dogs. When he let them in the tent their feet were soaked from the wet grass so I wouldn’t let them climb on the sleeping bag. Tessa was not pleased, and Vince was stunned. I’m pretty sure Pav cursed at me.

Anyhoo, I got up and prepacked while David was in the bathroom. Also I set up breakfast preparations, and when David returned he poached eggs and toasted bagels over the single-burner stove while I walked Vince & Tessa. Terrific breakfast!

David has always been an excellent breakfast cook

Tent, sleeping bags, and clothing were damp from humidity & dew, so we had to putz around a while waiting for things to dry out.
- Nearby houses good candidates for my book
- Received compliment from tenting neighbors on our good, quiet dogs.


@1:00pm – 4:30pm
Arrived Kentucky Horse Park after some scenic driving as inspired by info from the Visitors Center in Richmond. Found shade for the dogs out in the empty back nine, then had a great time walking around the facility.



Saw live examples of many breeds of horses, from miniature to draft, including a few I’ve never heard of. Saw 28 year old *John Henry in his stall & I told him I had just been mentioning him to Britta during our horse racing discussion.

Famous Racehorse "John Henry", 28 yrs old in 2003

John Henry....enough said.

Also a terrific museum of horse history with interesting text, displays, and pictures. Tried to restrain our intake of racing info, since we plan to visit the Kentucky Derby Museum tomorrow with David’s cousin, but it’s so hard to turn away from a picture of *Seattle Slew, Affirmed or Secretariat.

Secretariat

FAQ, the ol' fashioned way

very informative chart...

...to an extent.

Man O' War--you should read about him!

Seeing *Man-o-War’s statue was fun, and David took my picture with it. Departed toward Louisville & *David’s relatives around 4:30.

5:50 
Arrived Jamie & Tammy J’s house in Louisville, KY  (102339)

Jamie, Tammy, Betty, Max and Sam pulled in the driveway minutes later, just arriving home after a visit to Pittsburgh.

*John Henry, Seattle Slew, Affirmed, Secretariat, Man-o-War: In a nutshell, 5 of the most awesome racehorses ever. All have a special place in my heart, and Seattle Slew played a large part in my original move from Ohio to Seattle, WA! But that's a different story...

*David's relatives: Our trip plans included staying with David's cousin Jamie and his family, and his mother, David's Aunt Betty, who just happened to be visiting that week.

End of Entry

7-17-03: Day 8 of Summer Trip

Thursday, July 17 2003

Day 8 of Summer Trip (North Carolina to Kentucky)

8:52 am 
Departing House (1017240)

Had a busy morning packing up, cleaning & vacuuming, loading the truck, prepping the dogs, and closing down the house. The humidity is gross. David says “standing still makes you sweat”.

9:30 – fuel stop  25gal, $35, 444.8 miles (101760)

@11am – rest area near Winston Salem. Humidity level much, much lower!

1:10pm – arrived “Biltmore Estate”. Beautiful weather. (101962) 238 miles from Dad’s house.

1:20pm – departed "Biltmore Estate” due to $36 per person ticket price (restrooms were free, though).

2:40pm – (102020) Crossed into Tennessee, stopped at Welcome Center for dog potty break. HOT!

4:28pm – (102133) Into Kentucky! Headed for the KOA in Renfro Valley where we’ll tent overnight & hopefully swim in the pool.

5:05pm – stopped in  London, KY for fuel & dinner to go. Lasagna from Fazoli’s.  (102171 $34, 25.6gal, 410 miles)

5:40pm – Arrive KOA in Renfro Valley (Just 1.5 miles past the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum).

Setting up camp at the KOA

Tent camping with three dogs is interesting...

7:45pm – We ate, set up the tent, visited the camp bathroom and store, played with the dogs, and now we’re relaxing in our chairs. The dogs (mostly Tessa) have a yearning to be where their ropes won’t go, but they’re finally settled down. The sun is also settling down behind some trees, and the heat with it. We’ve got a few citronella tea lights burning, & two layers of spray on our sweaty skin. 

Note: started the outline for *my book during the drive today – I really think it’s going to happen!

*my book: Eleven years later, here in 2014, I guess it's okay to reveal my book idea since I haven't gotten around to writing it yet. It's all about--no, wait, let me think about this. I think I'll write a separate blog piece. It's so hard to give away a good book idea! 

End of Entry

7-16-03: Day 7 of Summer Trip

Wednesday, July 16 2003

Day 7 of Summer Trip (Cary, North Carolina)

7:55 pm

Have been having a relaxed time here at Dad & Elsie’s house. Just finished a dinner of fish (Tillapia), red potatoes & salad. David went to the store yesterday while I did some yard work. Said he didn’t have too much trouble getting around.

A general roundup: Monday night found ‘meatloaf patties’ in the freezer and reheated alongside a can of green beans. Slept well in the guest bedroom. No plans on Tuesday, so we stayed in bed until 11-ish, then ate “brunch” of bagels & cream cheese. After David got back from the store, he joined me outside.

While I trimmed flowers & shrubs, he mowed and sprayed for bugs. Very muggy and easy to become drippy with sweat, even though I was just wearing shorts & a bikini top. I took some pictures of the yard before doing any work, but it occurs to me that I didn’t take any “afters”. Maybe tomorrow morning. 

Anyhow, last night we watched the All-Star Game and were glad to see the AL triumph. Then to bed. There’s a TV in the guest bedroom now, which we enjoy.
We slept in a bit this morning, with David getting up to clean windows (from the bug spray) and check the sprinkler system. OOPS – forgot to mention that after we entered the house Monday night we found a puddle of water around the refrigerator. Turned out to be the product of a slow leak from the water dispenser. Today we put plastic & towels around the fridge, and a sponge on the upper platform to take the majority of moisture.

Called Sweden a couple times while we’ve been here, and chatted over all the details. We haven’t done anything today except relax, watch TV, did 2 tiny laundry loads, and play with the dogs. It’s so hot & humid out that the energy gets sucked right out of you. I was out with Pav for a few minutes and when he wandered into the neighbor’s yard, I met “Jan” and she gave me a piece of mail for Dad. We plan to leave tomorrow morning for Asheville, NC.
       -  Evening thunderstorm
       -  David talked to his relatives in Kentucky; we’ll be seeing them on Friday/Saturday.


End of Entry

7-14-03: Day 5 of Summer Trip

Monday, July 14 2003

Day 5 of Summer Trip (leave New Jersey, headed to North Carolina)

7:58am – Departing Britta & Mike’s (101204)
Three days and four nights of          Too Sleepy to Write

10:00 am – Pit stop at a NJ service plaza (101315), 259.3 mi on tank, 14.7 gal, $20     I kept napping

10:18 – Crossed the Delaware bridge.

Time to recap our wonderful visit to Britta & Mike’s.

The guest bedroom was large and comfortable, with a private bathroom. It used to be the master bedroom before they built additions on their house. The yard was spacious, beautiful, and fun for the dogs.

Mike and Britta were pleased that Tessa & Vince kept a constant vigil for chipmunks and rabbits, making sure none showed their furry faces during our stay. Sounds like the rabbits around there are large and obnoxious about damaging the plants & lawn. 

Britta’s vegetable garden was small in size but dense in plants, and the layout with board walkways was very interesting. She grows almost everything from seed; has an efficient setup in the basement for starting plants during off-season. I’ll be trying her “wicking” method.

Britta, garden architect and plot genius

Friday morning we went with Britta to NYC on her commute to work. She drove to near Hoboken, then we took the transit (train) to the ferry dock, and went across the Hudson River to Manhattan. 

David & I were amazed and amused by the number of ferries on the water, the speed with which they zipped around, and the apparent lack of concern for proximity (i.e. ramming speed at perpendicular positions…).  Regular travelers didn’t bat an eye except to check their watches.
An interesting tidbit we learned from Britta is that NYC is not an early-bird town. Business usually doesn’t get going until @ 9 or 9:30, with people that deal with the west coast staying later at the end of the day to make up the time difference.
We parted ways after exiting the ferry and walking to the Winter Garden; Britta on a short walk to her office building and us on a self-guided tour. We were armed with camera, phone, map, ID, money, umbrella, and plans to meet for lunch.

During our 2 ½ hour walking tour we walked and walked and walked. Window shopping, mostly, with the first purchase being a $5 pair of sunglasses from a street vendor for me. The weather thus far had been warm, humid, gray skies (hard to see any views on the drive in, or of the skyline while on the ferry) but not actually raining. Soon after we started our walk, the skies lightened just enough to cause a glare for my sensitive eyes. For the most part, we felt fortunate weather-wise.

Foggy Lady Liberty

New York Architecture

Ground Zero

Other walking tour events included strolling along Battery Park, up Broadway, up & down Fulton, buying a fun ring for Leslie (August b-day) at a vendor’s booth.

@ 12:00 – took exit just S of Baltimore for lunch stop (McD’s) & potty.

@ 2:00 – Rest area at Virginia Welcome Center for post lunch pop break and David to stretch his legs after a 1-hour traffic jam (DJ note – the diesel pickup was a 5-speed manual tranny with a very heavy clutch) Skies are partly cloudy. Have decided not to call Karin & Dick because it’s the middle of their workday – we’ll get together another time. 

And now, back to the recap…
So, as noon approached, we headed towards Britta’s office building. After signing in at the front guard desk, we went up to the 5th floor and Britta walked us back to her office. She explained the city’s tight budget was the reason for old décor and general state of wear & tear. Her photos that dotted the walls soon distracted us, however, and we spent some time talking about the misc. scenes.

@ 12:30 we met Karin downstairs, and we walked a few blocks to Chinatown for “real” Chinese food. I especially enjoyed the prawn dish, but service was slow and the noise level so high we couldn’t converse very well.

After lunch, Britta returned to her office, and Karin took us on another walking tour. Some of the highlights: subway ride from Chinatown to Midtown, walked a short loop of Central Park, saw the park zoo (“swimming, diving monkeys”), walked up 5th Ave to Times Square, viewed Rockefeller Center, another subway ride towards Karin & Martin’s apt on 38th, walked through Grand Central Station--Karin did her grocery shopping--caught a view of the Empire State Bldg and the Chrysler Bldg, and on the verge of total exhaustion finished the journey to their apartment.

Me and 'Balto'

David & I at Central Park

"swimming monkeys"

Time out

Karin & I in Times Square

David got to meet Martin [Britta's husband], and he had some cold beers ready for us. Martin was working on his latest book, which is running into some contractual deadlines, and in addition to their upcoming move into their Shelter Island house (after renovations) said he had been summoned for jury duty.

Britta arrived shortly thereafter & we sat & chatted for a while.@ 6:00pm we headed out to return to the Perrys. Mike had graciously gone back to the house to let the dogs out about 1:00pm, and again after 5:00, so they had a wonderful day of napping.

That evening Mike made tacos for dinner, and we had more good conversation at the dinner table. Saturday morning was leisurely. Sometime @ 10 Mike & Britta drove to the local tennis court at a University, and we leashed up the dogs and walked over. That was a small adventure since we really didn’t know where we were going.

David had a kink in his neck and sore legs from the million mile city tour, but I felt okay enough to try my hand at some tennis when Britta offered to sit out for a while. It was fun, despite the muggy heat and the fact I haven’t played for 3+ years.

Britta serving (if the ball ever comes down...)

Mike is ready for anything!

Mike vs. Tina

Not very sportsmanlike, Tina!

Mike was hitting them pretty easy to me, trying to give me a chance. He and Britta played some more so we rounded up the dogs & walked back to the house. Had sandwiches for lunch and fiddled around outside until Karin & Martin showed up @ 3:00. (Karin & Martin’s dog, “Folly”, did not like Pav for some strange reason, and kept growling at him.)

We chatted a while, then we all headed to the tennis courts where the four of them played doubles, and David & I swatted a ball around. David has an accurate serve, and rarely hits the ball long; I have a tendency toward overpowering and under controlling. Martin was sick recently with Lyme disease (from a tick) and is still on meds, so he sat out after a while and let me join in. Karin & Britta teamed up against Mike & me, and David says I didn’t do too bad at all. I felt flattered by the group’s compliments on my forehand, and glad I was able to serve with some consistency. David has promised to study up on the rules of the game, so we can do scoring.

After tennis, we returned to the Mike & Britta's, cleaned up, talked, and wiled away a few hours until a fabulous steak dinner by Mike. Part way through the meal, Henry (Karin & Martin’s son) showed up and joined the crowd. Wonderful food, wine & conversation, with one little bump in the road between David & I that shall remain undetailed…

@ 11:45pm, M, K & H left, and we sent a photo CD with them to view at their leisure (we had a chance to show a few). Sunday morning started with fresh bagels & lox. Nice weather so we lounged a bit, then took a drive to see “The Great Swamp” and walk a boardwalk trail in the cool shade.

What a good looking group!

Beautiful (and practical) boardwalk

Next, a visit to the “Raptor Sanctuary”, a haven for injured birds of prey. Short visit to the “Great Swamp Nursery” for a few plants. Bought kneepads as a present to Mike. One of the large owls was a favorite of both me & David. Can’t remember the species name. Finished with a scenic driving tour of the area near their house, then home for sandwiches.

Had a great afternoon helping them weed and putz in the yard. So many nice perennials, shrubs, flowers and all tended by Mike, while Britta grows the garden. The dogs had another great day running around the yard. 

Dinner was grilled chicken, squash & rice. Watched their favorite show “Sex in the City”, then to bed @ 11:00 since they both had to get going to work in the morning. Terrific Visit!

4:26pm (101638) - Crossed into North Carolina! Planning to stop at the Welcome Center for a pit stop.

4:40pm - Pit stop and map check (David’s eta: 6:15pm)

6:16pm – Arrived at house in Cary. (101711)



End of Entry