Kentucky Day 4: Only By the Grace of God.

It was only by the grace of God that I reached my post to work at the World Equestrian Games this morning and got out of there again when I was finished for the day.  I had reviewed the directions to the park the night before and managed to get several hours of sleep despite some nervousness about the uncertainty of what today would bring.  What I hadn’t done was factor in my previous reliance on the good old GPS while cruising about Kentucky and that it had all been done in the light of day.

It was before 6am when I darted across Main Street to the City Hall parking lot across from the Training Center where I am staying.  It was not only dark due to the hour, it was raining.  I didn’t have a precise address for the Horse Park nor was it listed as an attraction on my Garmin.  I headed out anyway, expecting everything to fall into place as it usually does as I followed Main Street back toward Lexington thinking, “turn when you get to Walmart.”  Well, as you may have already guessed, I never got to Walmart.

I did end up going the wrong way down a one-way street in Paris, Kentucky.   A very gracious gentleman in a pickup truck pointed out the error of my way and re-directed me the best he could.  I never did find Walmart but I did somehow end up at the Horse Park (in the dark and in the rain) and not more than 10-15 minutes late for my first day “on-the-job”.

The rain and cold continued throughout not only my 6 hour shift scanning tickets at the dressage competition, but the entire day and into the night.  The dark however did subside and, although I pushed myself to remain on my feet for another 4 hours, mostly checking out the vendors at the park, I was careful to call it quits before dark once again fell upon Kentucky. I had no desire to enhance the challenge of finding where in the sea of volunteer’s vehicles I had left mine, in the dark so many hours earlier, that I knew lie ahead.  I thank God and the brilliant invention of the keyless remote that helped guide me to my ride.

And so ended my first day at the park.

Kentucky Day 3: Glad to be going to the Park tomorrow.

My new motto:  When all else fails, go get something really good to eat.  My recommendation when in Lexington?  Regatta Seafood Grill for lobster tail and fresh steamed asparagus.  It was delicious.

That’s not to say that today was all bad.  I just hit a few glitches along the way.  I got up early and drove back to Louisville to join Paul and Erika for church.  That was nice.  BUT they weren’t able to have lunch with me after.  I stopped in Frankfort (Kentucky’s capitol) on my way back toward Lexington to find Linney’s Pizza.  I thought if Linney was the restaurant owner’s family name, they might be distant relatives.  My great grandmother was a Linney and from that part of Kentucky, to boot!  BUT Linney’s isn’t open on Sundays.  I’ll call them tomorrow BUT I could have called them from “D” Farm.  Oh well.

When I sat down for lunch there in Frankfort, I noticed a last name that I recognized on the back of the church program.  A friend of mine has family in Louisville BUT I couldn’t find a listing in the local phone book the day before.  Now there it was BUT I was already all the way to Frankfort.  Oh my.

So I drove on to Georgetown.  I was hoping to make contact with a horse trainer I had met in Kansas during the summer.  She was there alright BUT she was busy and didn’t even notice me.  I wasn’t feeling sufficiently outgoing to attract her attention so I let the opportunity pass.  Georgetown’s activities were pretty much limited to some vendors- jewelry, purses, some t-shirts and food booths.

I would like to have toured a horse farm (and still hope to) BUT instead I went toured an old mansion, the Ward Hall mansion, built in the 1850s.  It was quite good and I should know; I’ve seen a bunch of them.  BUT it was a little sad for me because it had several features similar to the house at “D” Farm that is on a countdown for tear down.

And that’s how I ended up at the Regatta.  It was, by the way, the 4th seafood restaurant that I attempted to locate via GPS BUT, I must say, it was a winner!

Tomorrow morning I begin my first volunteer shift at the Games.  Hurray.  I am definitely ready.  The alarm is set for 5:30am and my uniform is all set out.

Goodnight.

Kentucky Day 2- My first full day in Kentucky

Today turned out to be a 3-parter.  It began in Louisville spending time with my niece and her husband.  What delightful hosts.  They’ve only been in Kentucky about a month themselves but they love it and, as far as I was concerned, it was a treasure getting to spend time with “locals”.

Even though we are only a few days into fall, the change in seasons seemed quite apparent to me when I stepped out to my car this morning to retrieve my camera.  Quite amusing actually that the first thought that went through my mind was of Yosemite; just that little crispness in the air and the leaves on the ground, despite the fact that it was probably in the low 70s.   I’m such a desert rat- born and raised in sunny California.

I have long believed that an excellent way to get to know an area is through hunting for yard sales or looking for housing.  I have recently added geo-caching to that list.  Erika and I spent the entire morning cruising about with my GPS searching for local caches.  We remained guardedly optimistic despite striking out at our first two attempts.  For whatever reason we got lucky on number here.  It was a little film canister secreted at the base of a light standard.

With renewed enthusiasm we pressed on to number four on our list.  We wandered about the area, still perplexed at exactly how to interpret the changes in the coordinate readings as we moved about.  All at once it came to our attention that we were being approached by a man who was walking across the parking lot from a nearby establishment.

“What are you doing? he asked. I quickly filtered through a series of possible responses, then said, “Do you geo-cache?”

He said he did not but opened the passenger side of an adjacent pickup and said, “I have one right here.”  He produced something that resembled an extra large green test tube with a plug in one end to secure its contents.  It turns out he was the manager of that store and had found the item some 3 or 4 months earlier while trimming the brush by the side of the building leaving it completely exposed.  “I figured it was important to somebody so I held onto it,” he said.  “I’ve been waiting to see if someone came looking.”

How great is that?  A tribute to humanity and the good people of the commonwealth of Kentucky.  So he entrusted it to Erika and I to re-locate it somewhere new.  And so goes Erika’s introduction to geo-caching…Thanks Roger.

We were so engrossed with our adventure that the time we would have had to enjoy lunch together had slipped away.  I gathered my things, including the salad we’d picked up at a deli on the way back to her apartment, and hit the road again, this time en route to Lexington to pick up my World Equestrian Games uniform.

Part two of my day took me horse lovers’ heaven.  The closer I got to Lexington, the more evident it was that I was truly in the Horse Capital of America; so many spacious grassy pastures with the long stretches of black four panel fences.  Even before you see the horses, you know you’ve arrived.

It was fairly easy to locate the uniform distribution center.  The well-organized team of volunteers in charge directed me from one station to the next as I was fitted and presented with my goods and apparel.  They suggested that if I had the chance, I drop by the Thoroughbred Park at the intersection of East Main Street and Eastern Avenue, downtown.  I’m so glad they did.

I still had my salad so I parked along the street and sat on a bench in the park to eat.  As I did I thought to myself, here I sit all by myself in Lexington, Kentucky, feeling like I’m the luckiest person in the world.

The last part of my day took me to the National Cadet Training Center in Millersburg, about 30 minutes NE of Lexington.  I was “processed in” and “set up camp” but more about tht tomorrow.  It’s after 11pm and I need to turn in- I have another big day in store tomorrow.

Kentucky Day One- I made it!

(last night's blog)


11pm and I am zonked.  Twelve hours on the road, as expected.  I covered 593 miles, traveling through 5 states: Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky.  It all went according to plan.  I left right on time and crossed into Kentucky 12 hours later.  Due to an unanticipated time change, it turned out to be 8pm instead of 7pm  plus there was a 45 minute drive through Louisville to Paul and Erika’s.

The only traffic I encountered was in Olathe, Kansas, around 8am which just happened to coincide with my first scheduled break at the Starbucks near the Bass Pro Shop at Outdoor World.  No problem.  By the time I hopped back on the freeway, the traffic had cleared and I was once again on my way.

The skies were clear and the temperature pleasant.   A bright beautiful moon shining into my bedroom window awakened me before the alarm sounded at 6:45am.. I had the car packed in a jiffy and waved goodbye to a small possum who scuttled across the driveway toward the barn.

I also stayed true to my commitment to stop every hour or two to stretch and walk about.  Besides the stop at Starbucks, I visited a Stuckeys for Missouri postcards, stopped by Ozarkland for a quick souvenir perusal just before reaching St. Louis, had a very pleasant late lunch at a classic family-style restaurant called the Hen House east of St. Louis, and made a special photo stop in Dale, Indiana.

Now I am beyond ready for a good night’s sleep eager to get a look at Louisville in the daylight tomorrow along with everything else tomorrow holds in store.

The Road to Kentucky

OK.  It’s almost 7pm, Thursday, September 23rd.  The last minute countdown has begun.  I will be on The Road to Kentucky in just over 12 hours.  I’ve packed my stuff; checked and double checked that I have everything: clothes, a couple of pillows, maps, some snacks, postcard stamps, an eclectic array of CDs and, most importantly, electronic gear.  I have my camera with plenty of extra batteries, my cell phone with home and car chargers, the GPS with car charger,  and laptop with charger, mouse and flash drive.

Mapquest tells me it is roughly a 9 hour drive to Louisville.  Since I plan to stop every hour or so, I expect it to take 12 hours-  By my calculations if I leave at 7am, I roll into Louisville by 7pm.  It’s not Lexington but it’s Kentucky.  I will have arrived.

Even though I made arrangements back in May for housing in Lexington tomorrow night, I learned in late August that I wasn’t assigned to work until Monday.  As it turns out my neice Erika and her husband Paul have just recently relocated from California to Louisville so I get to stay with them Friday night and spend a leisurely Saturday morning with them.  I don’t need to be in Lexington until 4pm when I am scheduled to pick up my uniform (2 official volunteer polo shirts to go with my khaki slacks, a jacket, a fanny pack and credentials) .

I have been planning this trip to Kentucky for the World Equestrian Games right along with the good horse people of Lexington for the past 3 years.   Tomorrow morning the adventure begins.