We’re on our annual ‘Friends & Family” road trip, currently in Avon, OH visiting my brother and his family. A few days ago we met some friends for lunch at North Park near Pittsburgh (sorry Howard, we were only there for a few hours! 🙂 ). I “snagged” this photo while waiting for our friends and sitting on a bench alongside the lake. I hadn’t gotten my camera out of the car, but this little scene convinced me to go back and get it.
We capped off our visit to Kentucky with a day at the Kentucky Horse Park, near Lexington.
I don’t know much about horses, but I still found it to be an interesting place. One of the things that quickly becomes apparent is that horses need lots of care. Especially horses that are shown or raced at a high level. And even just casual ownership is not something for a part timer. You either need lots of time, lots of money to pay someone else, or most likely both.
The park puts on a number of shows during the day. We attended two “Parade of Breeds” shows, where they showcase specific breeds of horses, tell about their heritage and how they were utilized over the years. There is a barn with draft horses – they are huge! – and a Hall of Champions where they house former race winners, including Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide. And don’t forget about the International Museum of the Horse!
Like I said, there is a lot to know about horses. And the more you know about horses the more you would probably enjoy a place like the Kentucky Horse Park.
Due to leaving the park during rush hour traffic, we ended up taking the “scenic route” back through the countryside, passing some of the huge horse farms you don’t see from the highway. THAT’S where the real money keeps their horses! 😉
It was a nice day – plenty of sunshine, reasonable temperatures and more time with friends. Oh, and lots of horses too! 🙂
Again, in case you missed it, more photos from our Kentucky trip are here.
I mentioned in an earlier post that Kathy & I had recently visited Bardstown, Kentucky. We met friends Jim & Lisa there, as it is roughly equidistant for them and for us. Kathy & I arrived a day early, visiting Bardstown Bourbon Company and Heaven Hill Distillery before meeting up with Jim & Lisa that afternoon.
The following day, the four of us visited the Kentucky Cooperage (no photos permitted) to see how barrels are made (a fascinating process), then Limestone Branch Distillery and Maker’s Mark.
The following day we visited Kentucky horse park for a whole different set of smells. 😉 Photos from that day will come later.
For those who wish to see more, a gallery of photos from our trip are posted on my Adobe Portfolio website.
I just bought myself a new toy tool. It’s hard to believe it was over a year ago, but I had written in March 2022 about having rented the Peak Design Travel Tripod. I liked it a lot but couldn’t justify spending $600 (at the time – it’s now $650) on a part-time tripod. And I wasn’t sure it was good enough to be an only tripod, so I had lots of excuses to not buy one.
There aren’t too many cases where I really want a compact, highly portable tripod. I had a Gitzo, that while wasn’t designed for travel was sort of portable – it would fit in a large suitcase with the center column detached, but just barely. My only tripod lately has my big and beefy RRS TVC-33 with the matching BH-55 ballhead. An excellent and steady base, but really overkill for my relatively light Fuji equipment. While it is great for car travel, it’s just a little too tough to jam into a suitcase. It was just the thing when I was shooting with the big-a$$ Canon equipment. Of course a too-big tripod to a photographer is sort of like a too-big diamond to a lovely partner. No such thing, right? But I had been looking for a suitable travel candidate, albeit not too hard. I had done a little research and identified a few likely candidates, but the ones I thought would do the job were still a little pricey for comfort.
A couple of days ago I saw a post on a Fuji Rumors site that B&H was having a MEGA DEAL ZONE – 100s OF DEALS TOO GOOD TO LAST! sale. Included in the sale was a “Benro MeFoto GlobeTrotter Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod Kit” on sale for $175, marked down from $365. The ad indicated that it was $300 off, which is a bit overstated, but it is still half the regular price. It was one of the “finalists” that I had on my Wish List, the price was too good to pass up, so I pulled the trigger.
FedEx delivered the package on Thursday, and while I haven’t had a chance to use it extensively, my initial impression is that it is quite a worthy tripod. The build quality appears to be excellent, and I have to say that it appears quite sturdy. Compared to the RRS model I have to wonder why they are so expensive in comparison. The specs indicate that it is designed to hold 26 pounds. I don’t know about that, but even my heaviest lens won’t come close to testing it. I won’t know how good until I have a chance to use it IRL (‘In Real Life’ as the kids say) but I have an opportunity coming up that should let me put it through its paces.
At a restaurant last week, I overheard a Loud Talker telling his tablemates about some conquest or other, and he used “like” repeatedly. How many “likes” does it take to make a sentence? Like, literally, dozens!
Literally is another overused word. Literally.
One of our neighbors was recently talking about her new Infusion stove. Ummm, Induction?
When our neighborhood has a function involving food, the signs and flyers sometimes say “BYOB Your Own Beverage.”
A woman I used to work with said she went to “Evolution Church.” I think she meant “Elevation Church” and I don’t think they discuss Evolution there.
I worked with a woman who did marketing for a bank, and she talked about their “Veritable Rate Loans.”
A boss of mine would email me to find out what I was working on, asking “What’s in your que?”
When we’re getting ready to go on a cruise, we check out various forums and message boards to get information about the ship, the cruise line or some of the policies. People often ask questions about the “Dinning Room.” They sometimes ask about “Making Whoppie” (but hopefully not in the dinning room) but I wouldn’t know about that. 😉
As in Murphy’s Law….
Kathy & I returned Sunday from a few days in Bardstown, Kentucky. We met our friends Jim & Lisa there, and spent a few days exploring distilleries and horse country.
This morning we needed to go to the grocery store. As we are in the beginning stages of what looks to be a week long monsoon, we went prepared. Raincoats and umbrellas, leaving the sunglasses at home. As it turned out, no rain, and the sun was peeking through the clouds as we left the store. Perfect!
When we returned home I decided to leave the car in the driveway, hoping for a “free car wash” to dispel the layer of dust we had accumulated over the week. Several hours later, no rain. Finally we got a nice heavy shower, just enough to wash off the loose crud. Good for a few more days!
I was going back through my photos from Biltmore on this rainy afternoon, and realized that I had not written about and shared photos of our visit to the Italian Renaissance Alive exhibit at Biltmore.
Several years ago, Biltmore contracted with a company called Grande Experiences for a series of “immersive, multi-sensory experiences” in one of Biltmore’s conference centers. The company has been doing these shows nationwide. Charlotte recently had a Van Gogh Alive exhibit, and Biltmore had previously hosted (if memory serves) Monet & Friends and Leonardo Da Vinci Collection – which we attended in October – and this one titled Italian Renaissance Alive.
The exhibitions are nicely done, with an introductory series of rooms showing physical reproductions of many of the works featured in the show. The Da Vinci exhibit included scale models of several of Da Vinci’s inventions as well as prints of many of his famous works. This introduction leads the viewer to a large room, where there are lots of screens, playing a continuous loop of images, accompanied by appropriately dramatic music.
My biggest issue with the show was that there was a lot of animation, from the relatively tame “Ken Burns Effect” of panning on a portion of an image, to actual animation of some of the artworks themselves. Imagine “The Creation of Adam” from the Sistine Chapel, with the figures of Adam and God floating toward each other in space, or moving limbs or the eyes of one or more of the subjects blinking. That was a bit unsettling, coupled with the fact that very few of the paintings were shown in their entirety, or if they were, for only a few seconds. For me that made it more about the entertainment factor than the art, but I guess that is today’s world.
Both of the shows were interesting, and for many people probably the closest they will ever get to famous art so close to home. Not to boast, but for me it was a bit of a letdown compared to having seen many of the original works in person. Still, something interesting to do for a couple of hours!
Our grandson Edison visited recently, and one of the books he was reading described two characters on skateboards crashing into each other as a real “Kodak moment.” Edison looked up at Kathy and said “I don’t even know what that means!” Another idiom bites the dust!
The Grammarist describes a Kodak moment:
“A Kodak moment is a moment in time that is so precious because of its sentimental value or its beauty, one wishes to preserve it on film. For instance, a baby’s first steps may be considered a Kodak moment.”
And further:
“The expression Kodak moment came from a popular advertising campaign for the American Kodak cameras in the latter half of the twentieth century, produced by Eastman Kodak. Kodak cameras such as the Brownie and Instamatic cameras were reasonably priced and easy to use, so even the most inexperienced or busy people could operate them.”
Last week, Kathy & I ventured to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville to take in the spring flowers in the gardens, check out the Renaissance Alive art presentation, and of course to eat and to buy wine. 😉
Biltmore is an easy 2 hour drive from Charlotte, suitable for a day trip but also a nice way for an easy overnight. We had reward points that allowed us to stay for free at a motel in nearby Biltmore Village, so we had the better part of two days. As Annual Passholders we didn’t have to pay extra for the visits, which can otherwise be a little pricey.
Even without visiting Biltmore House itself, the grounds and gardens are such a nice place to spend a day or part of the day. The gardens are extensive, and the Conservatory itself is larger than most homes. We concentrated mostly on the outside gardens, although as we were getting ready to leave, the sounds of a hammered dulcimer drew us inside for a listen.
On our most recent trip to Florida, Kathy & I decided to fly, rather than make the 9-ish hour drive down unpredictable I-95. As a result, we had the very pleasant experience of using the Melbourne Orlando International Airport (MLB). What a nice airport and a refreshing change!
The Melbourne airport is modern and clean with everything you would expect in an airport – except crowds! With the exception of the occasional charter flight from the UK or elsewhere and a few non-daily flights, the airport appears to be largely a private and corporate plane base. There are a number of Northrup Grumman plants nearby as well as a number of space-related companies. Other than that, the commercial activity appears to be Delta flights to and from Atlanta, and American flights to and from Charlotte. It was quite a contrast to the madness of the Charlotte airport!
We arrived to a nearly empty terminal, found our checked bag in “Baggage Claim” (there is only one!) and found a pleasant covered spot to sit while we waited for the free airport shuttle to our hotel. On our return trip, the shuttle drivers at the hotel assured us that there was no need to arrive 2 hours ahead. Skeptical, I took him at his word, and sure enough when we arrived just over an hour before, we walked right up to a check-in counter, staffed by a real person, and turned in our bag. We then proceeded to the TSA checkpoint, where there were more TSA employees than passengers. We breezed through TSA Pre-check and waited in a mostly quiet waiting area. No clueless wandering passengers, no repeated announcements about maintaining possession of your carry-on, none of the drama of Charlotte. And no crush of impatient passengers trying to board. Nice!
Kathy & I decided that we could return to Melbourne any time. We found the hotel to be very nice, staffed with friendly people and in an excellent location on the beach. We’ll also take a look at other small airports we could fly to for a few days’ getaway!
