Numbers of attendees

I must admit that I have not been acting myself. In the past, I would have logged miles each day and number of attendees, but my mind must be focused elsewhere because those numbers escape me. I figure when I return the car next Tuesday, they will tell me how many total miles. As far as attendees, the organizer at each site should have those statistics. I know that today at Gateway’s Edgewood campus we had 31 attendees, which was quite impressive. Other sessions have ranged from 3 to nearly 90 participants with some including only students and others with a combination of students, faculty members, staff, administrators, and people from the community.

For next time (yes, I want to continue this), I hope to have better publicity and perhaps pull more community members to campuses. That will require earlier planning, but I would be happy for that.

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Breakfast rooms in motels

I have seen many things in the breakfast rooms as I travel, and most of them are rarely positive. In some motels, guests have been courteous and chatted with strangers, in other motels, kids have run around unsupervised, and in most motels, people avoid each other. In several motels, I have seen people cheerfully helping others with the waffle maker.

This morning an older woman went back to make a waffle for her second course (I have never had courses for breakfast, but some do). Apparently she was sharing the waffle with her husband who had been getting her coffee and other things during their first course of breakfast burritos. When she sat down with the unattractive waffle, the husband said, “Cut it here, and you take the pretty half.” Oh, how sweet. She did, and he even commented on how good his crumpled waffle tasted. There are good people out there who appreciate the little things.

Driving in Ohio

There was definitely not enough time in Ohio. I saw glimpses of Lake Erie, and I drove on rural routes. Otherwise, I didn’t see much. My highlights:

• The Amish. Clothes hanging on the line and no electronics. Personally, I couldn’t do it, but I admire their lifestyle.
  

  Following the buggy.

• Roller coaster roads. At a posted speed limit of 55mph, you come to the top of a hill without being able to see what’s ahead. It’s scary at first, but then it becomes like a wild ride.
  

  The roads

• Road kill and those that feed on it. I was quite impressed by a vulture buzzard pulling a dead raccoon by its tail to get the raccoon out of traffic.  Two other buzzards just watched and waited.

  I didn’t get pictures of road kill (I know you are disappointed), but I love this one:
  It was a gorgeous day for a ride through the country, and I just love this photo:

  

  Rear view

Indian Mill, IN

Most people know that I like the outdoors, and whenever I saw a sign for a park, I tried to stop.  This was one place that caught me by surprise, and I’m very happy that I stopped.

Sign, of course

Curious one-lane bridge

But where does it lead…

The mill

The bridge

A beautiful spot

The mill stones

 

Clifty Falls near Madison, IN

After 2 days presenting at Jefferson Community & Technical College in Louisville, KY, I took the long road to visit my mentor in Yellow Springs, OH.  On the way was a great stop at Clifty Falls State Park.  Unfortunately, the water level was extremely low, but the rock formations must make beautiful waterfalls.  Here’s what I saw:

Main falls

Part of the walkway

Top of the falls

Behind the falls

Rocks along the trail

Looking up from the last image (one of my favorite shots)

Jeff, my guide

We were on the “rugged” trail (the sign makers need to come to Oregon)

The falls from a distance

A closeup of the falls from a distance

There are many more photos of the park on my Shutterfly site.

Louisville, KY

I have had an amazing time in Louisville (pronounced  loo-uh-vull). This is another place that I need to revisit.

Downtown Louisville

I was able to visit some beautiful places:

Locust Grove

Captain’s Quarters

Cave Hill Cemetery (that’s a real dove)

At Cave Hill Cemetery

A pedestrian bridge across the Ohio River

Ohio Falls

 

The dam

My last evening was spent at the Bristol in Jeffersonville, IN.

Dinner

It was wonderful, and I hope to return soon.

My introduction to driving in OH

My first time in Ohio, I came in from Indiana. (I never would have imagined that would be the case.) The signs were not optimistic as I arrived, though.

I guess that I’m in the wrong lane and must make a choice

Then I was welcomed and encouraged to discover

Uh, more welcoming, I guess

Options for exploration

Signs are getting better

And then…Traffic is moving well. There are two lanes, and the person in front of me is driving an SUV.  I had been happily following for many miles. Then, from an on-ramp, this young woman crosses double lines, cuts off the car to my right, and pulls between me and the SUV.  She is obviously in quite a rush. So, what does the person in the SUV do?

Slows down and rides beside the car to his right for several miles

LOVED IT!

Versailles State Park in IN

This was one of those state park signs that I followed.  There was an admission fee, but I explained to the employees at the entrance that I just wanted to drive through quickly, so they let me in.  It is located in the southeastern part of Indiana, and is really large.

A road I didn’t follow

Too much to do

One part of the lake

The only person I saw on the lake

I bet it is packed in the summer

As I exited, but I didn’t have time to explore

Louisville, KY – Pedestrian bridge

One of the fun things that I did while in Louisville was to walk across the Ohio River on the new pedestrian bridge.  It was a beautiful day, and it was very calming. If you Louisville and have time, do this.

The east side of the bridge

To the west

To the east

An absolutely beautiful day

Rural Tennessee

I am sure there are more rural areas than I have visited, but I like what I have seen.  For several days, I have traveled through miles of farm land.  While they seem familiar to me, I know there are differences.  It is much warmer (and humid) here, but there’s more than that.

• People seem less rushed and less stressed. I can no longer count the number of times that someone pulled out in front of me and then casually got up to speed.  Related to that, travelers in the rural areas came up behind me (they had been going much faster), but they did not take the first (or often any) opportunity to race around me. Of course, as I neared more urban areas, people did race around me even if I was already exceeding the speed limit.
• Perhaps one reason they are less stress is that they have porches with chairs where they sit in the afternoons and evenings. Yes, they do that. I have seen it repeatedly.  I have been tempted to stop and ask to experience it, but that would be weird.
• The small of freshly mowed or baled hay here does not bother my allergies.  I am confused a little about how they make hay because there are no bales.  Instead, they have a lot of big rolls of hay. (So, why is is called baling?)  Apparently they don’t put the rolls in the barn (they probably don’t stack well), but instead, they appear to collect the rolls at the edge of the field.  That’s just what I’ve observed, but I really don’t know.  I did see two barns with the rolls inside, and they did not look easy to move.
• I am impressed that people here create pools for their cows.  I saw a lot of pools that didn’t seem clean enough for human bathing, and then I saw cows soaking in a few ponds.  I first saw this on my way to Chattanooga, and I thought that I was mistaken.  But since then, I have seen cows submerged up to their backs in water in several ponds. Obviously the cows were cooling (or chillin’) in the pools, but I wonder what Temple Grandin would say about pools for cows.
• I have seen more riding lawn mowers than I thought existed on this planet. I think nearly every family has a riding lawn mower.  I have seen heavy set men, youth, and little old ladies mowing their enormous lawns.  People here seem to take pride in their lawns, and they keep them well groomed.  Many people also have entrances (lions, stones, bricks, angels, etc.) to their residences, and I think that shows pride in their homes.

I enjoyed my journey through Tennessee, and now I hope to see what I can find in Kentucky.