Busy Summer at an End

I have been missing on my blog posts most of this summer, and thought I'd share some of the summer with you today.  There are also projects that I will share in other posts.

A trip to Lexington, KY and the Woodford Reserve bourbon distillery:

Also in Lexington, we visited Three Chimneys horse farm.  The farm where thoroughbred race horses are boarded and bred.  We were able to see Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown, as well as many other beautiful horses:

One of the Stables

Big Brown

 

 

We also went to the horse races at Churchill Downs (where the KY Derby runs), but I didn't take any pictures that evening.  I did win on a few races though.

 

Cruising the Heartland in Elizabethtown, KY was a blast.  Lots of old cars, food and live bands:

 

 

We took a trip to Oak Ridge, TN.  There we visited the science museum, and saw the Secret City Manhattan Project exhibit.  We've all heard of the Manhattan Project that produced the atom bomb, but were you aware that the city of Oak Ridge was a secret?  The city wasn't on any map, nor were its roads.  But at the height of the project, the city's population was 70,000.  Now that is some secret!

 

 

I have started reading a book titled: "The Girls of Atomic City" that documents the lives of some of the people who were there working on the project - they just didn't know what they were working on.

Photo used on the cover of the book - The Girls of Atomic City

There were many types of houses available to the workers, from temporary dwellings to more permanent ones.  This Flat Top house was set up at the museum and open for us to see.

 

We went to the airfield to watch Scott fly his ultra light plane:

 

 

Found a rabbit nest in the yard.  The mom moved them the next day - good thing because it was in a clearing, and not well protected.  Their eyes were not open, and they were just new babies.

 

 

I grew herbs again this year, in the small space at the bottom of the porch steps just off the kitchen:

This year I have Thyme, Rosemary, Greek Oregano, Marjoram, Sage, Sweet Basil and Spearmint:

 

 

 

I found places for the various things we brought home from John's parents home.  I posted the quilt earlier, and most of the other things are mostly sentimental.  I actually needed to bid on James' toolbox because I didn't see it until the day of the auction.  James was a carpenter, and was building barracks on Fort Knox in the early forties when he was called up to serve in WWII, and his homemade toolbox was with him. 

 

 

 

Butter Churn John's mom used, and his dad's lunch pail

Forties or Fifties Step Stool

Small Sharpening Stone

Large Sharpening Stone

Irene's Little Red Riding Hood Cookie and Candy Jar.  Hall bowels, and blue crock bowl.

 

Rock City Barns

Barn sign paintings were a popular advertisement media in the past.  Most everyone is familiar with the Mail Pouch Barns, but there was another popular barn advertisement - Rock City.  Rock City is located in northern Georgia, not too far from Chattanooga, TN.

The three barns pictured here are located on 31 E in Kentucky. Before the interstate, this was a major north/south route, and the barn advertisements were designed to entice travelers to visit Rock City.

To those of you who read The Road, you'll recall the father and son saw these Rock City advertisements along the road they traveled.  Since they ended up at the sea, this was a clue that they were traveling south, and were north of Georgia.

It is nice to see that some of these historical treasures are still standing.  I have never visited Rock City, but think this may just be the year to do it.

Maker's Mark Distillery

Kentucky is known for its Bourbon Wiskey, and Maker's Mark Distillery is a beautiful place to visit and tour.  I didn't realize that there are so many rules that must be followed to call a wiskey - bourbon.  For instance, the charred white oak barrels can only be used once.  Maker's Mark sends their used barrels to Scotland for use in making Scotch Whiskey. 

At the end of the tour you are given three types of Bourbon to taste - straight bourbon, no mixers.  If you buy a bottle of bourbon, you get to dip it yourself into the red wax to seal the cap.  There are many other nice gifts in the gift shop where I bought a canvas tote bag with the Maker's Mark logo.

We had a nice lunch at the Toll Gate Cafe.  This building was originally a toll booth when the road going through the property was open to the public for a charge.

127 Corridor - World's Longest Yardsale

I have always wanted to part of the 127 Corridor - World's Longest Yard sale.  This year my sister and nephew were here for a visit, and we decided to just part of the sale.  The part we drove was from Danville, KY north to the Bluegrass Parkway - about 25 miles of sale.  The best part was at the end near the junction of 127/Bluegrass Parkway.  There were numerous tents set up with what looked to be pretty fun things.  But, we were at the end of the day when we reached that part and most vendors were packing up.  I know that if I want to do part of the sale next year that I will start where we ended up this year.  We didn't buy too much, but had a great day together!

We came across this beautiful little stacked stone wall with an arched drainage section.

Click on image to enlarge to read sign.