Philadelphia - Monday, 31 July 2017

The day started with breakfast at the HIE and then a short walk to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP),  

A little meet and greet and then welcome by Frank Southcott and Sydney Dixon from the Philadelphia APG.

Morning presentations were on the Politics of War in Early Pennsylvania by Patrick Spero, 2 presentation s by Sydney Dixon on records, repositories, and websites to use when researching PA records. 

Then a break for lunch. Headed a couple of blocks down the street to Lil Nano’s. Cute little Italian place with huge portions. Had a sandwich that came with a side salad. Ate half and brought the other half back to the HSP and stashed into the fridge for tomorrow’s lunch. 

The afternoon sessions concentrated on the records, arrangement, and tour of the HSP. It is a repository that is teeming with information. The arrangement, however is quite confusing, with so many places to look to access the information. There have to be at least 4 different cataloging systems in play. 

There was a nice reception at the end of the day with some wine and nice hors d’oeuvres. Earle met me there and we had some nice conversation with some of the other attendees and their spouses. 

Back to the hotel to drop off the bags and then to dinner at Moriarity’s.

It was an Irish Pub type restaurant with an eclectic menu. Earle had a Shepherd’s pie and a Guiness. I had the largest portion of chicken wings ever and a Smithwick’s. When I asked the waitress how many wings came in an order, she said 8. Ok, that’s doable. When they arrived, there were 10 WHOLE wings. Needless to say about 2/3 came back to the room with us. 

Internet funky, so trying to load pictures. 

To bed.

Mars to Philadelphia - Sunday, 30 July 2017

Back on the road again. This time it's to Philly for a week long course at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. You can never learn enough.

We decided to do a bit of sightseeing before checking into our hotel and had booked tickets at the new Museum of the American Revolution at 3:00. So we left the house about 8:45 and headed on our way, figuring we built in enough time for a rest stop and then to get a small bite to eat before. Just outside Philly the TomTom announces that there was a 37 minute delay. Oy! We opted for the faster route that took us winding through Fairmont Park. It did shave off about 20 minutes from the delay. But, oh, what traffic. Not sure I would ever drive in this city. 

Parked the car and grabbed a sandwich at Costi, nearly across from the museum. 

What a surprise to find Marguerite Brooks Lenfest’s name on the building. She and her husband are incredible philanthropists and have given to so many organizations. Marguerite, Wilson ’55, has been a leader in giving to my alma mater. The museum was dedicated to them.

The museum, according to its web site, was supposed to be open until 7. However, when we got there the brochure said 6. More about that later.  Our first plan was to see the introductory movie. The museum is very well done and emphasizes not only the underlying reasons for the revolution, but the idea of equality for all men and women. 

There are movies interspersed with the exhibits and murals. One of the highlights was a film on Washington’s Tent. It explained how Washington used it as his headquarters and then at the end, the actual tent was revealed. Although the visitors were asked not to take photos because of the fragility of the ten, there were some who just couldn’t resist getting that phone out. One of the other objects on display was Washington’s portmanteau. It looked to be in good shape for being so old. 

Washington's portmanteau

The role of women was a theme in the museum and how they held down the homefront, mounted a protest against buying British goods, and communicating their beliefs in the written word. 

Mercy Otis Warren, a political writer during the American Revolution 

OK, I really learned something about which I had wondered about since my youth. Think of the words of Yankee Doodle Dandy. "stuck a feather in his cap and called him macaroni" No, it's not pasta, but reference to a well appointed male - macarony.

Macarony!

I registered my displeasure at the inaccuracy of the website and how we didn’t get through the entire museum. The desk agents did apologize and gave us VIP passes that were good for a year. At least Earle gets to go back tomorrow since the admission covers 2 days. 

Just a short drive to the hotel and check in. The Holiday Inn Express is not that impressive, but it will do for the week for as long as we are in it. The WiFi is the speed of dial-up however, so should be a real challenge if we have work to do at night. Did get in to catch the last inning of the Bucs 7-1 win over the Padres. Wow, what a day Cutch had. 

Decided to do a trial run to the HSP before finding a place to eat. It’s just about a 5 minute walk, so don’t have to allow a whole lot of time in the morning. 

We opted to eat at Jose Pistola's, on Rich Venezia’s recommendation. Margarita and tacos for me and a quesadilla and beer for Earle.  Good recommendation!

Back to the hotel and organized for tomorrow, bit of blog writing and bed.  

Louisville - Thursday, 13 July 2017

A really good night sleep, finally! Got up, finished putting stuff in the suitcase and packing up some of the electronics. 

Then before breakfast finished downloading Barbara's pictures from the trip. I do have my work cut out for me in merging and culling. 

Left about 10:30. It has been so much fun spending nearly 4 weeks with such good friends. 

Had to detour around Cincinnati because they were working on the bridge across the Ohio River. All was well with the weather until we hit Xenia and then the skies opened. The Tom Tom picked up on a lot of heavy traffic around Reynoldsburg so we got off and reentered the highway to avoid the mess. It was amazing to see how much rain had fallen with many yards and businesses flooded. 

It rained off and on until we hit Washington, PA. Finally home about 6:00. 

Good to be home, unpacked and ready to do laundry tomorrow. 


Until later......

Louisville - Wednesday, 12 July 2017

It was a bit laid back this morning until we saw how Charles fared after his surgery. But he was fine and not in any pain, so off we took about 11:45.

Our plan was to head to Lexington to tour the Mary Todd Lincoln childhood home. Since we had had a very light breakfast, we were going to stop at someplace to grab a bite to eat first. Then it was to be on to the Joseph Beth Bookstore before heading to The Beaumont Inn where we had 7:00 reservations. 

Barbara and Charles really liked Alfalfa so we stopped there. It was a really neat place with good organic and local foods. The menu had sandwiches and burgers, but I decided that an omelet would be less filling.

With the bill paid, and restrooms visited we walked back to the parking garage and headed to the Todd House. But, the best laid plans were not to be and even though the house was said to be open until 4:00, the last tour was at 3 and we had just missed it. 

Replan - None of us had been to Ashland, home of Henry Clay, so off we went. It really was a fortuitous decision. We had a wonderful tour with so much information by Jon Mansfield, a former history teacher. We decided that his students would have been very fortunate. Other than being the The Great Compromiser, I really knew very little about Clay and how political he really was. 

The tour lasted a bit over an hour so we passed on Joseph Beth and headed to Harrodsburg.

The four of us had been to The Beaumont Inn probably 43 years ago and remember it as a wonderful place to eat. At that time the chicken and country ham were "all you can eat" and the sweet lady in the dining room had to keep bringing more to the two young gentlemen. She finally remarked, "haven't you boys had enough yet?"  It was just as elegant as we remembered. 

We started with some of the best fried green tomatoes followed by The Classic Beaumont Inn Dinner - fried chicken, country ham, corn pudding and seasoned green beans. 

One of the best things of going on Wednesday was that all the wine was half off. We chose a really good one. 

Full, (some of us brought some home) we headed back to Louisville. We had a full day and headed off to bed a bit earlier than usual. 

Louisville - Tuesday, 11 July 2017

Real short post today. Charles had to have some minor surgery so he was out of the house by 5:15. Of course we all knew he was leaving because the car alarm went off. Slept a bit longer so I think we are on the road to overcoming the dreaded jet lag. 

Had breakfast after Charles got back home about 10. We spent some down time just chatting before we left to go to visit my cousin, Joan and her daughter, Karen. Picked up lunch at Mussels and Burgers. Had a really good visit. Family is so important and this was a great chance to sit and talk. There are few descendants of Gottfried and Wilhelmina Stoehr. Karen found a bunch old photos and I brought them to scan for our family book. 

Back to the Alexander's and worked on the blog and pictures before Mark stopped by. So good to see him and the man he has become. Where did the years go? 

Pizza and the All Star game rounded out the day. 

Louisville - Monday, 10 July 2017

Had a good night's sleep, but still seems like I am on Paris time with waking early.

Breakfast and everything and everyone cleaned up to leave on our adventures for the day.

First stop was the Woodford Reserve Distillery. We were able to get on the 12:00 tour. It was very interesting with so much information imparted about the distillery and process of making bourbon and rye. One of the biggest factors is the Kentucky water that is iron free and just the right composition of lime to influence the taste of the bourbon. 

We visited all the areas of distilling from fermentation to storing to bottling. 

Tracks for rolling the barrels

Of course, then we had to do a little tasting. Woodford Reserve, Double Oaked, and Rye with a Bourbon Ball thrown in for good measure.

It was then to Wallace Station for lunch. We enjoyed some al Fresco "dining."

From there it was to Weissenberger Mills after a bit of a detour because of a bridge closing. Barbara stocked up on grits and and bread mixes. 

And then it was on to Rebecca Ruth Candy in Frankfort. After a brief tour and another bourbon ball, we headed on back to Simpsonville.

Shopped at the Outlet Shoppes of the Bluegrass. Went to the evil Vera Bradley store and picked up a bag for half price. Then to Ditto's in the Highlands for dinner. Chicken wings and a salad for me. 

Back to Barbara and Charles' to watch the end of the home run derby before bed. 

Turkey Run State Park to Louisville - Sunday, 9 June 2017

Finished packing up before breakfast this morning. A buffet of eggs, pancakes, bacon, biscuits, and juice was served from 8:30. We enjoyed some last minute conversation with members of the families and then headed out around 10:00.

The drive to Louisville was very pleasant and after a couple of rest stops we arrived at Barbara and Charles' around 1:30. The guys went out to Marks, a Bar-B-Q place to pick up some lunch for us. Great brisket and pulled pork and enough to keep us full for a few hours. 

Decided that it might be nice since the weather was cooperating to go to The Stephen Foster Story in Bardstown. So we purchased the tickets and just visited til it was time to leave around 6:30. Sent the men to the store in the interim to pick up some fruit and breakfast staples while Barbara and I watched the end of the Pirates blow out of the Cubs - 14-3. Good for Cervelli and a grand slam home run.

It was really going back in time to be at the amphitheater. When we lived in Louisville, going to the performances was a regular part of summer. The show is so enjoyable with good voices, costumes, and story. Decided dinner would be drinks and popcorn!

Back to Louisville and some some cheese and fruit for a before bed. 

Turkey Run - Saturday, 8 June 2017

The Project Work group met at 8 a.m. in the lobby of the Turkey Run Inn. We then went to Rockville for breakfast at a small place next to the Old Jail. It was so nice to sit and talk with Shirley, David, Shari, Jeff, and Emily. We reveled in the success of the book and talked about politics, Brexit, and of course the family.

Back to Turkey Run just before 11 and in enough time to set up the trip table before the family picnic. 

The picnic was lovely with lots of good family recipes. The afternoon in the Lusk room saw a slide show of about 500 photos, book signing and trip info.

Then a chance for a brief nap before dinner. David Walthall emceed the dinner program and Shari thanked all those who helped with the book, showed the process and timeline, and hinted at a supplement.

I presented a brief orientation to the trip. We are still short on the numbers that we need to keep the price stable. 

After dinner back to the room and listened to the end of the Pirates beating the Cubs!!

Bed.

Mars to Turkey Run State Park, Indiana - Friday, 7 July

So, after a busy week of catching up on laundry, updating web sites, and trying to overcome lag, we are off again. This time it's to Turkey Run State Park where the Castle and Fletcher families are having their family reunion. Why should I go? This is also the book launch of the Castle Family book for which I did a lot of research. 

We left just about on time - 9 am and had a nice drive until we hit a deluge right past Columbus. It was a miserable drive for about 10 miles when it cleared up and we hit sun again. All was well until we hit I 74 just north of Indianapolis when the skies opened up again. It almost felt like hail was hitting the car. At least we were almost to the exit, which we could barely see. Listened to most of the Pirates game, but since we couldn't stand the Cubs announcers and had to listen to 93.7, it  faded in and out. Just as well since they lost.

Got to Turkey Run about 4:30 and checked in. The room was decent. It could use a bit of upgrades, but it is a state park inn, so I am sure that there are limited funds for doing so.

Found the Lusk Room that was the "headquarters" for the reunion and also Shari Castle, author of the book and my client. We chatted a bit and then decided that we would all go to dinner together, along with Emily Thomas, who also had worked on the book. 

Dinner was a buffet that was really down home fried comfort food. There was a salad bar so that was a major part of our dinner. 

Emily and I went down and tweaked the slides for my presentation for Saturday night. 

We all then gathered in the Lusk room for the unveiling of the book. Shari emceed the evening.

How exciting and the culmination of 2 1/2 years of work!

Gwen presented the "Big Five" with bookmarks and a holder that was part of the tulip quilt pattern.

Chocolate cake and ice cream topped off the night of camaraderie and conversation.