137th KENTUCKY DERBY

On May 3d we left to join the Good Sam Samboree in Louisville, KY for the Kentucky Derby. Our trip also included three days in Elizabethtown to tour some bourbon distilleries and Bowling Green to tour the GM Corvette Plant and Museum. We got back home on of all days Friday, May 13th. Our trip, however, was not without problems. We made an intermediate stopover in Clinton, TN, just past Knoxville. The following morning, the battery in the Honda CRV we were towing was dead. I jump started the car and in doing so, the alarm went off, even though I used the key to enter and start. It took about an hour with some help from a fellow camper to turn off the alarm; just used the key in the door to lock and unlock the car again. The second came on Mothers Day when I lost my iphone somewhere between the Expo grounds where we were camped and the Elizabethtown Crossroads RV Park where we were on Mothers Day evening. Checked every place we stopped that day, but no luck. Eventually had to get a new one and new cell number.

We camped at the Kentucky Expo Center, about 1.5 miles from the track. It was right under the flight path of UPS planes as can be seen in the picture.






















Despite all this, we had a very enjoyable time in Louisville and the Derby. On Thursday we had a free day which we spent in downtown Louisville visiting the Slugger Museum and factory, viewing the Pegasus Parade and dining at the Makers Mark Lounge.





















The Pegasus parade is held on Thursday before the Derby.
























The Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory is identified by this giant bat out front.



































We had an infield suite near the starting gate which included all the food and drinks we could consume. I'd say that I got my money's worth in drink alone. We were dressed up for the Derby as is the custom for these suites.









































Below is the start. Our money was on Soldat 17, Midnight Interlude 15, Shackleford 13, Pants on Fire 7, and Dialed In 8.

























And here they come! Our picks Schackleford, Pants on Fire, Mucho Macho Man and Midnight Interlude are looking good, just behind # 5, Decisive Moment. Animal Kingdom nowhere to be seen here. Starting to count our money.























Shackleford takes the lead over # 19 Nehro. Looks like we have a winner!





















And from nowhere comes Animal Kingdom to win the Derby. Shackleford did, however win the Preakness two weeks later. The Maryland track is one sixteenth of a mile shorter than the Derby at Churchill Downs; Animal Kingdom was coming up to challenge Shackleford, but he just did not have enough track left to catch and pass, he came in second, hence no triple crown winner this year; a 34 year drought. Affirmed in 1978 was the last one.


We left Louisville and stayed three nights in Elizabethtown to tour the bourbon distilleries: Jim Beam, Heaven Hill, Four Roses, and Makers Mark. In the US, bourbon is a special form of whiskey created, distilled, and aged in the eastern United States, mainly in the state of Kentucky. It is classified as a distilled spirit made from a fermented mash, mainly consisting of corn, and aged in white oak barrels for at least two years. The unique nature of bourbon is derived from the iron-free water used in the distillation process which is found in Kentucky, as is the corn. Bardstown is at the center of these distilleries and we had a nice Mothers Day dinner at the historic Old Talbot Tavern. Even though it was Sunday, the local liquor store was open and I bought some Old Bardstown bourbon. This is know only to the locals and is one of the greatest bargains in good bourbon. None of the local distilleries will admit that they make it, but it is as good as Makers Mark but only costs about $20/liter. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good bourbon. Unfortunately, it is not sold outside the area.

Jim Beam had the best bourbon chocolate candies, Heaven Hill the best display for understanding the bourbon making process while Makers Mark was the only place where the whole process could be seen. There, we even dipped our fingers in the corn/barley/wheat/rye brew and a bottle of bourbon in their distinctive red wax. Bourbon requires at least 51% corn; the amount of barley and wheat distinguish most bourbon distilleries as does the length of aging in the barrels. I'm not sure which use rye.

At Makers Mark we had a nice lunch in the Toll House Cafe and then a tour of the distillery, purchase of some bourbon and dipping my bottle into the red wax.




























And below is my master piece!

















We toured where Makers Mark bottles are dipped in wax and packaged, as well as their vats, storage facilities and distillery operations. We stuck our fingers in this vat, tasted like liquid bread, smelled terrific. To be bourbon, need at least 51% corn.

























The odors at these distilleries reminded us of Reston, VA when Virginia Gentlemen was brewing its bourbon. Can you imagine a whole town with the odor of brewing bourbon? I tell you, it is something special and here we relived this special fragrance.


We also visited the Patton Museum at Fort Knox. It was very interesting and depicted his life and career.



































While in Elizabethtown we also visited the Swope's Cars of Yesteryear Museum. They have a great collection from the turn of the 19th century through the 20's, 30's and into the 40's. The collection is part of the Swope dealership and is free. Below are some cars of interest.











This last picture is the Bonnie & Clyde car about which Clyde wrote Mr. Ford complimenting the car's performance which suited robbing banks. The letter is shown in the photo.








After Elizabethtown we went to Bowling Green, home of the Corvette factory and museum.
Here we are in front of the Corvette Factory. Visiting this factory was like stepping back into time. We've toured BMW in Munich 30 years ago and in Spartenburg, SC a few years ago; no comparison. In Munich, BMW was making on the same line cars for delivery to several countries meeting their various specifications such as left/right hand drive, pollution, etc. Lots of automation and at the hand of the few workers on the assembly line. At GM it seemed a hand operation; cars of the same color were grouped together, spec sheets on paper, not digitally encoded, manpower intensive. Here one can see first hand how unions are making us uncompetitive.






































At the museum we learned that the first Corvette logo was to have contained the flag, but a last minute change used the Chevrolet symbol and the fleur-de-lis .

BEAUFORT AIR SHOW 2011

Sunday, May 1 we went to the Beaufort Air Show at the MCAS which was celebrating the 100 years of naval aviation. On May 22,1912 Marine Corps 1st Lt. Alfred Cunningham reported for flight training in a Wright Bros. Model B-1 and became Naval Aviator No. 5. In his honor, May 22 has become the official birth date of Marine Corps Aviation. What happened to the first four or who they were, I have no idea; it was not covered in the article on the show. Anyway, the show was fantastic, the weather great, and my new Nikon D3100 DSLR worked great. I had just gotten it and this was my first real test of it. I used my new 55-200mm Nikon VR lens and the pictures, as you can see, were simply fantastic. I also had the opportunity at the show to test drive the new Volt, but just in the course in the parking area. It handled well in this tight space, proved quite maneuverable. Seat controls were manual to conserve electricity; A/C didn't seem to work well. For what one gets with the Volt, at $42,000 I thought it to be overpriced, regardless of the tax benefits available to the purchaser. So, enjoy the air show pictures below:


A great view of a great performance by everyone. And, a great day to enjoy it.



US Army Golden Knights


Chuck Aaron and the Red Bull helicopter going through their tricks. Amazing, going upside down in a helicopter.


Marines enjoying the view.


This is the Volt I tested. Nice in the parking area.




The stars of the show, Blue Angels.


Control Tower.


Wow. These guys are simply fantastic.








The Golden Knights





US Air Force heritage flight, F-16 Falcon and P51 Mustang.



The funnel cake tasted great.




These Blue Angels are simply great. They are the crowd pleaser here in Beaufort.




















Patty Wagstaff gave a great performance in her stunt plane.

















USMC Harrier demo. It just stayed still in the air.

Uncle Bill's 90th Birthday

On Saturday March 12th Lillian's Uncle Bill celebrated his 90th birthday. Bill is a WWII veteran who served in Europe at the Battle of the Bulge, which was where he unfortunately was captured. He spend two years in a POW camp not far from where his father was born in Germany. He retired from IBM and lives in the same house built by Levitt in East Meadow that he bought shortly after the war. He is one of the few original owners, living there for about 60 years.

Their two sons and daughter got together and arranged a really nice birthday party for their father. Larry and David were the cooks, Larry's wife Janelle along with their sister Pam provided the necessary support. Larry is a professional cook, so the food was simply terrific. We were joined by our daughter and her husband and were real happy to have been there, we hadn't seen Uncle Bill and Aunt Betty and their kids in many years. In addition, Lillian's brother Marty along with his wife and daughter from Long Island were also there. Furthermore, we got to see many of the relatives on Aunt Betty's side. Yes, it was a full house but a wonderful event that brought out many memories from days gone by. And, on top of all this, the weather was great, sunny in the high 50s. The long trip up to Long Island from Sun City was well worth it. Below are some pictures from the event.

At left, below, Uncle Bill is showing Lisa some old pictures while at right he's cutting his birthday cake.
At bottom left, Lillian and her brother Martin. At right is family portrait, Janelle and Larry, Pam, David and Denise; sitting, Uncle Bill and Aunt Betty.










Here are some additional pictures, sorry but I can't name all of them, but at bottom right are our cooks Larry and David.

Florida RV Trip Jan 2011

We left Sun City, Sunday January 9 for Fort De Soto state park













just outside of St. Petersburg, FL where we spent one week. The park is beautiful with lush tropical vegetation and fully equipped sites. Weather was a problem: high winds, rain, cold.















We did enjoy some very spectacular sunsets. Despite the weather, we did manage to do some cycling. At one point the wind was 18 mph and blowing us at a very brisk pace; coming back, we had all we could do to make headway. At another, we almost were blown off our bikes when the wind was to our side.

We did visit the new Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, which had just opened on Monday, 1/11/11. Since Dali was fascinated with numerology, this particular date with all ones was used. I asked why not 11/11/11 and was told it was too far away.



































The building is on a must see list. It's built to withstand category 5 hurricanes. The exhibit areas are on the 3d floor and are in two separate galleries, open and joined in the middle. In the event of a hurricane, doors automatically shut to completely seal them. The first two floors include the restaurant and gift shop as well as an auditorium and offices. Both a stairs and an elevator take visitors to the gallery area. The glass you see is several inches thick; no two panes are identical. Below are our gift shop purchases: at left are wine glasses, right is 500 piece picture puzzle of one of Dali's paintings Hallucinogenic Toreador (1969-1970). As you can see, we've got a ways to go to finish the puzzle. This was one of the pictures our tour guide explained to us in detail. By the way, we did finish it.


















At left is a scene from the St. Petersburg pier, the museum is in the background, somewhat hard to see.





In addition, the largest RV show in the country was in progress in Tampa; we went there but weren't that impressed with it, maybe because the weather was awfully cold and blustery and many of the exhibits were outside. The ones indoors were unheated and large open garage doors let the cold in. For dinner, we had delicious Florida stone crabs a number of times near the park. In that area we discovered a great German restaurant, eating swine hockse and drinking authentic German beer. We went back again to try some German pancakes for lunch. Delicious.

On Sunday the 16th we traveled to Kissimmee and stayed at the KOA. We had a premium site which included table and chairs, swing, and a fire pit. We enjoyed the fire on those cold nights, sipping on wine.










Again, the weather was cold, although for the most part it was sunny. The following Monday was heavy rain. Since our Honda's service light had gone on while at Fort De Soto, we decided to get it serviced at Coggins Honda in Orlando. That was a fascinating experience in really great customer service. Their customer lounge was large: WIFI, large screen HDTV playing the latest DVDs, coffee & sweets, and a free massage. This is what every dealership should have. Before you knew it, the Honda was ready.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday were spent at Disney World; two days at Epcot, one each at Magic and Animal kingdoms. Lots of good dining at Epcot: Marrakesh, Germany.































I think this was the only time when I just wore a t-shirt. The other days were just too cold.











At Disney World we visited Epcot. Spent two day there. Got to try a segway . At their Innovation attraction, I visited the Raytheon "Sun of all Thrills" ride. This was simply fascinating; you got to design your own thrill ride, test it out, then ride it via a super simulation based upon your design. This URL takes you to my bobsled run design: Northern Twister
The design is made on a table computer. You have a number of parameters to adjust: speed, height, loops and curves. If the speed is too slow or too fast, the ride's hills, curves and loops cannot be negotiated and the system tells you which parameter needs to be changed. An animated test ride with a dummy is then made and if it goes well, you get a card containing the ride's parameters and then on to the simulation where you get to ride your design. You're enclosed in a chair which is on the end of a robot much like those used to build cars. A front panel is lowered enclosing you while you face the screen. The robot moves you in synch with the ride video: up, down, side ways, feeling the physical effects of the thrill ride. Man! This is great stuff. Being afraid of turning upside down, my design was conservative.





We enjoyed a nice Moroccan meal, couscous, lamb, and Moroccan wine, at the Marrakesh restaurant which included a belly dancer.





The Baskins were also in Orlando at the same time. We met them at Epcot and had an enjoyable diner at the German restaurant. I was the only one who had a stein of that wonderful German beer.















In the Animal Kingdom, we saw a performance from the Lion King and went on a safari, seeing lions, elephants, flamingos, and other typical African and Asian animals.









And, of course, we visited the Magic Kingdom.






















In addition to Disney World we also saw the shows at Medieval Times and Capone's. The week there went fast, we had tickets to Sea World but didn't have time to go there. They are still good until the end of the year.