A little trip - part 3

Monday morning (August 2) we left the airbnb in Paducah, Kentucky. Because our iphone told us that it would be nearly an 11 hours drive without even stopping we decided to do it in two days and go through West Virginia.

We took our time packing up and even swung by our old house in Reidland. It looked much different which of course is ok. Oh the memories! This is the second house James and I had designed ourselves and had it built. It was very practical and cute. And it had a pool. We had 9 great years there.

The Bluegrass Parkway! More memories. We both had to drive it often. And mostly in the mornings towards the east with the raising sun blinding the driver and in the evening being blinded by the sun going down ... diocese meetings or girl scout meetings in Louisville. 

We found a rest stop along the highway for the picnic lunch.

James had booked a room in a hotel in Huntington, West Virginia. After sitting in the car we were eager for a walk. The hotel was downtown and close to the Ohio River (the same as in Paducah). We had been hoping to find a restaurant for dinner at the river with a nice view. No such thing. Too bad. But we had a nice walk anyway.

We had to settle for a restaurant on a main street. Luckily there was not much traffic, the weather was nice, lots of people were walking about and we could sit outside. It is always nice to watch 'the world go by'.

We splurged. We started with a potato skin appetizer. Yummy.

And if that was not enough calories more potato, salmon and ribs (something like pick two and sides). it was so good.

James had the 'Famulous Fish & Chips'. James likes his fish only the British way: battered. We had a long discussion with the server why the menu said 'hand battered in ... breading' and the fish was called sway. He decided to give it a chance and it was very nice.

We were on our way Tuesday early. Before 9 am we drove through Charleston. You could not miss that golden dome. Surely that must be the state capitol building.

This long and narrow valley was very interesting. No idea how many times with crossed the Kanawha River from one side to the other. 

When we reached the Virginia Welcome Center near Covington we decided it must be the prettiest one in the State. Zinnias had been seeded everywhere and were a feast for the eye. Butterflies and bees were buzzing around. 

Couldn't help but had to watch this white caterpillar chomp on the flower. You could see his (or her) tiny mouth chew away.

Well, we didn't stop too long. Just to do the 'you know what' and stretch our legs. Soon we continued. When we were on the familiar (from trips to and from Nashville) stretch of I-81 we were nearing lunch time. We decided we could stop at that Blue Mountain Brewery which we visited when we went with William on the Blue Ridge Tunnel Trail. 

Guess which beer James ordered?

Yup, the Full Nelson!

James had the Reuben which I had last time and enjoyed so much. This time I ordered the Bratwurst. I was a bit disappointed with it but that is ok. I like trying different things.

So, back home now for a week already. And in the full swing of things. The trip was a full success. So happy that we did it. We hope that it will not be so long before we see Helen and William again. 

A little trip - part 2

Friday (July 30) we felt like taking a walk before breakfast. Of course we always have the early cup of tea which we don't count as breakfast. It was a good thing we had not had breakfast yet because we ended up in the "Gold Rush". It was a fun place to look at all the decorations. When we were waiting to be seated I tried three times to take a photo of the "tipping, not just for cows". Heard about tipping cows for the first time when Helen was at univercity in Nashville. Seems to be a big thing in some areas.

A country breakfast. Yes, biscuits and gravy. 

We had a good long walk. On our way back to the airbnb we passed First Presbyterian Church on 7th Street. I worked there for a few years before working at Grace Episcopal. I asked James whether he minded to go in. I was nosy who might still know me. It was fun. The new office person didn't have much info but she took me to the custodian (of about 30 years! there). Sandra recognized me even with my mask on and was so surprised to see me. We had a great chat and it was a lot of fun. We hugged before I left. 

We passed "a little free pantry", which seemed to have been a refrigerator at one time. It was almost empty.

I took a picture of this house for Helen because it was surrounded with sunflowers. They don't really show up in the photo. When we stood and admired all the things growing the owner came to the fence and we had a really nice chat too. She had moved from Maryland because when she visited she had fallen in love with this house for sale and the town. Her name is Patience.

All the things on the outside of the fence were for neighbors to pick. James and I had to taste the yellow cherry tomatoes. Excellent.

I had told you in the previous blog that we had invited our friends Barbara, Sara and David to the airbnb for dinner at 6:30 pm. When they arrived we had a tour of the house. We laughed about this bump in the carpet in front of my bed.

I think the lock for the trapdoor could have been a little smaller. It's not so pleasent to step on it. And who wants to crawl underneath the house. Well ... except ... you wonder a little what is so important down there.

We started with appetizers and a game of left-center-right. We had run all over the town to find one to buy because we didn't bring ours from home. This was a last minute thought. They are all grandparents. Oh, what fun it was. Sara won!

Sara and David had volunteered right away to bring "steak sous vide". It was perfect and very very nice.

I had made corn dip (our Sarah's recipe), Spinach salad and potato salad. It was a nice feast. 

Barbara had brought dessert. It was really the wonderful company though. It was like we had never left. Some friendships are like that. See you in Virginia?

Saturday

I knew that there was a farmers' market from 7:30 am to 1 pm every Saturday on the big plaza at the river. At 8 James and I were already on our walk. I just couldn't help admiring this tree. 

Does it remind you of the face of a giraffe? 

Yup, the farmers' market. Didn't take any more pictures. But it was quite interesting. The young guy with the homemade sausages chatted with us and told us his life story. He used to live in Germany for a while and loved it.

We continued and (surprise, surprise) ended up at Kirchhoff's, famous for their baked goods. I had made up my mind what I wanted and the guy in front of us in the line bought the last of that. But there were other things to choose from.

While we were sitting there another couple we knew from our time here passed by and we had a lovely long chat with Juliette and Paul. They had heard from somebody that we were in town and had been sorry to miss us since they could not be in church on Sunday. Ha-ha, Paducah is a small town.

We continued our walk. Gosh, that flood wall is never boring. You can't take it all in on one visit.

VIDEO   (1:03 minutes)

When you walk along, don't miss the things on the other side of the road. The Center of Maritime Education. River captains and pilots are trained here. Once I had a tour there. Very interesting and enlightening. Manouvering those tugs with lots of barges is no easy thing.

When we were on 'overload' we walked back. A quick stop at the farmers' market again to buy some flowers for tonight's host. And then we decided to try to find "our plaque" on the crossroads at the confluence of the Ohio River and the Mississippi River in Wickliffe, KY.

It was a nice drive and we found the cross. 

It took us some time to find the plaque. It was a donation for the cross to be errected several years ago. Actually, I had overlooked it and James found it.

We walked around a little. Had the place to ourselves. Unfortunately the confluence can't be seen because of the many trees. 

At the end of the drive back we got a little divertion because we needed to get gas and the GasBuddy app told us to go to Sams. No Costco here.

Back at the house I decided I still had time to go and see what there is to see at the National Quilt Museum. I have been several times over the years but of course the exhibitions are always different. Of course I took many photos but I might have to share those on my lace and quilt blog.

We had been invited by Sherry and John for dinner. Can't go to Paducah without seeing them. John is making the Grace Church Chrismons every year for many years. I design a new symbol every year and he makes ??? for all the children in the church there as it is tradition. John used to come to Nashville for a lesson when we visited there at the beginning of the new year. 

Yes, this years are finished. Of course the members of the church don't know what symbol it will be so I had to white out all the pretties. It was a great dinner, a great evening all around. Thank you!

Sunday

Our last day on this trip. We walked to church which we alway find very enjoyable. But since we didn't know how long it would take us we were too early. We wandered around and visited my dad again in the Memoral Garden. 

There is scary Jesus. Yes, that is his unofficial name. The statue was made for the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. It was gifted to the congregation by a former priest Timus Taylor. When I was staff at the church the statue was stolen for its metal value but the thieves were not able to sell it and it was found, unfortunately mutilated. I can't remember whether this is a repaired or recreated version. It is still scary though. 

It was a very uplifting service for us. The historic church with the stained glass windows makes a visit always special. And nice music even though the choir is on summer break. But the best for us was the reaction of the many people which know us from years ago. Who can not be happy when faces light up when you turn around for the peace and people recognized you? I hope it is not seen as pride. We were even asked whether we had moved back. When we said we were only visiting the reaction was clearly disappointment. 

More chatting in the portico after the service. Nancy and her (now late) husband were always dear to us. She was happy to join us for lunch. Her brother-in-law Chris recommended the Paducah Axe, of course in walking distance. That place was quite an adventure too. The brunch was nice. 

Nutella Crepes!

Benedictine bagel!

Oh the many memories we shared. No shortage of things to talk about. Of course we walked Nancy back to her car and then back to the airbnb. 

And that pretty much concludes our visit to Paducah. We have to take time and do some planning how we want to go home. We decided that since it is even further than Nashville we should spread it into 2 days. We finally decided to spend the night in Huntingdon, WV. James made a reservation. All set for tomorrow.