Circus Trip 2018: Churchill Downs

Day 29, Monday, August 13, 2018

Louisville, Kentucky

Most years, I sit in my living room on the first Saturday in May and watch the Kentucky Derby on TV.  Live from Churchill Downs, the field of colts and a few fillies attempt to become the winner of the Derby and have a chance at winning the Triple Crown, a title which has become the most prestigious in horse racing.  The Kentucky Derby is the first race of the Triple Crown, which also contains the Preakness and the Belmont, raced at other tracks around the country over a five week stretch.

I have always wanted to visit Churchill Downs, especially on Derby Day, to see the crazy hats and feel the excitement of race day!  I spent a few days in Louisville and had a chance to visit the racetrack, although there wasn’t any racing going on that day.  For $15, you can visit the track’s museum and get a tour of the track.  Considering that pre-sale event prices to the infield for the Kentucky Derby start at $65 and $85 on the day of the race, $15 is pretty good!  Of course, other racing days at Churchill Downs aren’t so expensive, so a typical day at the track can be pretty affordable if you aren’t betting and losing!  One day, I will be there on Derby Day!

Barbaro raced at Churchill Downs, and sadly died young

Churchill Downs opened in 1875; after Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr. (William Clark’s grandson) leased the land from his uncles John and Henry Churchill, a prominent Louisville family for many years.  Clark sold subscriptions to the racing club, and used the money to develop the track.  Racing has occurred here since that time, with a number of changes to the track over the years.  The first Kentucky Derby was held in 1875, which means that 2020’s Derby will be the 146th running!

The iconic twin spires on the grandstands weren’t placed until 1895, but have survived weather events since that time, including a tornado that damaged the stables.  The grandstands seat about 50,000, but it is standing room only on the infield on Derby Day and the crowds can grow to almost 170,000 people!

My tour ticket included an interesting movie on the history of the track.  They usher you into a large oval shaped room, and you sit on swivel stools to watch the film, which is projected on the wall above you all around the oval room.  You can swivel on your stool to get a better view of the scenes, and because it is above you, nobody’s head is in the way!  Then the docent took us out to the track – you get to see the grandstands, the saddling area, the track, the winner’s circle and the other views you see on television when you watch the Derby on TV.  They have plaques showing all of the names of the Kentucky Derby winners over the years, and marking the names of those who won the Triple Crown.  Of the 146 winners of the Derby, only thirteen of them have also won the Triple Crown.  Three of the Derby winners have been fillies.

The saddling area

The twin spires – built in 1895

The Grandstands

Churchill Downs track

The Winner’s Circle

The tour was a bit canned; they clearly have memorized a script and move the tour groups along pretty quickly, but it was really interesting to see the track!  The museum was cool too, with exhibits on the history of the track and the horses that have raced there.  They had a display of hats and the tradition of crazy hats at the Derby, a display of the horseshoes that race horses wear, and an exhibit on the history of African Americans in the Churchill Downs racing industry.  Thirteen of the fifteen horses in the first Kentucky Derby were ridden by African American jockeys, and fifteen of the first twenty-eight Derbies were won by black jockeys.  Of course, it took a long time for them to be recognized for these accomplishments.

One of the Derby’s three winning fillies

After the tour, I did enjoy the restaurant at the track.  They had a special where you could try a Mint Julep and keep the commemorative glass (which actually turned out to be a Kentucky Oaks stemless wine glass, rather than a traditional mint julep cup, but I liked that too).  I use it all the time!  I learned that I’m not a fan of Mint Juleps – I don’t think I’ll ever be a Bourbon girl…  I did learn that I love Louisville Hot Brown though!  It was a very messy sandwich, with Texas toast, turkey, bacon, tomato, cheeses and herbs all cooked together in a casserole dish, and it was so delicious!  The one at Churchill Downs was so full of gooey goodness I didn’t even know it was supposed to be a sandwich until I looked up the recipe.  I haven’t had it since, but maybe I should try to make it at home sometime!

Louisville Hot Brown and a Mint Julep

After my visit to the track, I drove around Louisville to check out some of the historic homes, and then went back to my campground to relax at the pool.  It was a fun day!

The pool at the Louisville KOA

 

 

 

Farewell to a Decade!

2019 is almost over, and with it we are leaving behind another decade.  Like every year, it has had its ups and downs, but sadly this year they were overshadowed by losing my Dad.  There were other joys and experiences, but between working through my grief and starting my new job, the happy times were just more subdued this year, and that’s okay.

1. Dad died suddenly in February.  It has been hard without him; never having had the opportunity to say goodbye or tell him I love him one more time.  He left behind a lot of estate and probate stuff for my mom to work through, which is difficult to face when you are grieving.  All the milestones are new ones in our life without him.
2. I did a 15K this year in March with my friends.  I didn’t train, as it was less than a month after dad died, but I finished.  My time with my friends is dear to me; they are a lifeline when I need them most. 
3. Mom and I took a few days away in March and flew down to Tucson.  It was a nice mother-daughter trip, with some laughter, and definitely some tears, with both of us grieving. 
4. I started a new job in March.  There’s a learning curve, and there was some drama in the beginning (not my drama!), but things there are good; the people are kind and reasonable and I feel valued.
5. I visited Astoria in May; I met Jeff and the kids there for a Memorial Day long weekend of fun.  It was nice to check the place out and see some familiar places and some new ones.  Making new memories is always good! 
6. I visited Westport, on the coast of Washington, in June with friends.  I had never been there.  The weather was cool and sort of rainy, which made for less than ideal camping weather, but we had fun checking out the lighthouse, grilling some delicious food, and walking the beach. I added a ton of sand dollars to my collection! 
7. In July, Jeff and the kids and I took a whirlwind trip down to Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California. It was so much fun camping and hiking and checking out the waterfalls! Lassen is definitely a place I want to get back to soon.
   

   Lassen Volcanic National Park

8. I didn’t do much hiking this summer because I was experiencing a lot of pain in my belly, but I did go on a couple of hikes.  My hike to Watson Lakes with Lelani was so much fun!
9. Jeff and I met near Salem, Oregon on Labor Day weekend for a few days.  We checked out the Oregon State Hospital Museum, the Salem Farmer’s Market, and enjoyed our time together.  We also took a day to hike Silver Falls State Park, and saw all the beautiful waterfalls!  What an amazing experience! 
10. In October, my girlfriends and I did a 10K in town.  It was fun to support a great charity and get some exercise as well!
11. On December 23, I had a total abdominal hysterectomy.  I have been having pain and other troublesome symptoms for years, so it was time, but it was still scary to be wheeled into the operating room that morning!  My surgeon and nursing team were awesome and everything went smoothly.  My family came to the rescue, setting me up at home and taking care of me for the first several days.  My uterus and its benign fibroid tumors weighed over 5 pounds (a healthy uterus should weigh about 2-4 ounces) – 5 pounds of extra stuff in my belly causing havoc!  I am still healing, and moving pretty slow right now, but am already feeling relief from my symptoms and can tell I will be feeling better in no time! 

2020 is a whole new decade, and one that should have some new beginnings for me.  I’ll be able to spend more time with Jeff and the kids, and once I recover from my surgery, I’ll be able to get back to my active life!  Here’s to a lot of good things coming soon!

May the New Year bring you all peace and joy.

 

Circus Trip 2018: Lincoln Boyhood NM

Day 28, Sunday, August 12, 2018

Lincoln City, Indiana

After I left the Indiana Military Museum, I had one more stop I wanted to make in Indiana.  I was headed to the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial.

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

The site was home to Abraham Lincoln and his family for 14 years, from 1816 – 1830.  Lincoln was only 7 when Thomas Lincoln moved the family to Indiana, after losing his previous homestead due to bad surveying and challenges to land titles.

Unfortunately for the Lincoln family, white snake root plant grew widely in the area; cows ate the plant and their milk and meat became contaminated and poisonous to humans.  Lincoln’s mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, ended up dying of the milk sickness in 1818, when Lincoln was 9 years old.

Lincoln’s older sister Sarah became Lincoln’s caregiver, until Thomas Lincoln remarried another Sarah, Sarah Bush Johnston, who nurtured Lincoln’s children as if they were her own.  The blended family and one of Lincoln’s cousins all lived in the one room cabin together.

Lincoln lived in the settlement until he was 21; in 1830 Thomas Lincoln moved the family to Central Illinois.  The homestead faded into obscurity until interest was renewed in 1879.  Nancy Hanks Lincoln’s grave was discovered, as well as the graves of several others who had died over the years at the settlement.

In the 1920s, funds were raised to do an archaeological study to learn more about life in the community during the time Lincoln lived there.  The site became Lincoln State Park in 1932 and ownership of the land was transferred to the National Park Service to create the National Memorial in 1962.  The living farm on site was created in 1968.

When I visited, I checked out the Memorial Building, which has a movie about Lincoln’s childhood, as well as exhibits about the Lincoln’s time in Indiana.  The Park Service has a few of Thomas Lincoln’s possessions on display.  After I saw the Memorial Building, I walked down the trail to see Lincoln’s mother’s grave, and the reconstructed settlement site.

The Lincoln Boyhood Memorial

Nancy Hanks Lincoln’s grave – Abraham Lincoln’s mother

Pioneer Cemetery – where Lincoln’s mother is buried

The cabin where Lincoln lived with his family is long gone, but flagstones and a reconstructed hearth mark the outline of where the cabin was.

Me with the foundation of the original cabin

Reconstructed barns and cabins provide visitors a sense of what life was like on the frontier during Lincoln’s time there.  Historical interpreters are there to answer questions and describe what they are doing during their days.

Exterior of the Lincoln Boyhood cabin

A recreation of the Lincoln Boyhood cabin

Interior of the Lincoln Boyhood cabin

The workshop at Lincoln’s Boyhood cabin

A wagon at the Lincoln Boyhood cabin

There is also a trail where you can see various stones from important times in Lincoln’s life.  There is a stone from the store Lincoln owned in New Salem, Illinois, as well as a stone from the boarding house where Lincoln was taken after he was shot at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.  There are twelve stones in all, with explanations of where they came from.

A stone from the Berry-Lincoln store

It was interesting to see what life would have been like for Lincoln as a child and young adult.  The site has been planted with new trees that better represent what the land would have looked like 200 yeas ago, and about 150,000 people visit annually.   I enjoyed checking it out, and talking to the interpreters.  It was so profound to be able to walk where Lincoln had walked as a child and young man!

 

 

 

Recovering

My body is beat up and sore, I can’t walk fast, getting up and down and in and out of bed hurts.  I am tired. All that is to be expected and it means I’m recovering.  I’m being well taken care of.

I saw this gorgeous sunset Sunday evening. It was spectacular.  It felt like a sign that all would be fine.

Merry Christmas everyone! May the day bring peace and joy to all of you.

Surgery Success!

Just a brief check in to let you all know things went great.

My doctor removed my uterus and all its fibroids for an immediate weight loss of just over 5 pounds! They have fed me (I can eat without feeling uncomfortable!)  and I have graduated up to only having a vitals check every four hours! I even went for a walk around the hallway,  very slowly.

Thank you for all your well wishes. I’m on the mend and starting my new life!!

Book Review: Stiff

Imagine for a moment that you have died and donated your body to science.  Do you know what happens to your body? Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach, explores the multitude of ways in which cadavers are used in medical research.  It is a fascinating book, but not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach.

Everyone knows that cadavers are used in medical schools, because med students need to learn human anatomy.  And that’s easiest to do with an actual human.  Interestingly, the use of cadavers for this purpose is decreasing, due to emerging digital tools.  However, did you know that cadavers are also used to help surgeons practice their craft and learn new techniques?

Other uses of cadavers tend to be less likely to be discussed outwardly, because people tend to get more squeamish, when the cadavers are subjected to violent acts.  These include research of auto safety devices; real life crash test dummies, if you will.  Over the years, safety improvements have significant lowered the death rate in car crashes, so now cadavers are used to study the impact of non-fatal injuries.  As Roach put it in the book, if you died in an accident it didn’t matter if you also shattered your ankle.  But if you live, suddenly you have an interest in how your ankle fares.

They are used for research on safety devices like bullet proof vests and footwear that is better able to protect your feet and legs from mines and other explosives.  Forensic science is another area where cadavers are really helpful.  If we are better able to understand how and under what conditions bodies decay, then forensic analysts can better estimate how, when and where someone died.  This can be the key to solving a crime.

Stiff explores organ transplants and what happens when you agree to donate.  It also documents some pretty far-out research in the last couple hundred years.  This is probably the most squeam-inducing part of the book.  Head transplants, and what happens after someone is decapitated are explained in detail.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you…  You could always skip that chapter, but you won’t.

Roach does have a morbid sense of humor, which of course is necessary for a book of this subject.  Yet she speaks of the cadavers she “meets” with a respectful dignity, aware of the gift that they have given to society in death.  It is well researched and well-read (I listened to the audio book) by Shelly Frasier, and Stiff enlightened me on several areas of research that I knew nothing about.  Well done.  Perhaps just don’t read it at meal time.

4 stars. 

Clocking Time

One week from today I’ll be in the hospital, with a lovely new incision in my belly, on my way to recovery.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling a little bit anxious.  I have to finish a lot this week to be ready.  One more week of work and things to wrap up before my leave of absence.  Presents to finish getting (almost done!) and wrapping (barely started!).  A bit more decorating, but only the minimum.  I need to finish the laundry (because I won’t be able to lift a basket), clean the house (I won’t be able to scrub or vacuum), and finish whatever other miscellaneous chores come with Christmas.

So a week from today I’ll be lying in my hospital bed, at the mercy of those wonderful nurses who will undoubtedly want to poke and prod me, and make me go walk around, when all I will probably really want to do is sleep.  I’ll be hungry and groggy from the anesthesia and having caffeine withdrawals and my skin will be itchy and dry because I couldn’t put on moisturizers after my shower the night before.  Not long after though, I will start feeling better, glad to not have the huge, dense masses in my belly, taking up all the space.

I know I will have to take it easy for a while, but that is just so hard for me!  I like being active, I like feeling productive!  I like being outside, even in the winter.  Hiking!  Snowshoeing!  Working in the yard!  But I’ll have to relax and chill out, so I don’t compromise my healing.  I’ll have more time to write, once I feel up to it.  And read!  And watch some movies!  Perhaps contemplate which tattoo to get on my scar when it heals…  I will have to focus on the quieter activities and make time for those.

And suddenly you just know… It’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.  Meister Eckhart

Long House, Mesa Verde National Park, October 2018

I can do this!  Onward…

Arizona Getaway 2019: Tombstone and The O.K. Corral

Day 2, Friday, March 15, 2019

Tombstone, Arizona

Our second day, we went to Tombstone.  I had long ago heard about it, had never been there and thought it would be interesting. I wanted to spend the day there!  Mom was game, as it had been a long time since she visited as well.

For those of you who are light on your Tombstone history, Tombstone is a mining town in Southern Arizona, and it is the infamous site of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.  The “good” guys, the Earp brothers and their buddy Doc Holliday, got into a gunfight with the bad guys, the Clantons and McLaurys.  That’s the sanitized version anyway.  The truth is a bit tougher to pin down.  The truth is that Tombstone was a lawless place, with violence and murders occurring regularly.  It wasn’t that difficult to get appointed as a lawman there; you just had to know the right somebody.  And once you were a lawman, you could deputize your friends and family!  And that’s what Wyatt Earp did.

The Earps didn’t have spotless records.  They had some honest dealings and some shady ones, including being pimps, card dealers and horse thieves.  Several of them also either solicited prostitutes or lived with them.  Doc Holliday made his living as a gambler and sometime dentist and his girlfriend was a prostitute too.  The Clantons and McLaurys didn’t have their noses clean either.  They were suspected of stealing horses, and according to the historical record, they were probably guilty.  But their offense that day in Tombstone?  Not checking in their weapons when they came into town. Which most other men probably didn’t do either.

There had been a lot of threats back and forth for months before the shootout.  After a lot of lead up and posturing, things were ripe for a confrontation, and it happened on October 26, 1881 at the O.K. Corral.  Except it wasn’t actually at the corral; it was more a small vacant lot between two buildings, one of which was C.S. Fly’s Photography Studio.  But that doesn’t sound as good.  The shootout at the Photography Studio?

In the end, after 30 seconds of shooting among nine men, three men were dead and three were wounded.  The three dead men were Tom and Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton.  Virgil and Morgan Earp, and Doc Holliday were wounded in varying degrees of severity.  The ensuing attempts at revenge continued into the next year; Morgan Earp was shot and killed in March 1882.  Did anything really get settled?

Mom and I stopped first at the historic Boothill Cemetery, where the three men who died at the O.K. Corral are buried, but there are many others there as well.  Tombstone was a rough place, and many of the markers explained that the grave’s inhabitant died at the hands of another.  Of course, others died in the usual fashion – like getting trampled by horses!  Or being pulled out of the jail and lynched.  Or opium overdoses.  Hardly anybody, it seems, lived a long life in Tombstone.

Boothill Cemetery

Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury and Tom McLaury

Me and Mom – Boothill Cemetery

Mrs. Ah Lum (aka China Mary)

John Heath, Lynched, and Dan Dowd, Hanged

A baby’s grave

“Here Lies Lester Moore, Four Slugs from a 44, No Les, No More”

Mom and I ventured next to the O.K. Corral, where we enjoyed watching the shootout reenactment.  Admittedly, it is a bit cheesy, with the actors encouraging spectators to boo and cheer for the bad guys and the good guys.  It does help you realize that even with all the lead up, when you know it is coming and are actively trying to watch so you can see exactly what happens, 30 shots fired by six potential participants within the span of 30 seconds, with smoke and people moving, makes it difficult to figure out what truly happened.  No wonder they were never really able to figure out what went down.

Me and Mom ready to watch the gunfight

Get ready for the action!

Can you tell what went on?

Me and one of the “bad guys.”

We checked out the exhibits on Tombstone’s history, both before and after the O.K. Corral.  We toured C.S. Fly’s Boarding House and Photography Studio, where Doc Holliday’s girlfriend Big Nose Kate watched the gunfight unfold (gotta love history; I wonder what my nickname would be?).  Several cowboys who fled the gunfight did so through the door of Fly’s Boarding House, including Ike Clanton.

A hearse display

Be sure to check out the Historama presentation while you are at the O.K. Corral; it is dated, but still fascinating, and not just for its historical value.  How often do you see a revolving model of Tombstone, complete with a train, animals, mine shafts and other attributes of the town?  Did I mention it was narrated by Vincent Price?  Down the street you can tour the museum of Tombstone’s oldest newspaper, the Epitaph.  Your admission ticket to the O.K. Corral even gets you a free copy of a historic edition of the newspaper.

It was good to see the reenactment, but we did more on our visit that day!

 

 

Book Review: Stay Sexy and Don’t Get Murdered

Stay Sexy and Don’t Get Murdered:  The Definitive How-To Guide From the My Favorite Murder Podcast, by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

Karen and Georgia are the voices of the podcast, My Favorite Murder.  They have gained quite a following for their clever banter about solved and unsolved murders, exploring the grim details and sad facts of any number of murder cases throughout the world.  They both have a morbid sense of humor and a healthy dose of witticisms, and minds that are detail oriented enough to recall the cases that they are describing on the podcast.

They don’t make light of the unfortunate victims of the crimes, but do acknowledge that there is a morbid curiousity in many of us who look into these past murders and wonder why, or wonder if some could be some break in the case that solves the crime and brings closure to the family.

The podcast is fascinating, but that’s not what this book is about.  Instead, their book is a more personal deep dive into these two women and how they have gotten where they have.  They talk about their childhoods, their struggles with addiction, dating, ailing parents and life in general.  They bring a candor not often seen in people discussing their personal lives and they are both willing to open up about the good and the not so good pieces of their pasts and personalities.  It is refreshing to know that they have had trials and bumps along the way.

If you consider yourself a murderino (their newly coined term for those of us who are interested in true crime and amateur sleuthing on murder cases), and you haven’t listened to the podcast, you should check it out.  And if you like these two very raw, real and relatable women, who should check out this book.  It’s even OK if you check it out at the library; they will only judge you a little bit.

One last thing – the audiobook version is read by the authors, and they are superb!

4 stars.

No More Merrymaking!

Christmas is everywhere. The holiday lights, the parties, the work get-togethers, the gift giving. Ugh. I’m not that revved up about the holidays. I’ve spent a lot of years as a single, and the holidays are hard on singles. Like stab you in the heart kind of hard.

I often think back to a few Christmases, when I was at the City’s tree lighting ceremony with a friend. I stopped to chat with an acquaintance who was pushing her newborn son in a stroller. I stopped to coo over her son and catch up a little bit with her. To my shock, she said something along the lines of, “you don’t have to pretend that you are interested in my son, I know you are happy to not have kids.” Ouch.

I was a little less than six months out from an incredibly painful divorce, and a marriage where the choice to not have children was made for me. She didn’t know about any of that.  I tried to laugh off her comment (as it wasn’t worth correcting her on my personal details), but it felt like a slap in the face. To be surrounded by all those families and holiday cheer, and to never have had that be an option for me was hard. Really hard.

People have trouble with the holidays for any number of reasons. Maybe they lost a loved one and are grieving. Maybe they are alone. Maybe they have anxiety and all of those social functions seem impossible. For whatever reason, they just don’t feel in the mood to deal with it.

I’ve had years where I have been more enthusiastic about the holidays. Some years I decorate; some years I don’t. Some years I have even hosted some sort of holiday get together. I have never been someone who gets overly thrilled about Christmas. I long for the day when I can just travel this time of year, and opt-out of the festivities.

This year I’m ambivalent – a solid neutral on the holidays.  I’ll be in the hospital on Christmas this year, and of course I will let you know how that goes. I’m fortunate that I have people who love me and support me, no matter where I’m parked on the holiday. And next year is going to be awesome!

Not my decorations…

So go easy on those of us who have a hard time with Christmas. You may love all the “merry and bright,” the music, the lights, the artificial cheer, but be gentle with those who don’t.