Lexington, Kentucky Day 1 (GA488)

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.

Because we have 5,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

I’m currently in my 23rd year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

---

The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails RV Resort in Seaside, Oregon. I’m scheduled to depart October 22nd.

 

 

 

Since my RVing life is changing (see above), I’m starting to re-visit previously visited places. So rather than constantly re-blogging past entries, I’ve decided to do something different.

  In 2011-2013, Mary and I did a 682 day, 12,679 miles in the motorhome and 8,000 miles in the Bronco, circumnavigation of the United States, which I called The Great Adventure. I called it so because other than my oldest granddaughter’s high school graduation in June in Connecticut, I didn’t know where we would be going or when we would be there!

So, unless I do something really different and unusual warranting a new blog entry, I’ll be posting entries from that trip.

This entry was posted May 12, 2013…

Yesterday I drove the motorhome the about 60 miles from Bardstown to Lexington, Kentucky. We drove about 50 of those miles on the Blue Grass Parkway which you can read about by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluegrass_Parkway

 

 

 

 

 

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

 

 

 

 

 

Here we are on the Blue Grass Parkway…

 

 

Along the way we stopped to get a first-hand look at one of Kentucky’s most famous products…Bourbon Whiskey. We visited the Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg. You can read about this place by clicking their official website link…
http://www.fourrosesbourbon.com/

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some of the photos I took while there…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At this point in the tour, Mary dropped out fearing too many stairs in the factory. I’m glad she did because I continued on the tour and there were a lot of stairs…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mary joined us in the tasting room. I tasted none because I was driving and did not want it on my breath. Plus I didn’t want to hurt anyones feelings, but I really do not care for Bourbon. I’m a Canadian Mist man myself.  🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back on the road we ended up at a place where we can get an up-close-and-personal look at another of Kentucky products…Horses! We are parked at the Keeneland Horse Racing Track at Lexington…

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s the dinette window photo…

 

 

Even though it is not racing season, there are still horses here which we’ll get to see this morning and you can read about them tomorrow! You can read about Keeneland by clicking their official website link…
http://www.keeneland.com/

 

 

Enjoying interesting places is another joy of the full-timing lifestyle!

In other news…

 

 

I bought our rear view camera systems for the motorhome in 2009. As with all electronics occasionally things act up and they do not work as they should. So was the case recently. Without going into the technical aspects, I’ll simply say 4uCam has great customer service and readily took care of my problem. If you are considering such a system, I highly recommend them to you. You can see their products on their website at http://4ucam.com/

 

 

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Kentucky. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

 

 

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

 

 

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

 

 

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

 

 

 

 

 

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! MARY WROTE A MANY GREAT BLOGS…SO WHENEVER SHE PUBLISHED A BLOG POSTING THE SAME DAY THAT I DID…YOU WILL BE ABLE TO READ HER BLOG BY CLICKING THE BELOW LINK! DO IT NOW!

https://otrwjam.wordpress.com/2013/05/12/four-roses-distillery-lawrenceburg-kentucky/

 

 

 

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS.

Forecast for today is sunny and 77 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of Oregon. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

 

 

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

 

 

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

 

 

There are more than 700 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://get.google.com/albumarchive/110455945462646142273?source=pwa

 

 

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

 

 

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

 

 

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2018

A BIT OF POLITICAL LEVITY.

I know the state of the union address is tomorrow and as we near caucus time, the frenzy for political positioning is a slug-fest, as all the verbal dirt comes flying out of the bag. Philosopher John Arbuthnot said:  All political parties die from swallowing their own lies.  Hmm!  If only it were true.

A dialog on whiskey in 1952 puts a bit of levity into the political process that tickles the funny bone and is worth repeating.

In 1952, Armon M. Sweat, Jr. a member of the Texas House of Representatives, was asked about his position on whiskey. Here is his answer:

“If you mean whiskey, the devils brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean that evil drink that topples Christian men and women from the pinnacles of righteous and gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation, shame, despair, helplessness, and hopelessness, then, my friend I am opposed to it with every fiber of my being.”

“However, if by whiskey you mean the lubricant of conversation, the philosophic juice, the elixir of life, the liquid that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer, the stimulating sip that puts a little spring in the step of an elderly gentleman on a frosty morning; if you mean that drink that enables him to magnify his joy, and to forget life’s great tragedies and heart breaks and sorrow; if you mean that drink the sale of which pours into Texas treasuries untold millions of dollars each year, that provides tender care for our crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our dumb, our pitifully aged and infirm, to build the finest highways, hospitals, universities, and community colleges in this nation, then my friend, I am absolutely, unequivocally in favor of it. This is my position and as always, I refuse to compromise on my principles.”

I love it.

A good friend stopped in for a visit yesterday with his “new” dog, Daisy. Daisy doesn’t like to have her picture taken. I don’t see Bob Urban very often, but I always enjoy his company. We talked the afternoon away and caught up on mutual friends. One thing we don’t discus is politics and religion. I haven’t a clue what Bob’s politics are. But, I hope he enjoys Mr. Sweat’s dialog entitled Whiskey as much as I did.

Caio

 

Four Roses Distillery – Lawrenceburg, Kentucky

The motorhome is currently parked at Mary’s home in Murphys, California. My current departure date is scheduled for December 1st.

During this time I’ll be attending to my cataract surgery, cleaning, routine maintenance and minor repairs to the motorhome and Bronco in addition to assisting Mary with her activities. None of these items are particularly exciting to write about…so…instead I’ll be showing Picasa Web Albums from our 682 day, 2011-2013 circumnavigation of the United States. It was Mary’s second circumnavigation and the sixth for myself.

Unless we do something unusual, this Blog will feature a photo album from the circumnavigation and will change daily. So come back tomorrow.

To read about today’s photo album location, click this link…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Roses

CLICK ON THE BELOW PHOTO. ONCE YOU ARRIVE AT THE PHOTO ALBUM, SIMPLY CLICK “SLIDESHOW” AND ENJOY!

Four Roses Distillery, Lawrenceburg, Kentucky

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS.

The cataract surgery of my right eye was conducted on October 9th. It appears to have been successful and my last exam on October 24th had it at 20/25, down from 20/200 prior to the surgery. Surgery on my left eye is now scheduled for November 6th.

Yesterday was a cloudy/rainy day and 65 degrees. Forecast for today is partly sunny and 62 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 500 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2014

FOUR ROSES DISTILLERY, LAWRENCEBURG, KENTUCKY

After yesterday’s horrible pouring down rain, we scrambled with a another time change and hit the Blue Grass Parkway toward Laurenceburg for a visit to Four Roses Distillery. I’ve seen plenty of beer breweries, but never a distillery. Bonds Mill Rd. is narrow, kind of rolling hills and homes, could this be the right place? A big yellow, Spanish Mission Style building suddenly loomed up before us. The gates are narrow; you can’t see if there is room for a motor home. Carefully, carefully we rolled…

We wound around a narrow driveway and ended up at the back of the place next to an ancient still on our left.

The steaming smoke stacks of a distillery at work on the right.

And the visitors center in front of us. A distinct smell of sweet corn hung in the air.

Inside the visitors center everything is roses. Much to look at and enjoy or buy while waiting for your tour.

Wouldn’t this make a good toilet seat?  It answers the question, what is the difference between bourbon and whiskey?  Same thing. I’d love to have that as a toilet seat.

Four Roses isn’t the oldest distillery in the state, but one of the oldest. It was started in 1888 by Old Joe. Everyone loved his brew and when he sold his place, he sold the recipe. It remains the same, we are told.

Several owners bought and ran the distillery after Old Joe. It was owned by Seagrams for many years. This is their top of the line product, single barrel straight bourbon, that has always been produced to the original recipe and enjoys a huge following in Europe and Japan. It is rumored the name Four Roses came from one early owner who fell for a beautiful woman. He asked for her hand in marriage. She said she’d give him her answer at an upcoming ball. If she was wearing a red rose, the answer was yes. At the ball she was wearing a corsage of four red roses. When Seagrams went bankrupt, the new owners began marketing their most successful product, the single barrel above, and selling it in America. It isn’t yet available in every state.

The yellow label is what you drink Monday through Friday. They don’t use the b—- word. It is an intermingled recipe. The books have some neat recipes.

The distillery has won an award for best distillery for 2011 and 2012. The above is not the award. Didn’t learn what sour mash was. Forgot to ask. But I did remember that by law, bourbon has to be 51% corn mash. (She said Four Roses uses more.)  The corn comes from Indiana. Rye from Denmark and barley from Ireland.  Secret recipe #1.

The distillery tour started on the ground floor and ended there for me because of the stairs.  I had to leave and waited for the tour to enter the tasting room at the end.

Our tour guide above was fun. She had a great toast for us that I can’t remember. The booze is delish if you like booze. Jim declined to taste. He only likes his Canadian Mist with ice and water. I enjoyed it because I like scotch, but it would have been better with a couple of ice cubes and a splash of water and a little cracker and cheese. (She gave me an empty bottle with the embossed roses on it for my bottle fence.)

While Jim was on the tour, I took some pictures outside. Beautiful grounds.

A second still on the grounds, a fountain in front of the building. It was a fun tour.

HOW TO BECOME A POLITICIAN

I get discouraged when I read the headlines each morning and learn what the baboons who are supposedly leading this great country to salvation  have been up to on the many fronts of our “uncivil war”. We, the people are losing this war, there is no doubt about that.  But, now and again, levity comes in my email and instead of ranting, as I’m want to do, I thought I’d reprint this illuminating answer to a question posed to a master politician. It comes at a time when my brother is running for congress, so I have to laugh as I present this piece from the Texas Archives. Don’t know who dug it up but I thank her/him.

In 1952, Armon M. Sweat, Jr. a member of the Texas House of Representatives, was asked about his position on whiskey. Here is his answer:

“If you mean whiskey, the devils brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean that evil drink that topples Christian men and women from the pinnacles of righteous and gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation, shame, despair, helplessness, and hopelessness, then, my friend I am opposed to it with every fiber of my being.”

“However, if by whiskey you mean the lubricant of conversation, the philosophic juice, the elixir of life, the liquid that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer, the stimulating sip that puts a little spring in the step of an elderly gentleman on a frosty morning; if you mean that drink that enables him to magnify his joy, and to forget life’s great tragedies and heartbreaks and sorrow; if you mean that drink the sale of which pours into Texas treasuries untold millions of dollars each year, that provides tender care for our crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our dumb, our pitifully aged and infirm, to build the finest highways, hospitals, universities, and community colleges in this nation, then my friend, I am absolutely, unequivocally in favor of it.  
This is my position and as always, I refuse to compromise on matters of principal.”