Category: Vacation

On the road again: Cincinnati to Louisville Day 2

Continuing our journey, with Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad as our soundtrack, we left Cincinnati, crossing the Ohio River into Covington, Kentucky. If Cincinnati has a bit of a southern vibe, the minute you cross into Kentucky somehow you ARE in the South.

We were a bit short on time but had an ambitious agenda for the day. A must stop was Carmichael’s Bookstore, the oldest independent bookstore in Louisville and it opens at 8 a.m. on Sunday! The staff was well informed and welcoming. When I asked about a local writer or title I was directed to a book I’d been eyeing for months. Southernmost by Silas House is a story of grappling with tragedy and truth, tolerance and forgiveness. It’s published by Algonquin Books, an independent press dedicated to literary fiction and nonfiction that gets people talking.

No trip to Louisville would be complete without a pilgrimage to Churchill Downs where Triple Crown dreams are born. In the upper 90’s, the weather wasn’t suitable for (wo)man nor beast and there was no racing scheduled for a while. Nevertheless, the museum has great displays about the horses, jockeys, owners, and trainers that make the Kentucky Derby an annual American classic. There is a breath-taking film shown on a racetrack-shaped surround screen that brings that captures a day in the life of Churchill Downs.

There are several tours of Churchill Downs offered. Our walking tour took us through all the spectator levels overlooking the historic track. Information about the architectural and requirements to maintain the facility was interesting, the multiple pricing scales to see the Derby, less so. At the tour’s end, a visit to the jockey area where the silks are kept, the weigh-in occurs, and the jockeys relax when not racing really was the highlight.

Our last must-see of the day was for the baseball-lover in me. Louisville Slugger has been the best-known manufacturer of baseball bats for over a century. A desire to help a slumping Louisville ballplayer has turned into a company known worldwide. Though not the only manufacturer of bats for major leaguers, they are the largest and count the many of the biggest stars as their customers. For each, they maintain very specific measurements and offer the choice of ash or maple and special stains and paints. Small escorted tours take visitors through the manufacturing process, without phones or cameras, of course, where staff members answer any and all questions. Time is well spent in the exhibit area where game-used bats from many of the historic greats of baseball history can be seen. The evolution of baseball is seen in a historical context. Before we left, there was the chance to hold game-used bats from Hall of Famers as well as current stars. I choose Hank Aaron and Ryan Zimmerman.

At the suggestion of a long-time friend, our one night in Louisville was spent at The Brown Hotel, where Southern hospitality is the only language spoken. For almost a century, the hotel has been a landmark in the city. We only scratched the surface of the sights in Louisville, a fine reason to return. Next stop:  NASHVILLE!

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On the road again! Nashville bound – Day 1

Before the era of total connectivity taking a vacation had a very different meaning. There was no phone or laptop to leave at home if you wanted to truly disconnect. On the flip side, having access to one’s work and other obligations from the road can make it possible to be away from home or work longer without being out of the loop. And you can get great ice cream recommendations from friends while on the road – more about that later!

There are large swaths of the US I have never visited. Among the top spots on my list was Nashville, so Dan indulged me by crafting our annual DC=> Hilton Head, SC, summer trip via Music City. None of this shortest distance/least time route as calculated by Waze for us! No, our goal is to take the opportunity to explore places that we have not seen.

STOP 1 – Cincinnati, OH: After a dinner pizza break in Breezewood, PA, we continued on and spent the night near the West Virginia line. Driving through Wheeling early in the morning brought a lovely sight. The soundtrack to the drive was Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad, the terrain a reminder of the difficult miles that slaves seeking freedom and settlers had to traverse to find home. Shortly before noon, we arrived at the American Sign Museum. Out in an industrial area of Cincinnati, it is a true gem. They have gathered advertising signs from all eras of American industry, with wonderful audio descriptions. Thanks to the staff of the museum, we headed to Findlay Market, the oldest municipal market in Ohio, to find lunch. Wandering through the outdoor stalls, we came upon a familiar face, Teeny Morris, owner of Teeny Pies, one of our daughter’s housemates during their time in Chicago. It is very good to know a top-notch baker!

 

There were two more major events planned for Cincinnati. Once we dropped our bags off at the hotel, formerly the Cincinnati Enquirer Building, we walked to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Open since 2004, the museum tells the story of the search for freedom from the arrival of slaves on our shores until today, worldwide. It is an ambitious effort and the targetted exhibits are well done. Its location looking across the Ohio River to Kentucky is echoed in a film of abolitionists aiding fleeing slaves leaving Kentucky.

I am a big baseball fan. The Cincinnati Reds were hosting the Milwaukee Brewers for a late afternoon game, so off we went. As practiced fans, we beat the heat by choosing seats in the shade and were lucky enough to score Rosie the Red bobbleheads! The Great American Ballpark is very roomy with great sightlines and wide concourses. It also has two huge screens with different player info and more advertising than I’ve seen at any other park.

Daughter #2 had been in Cincinnati recently on business and sent us to Nada for dinner, noteworthy for people in our area because they are expanding to Pike & Rose very soon. And then we took our Facebook friends’ recommendations and found Graeter’s ice cream nearby on Fountain Square, listened to live music and chatted with some Milwaukee Brewers fans before calling it a night.

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Reading local, Cape Cod style

  • UnknownThe Widow’s War by Sally Gunning (William Morrow, 2007)
  • In 40 words or less: Lyddie Berry, widowed after a whaling mishap, asserts her rights to one-third of her husband’s estate. Though legal, this decision has harsh consequences within her family and community. Gunning provides a detailed portrayal of the difficult life in mid-eighteenth century Cape Cod.
  • Genre: Historical fiction
  • Locale: Satucket, MA
  • Time: 1760s
  • Read this to see the hardships of life in colonial America and the tremendous strictures of the society.IMG_4340

On my recent vacation to Cape Cod and the Berkshires, I visited Eight Cousins bookshop in Falmouth. As is my custom, I asked the bookseller for suggestions on a fiction title by a local author with a local feel. Her recommendation of The Widow’s War was right on target. Sally Gunning’s love for the Cape and its history comes through from page one. What differs in this novel from many others is the focus on the legally subservient role of women in the colonies and the prejudice against Indians living among the settlers.

Lyddie Berry is a strong woman who has run a household for months at a time while her husband, Edward, was at sea. Theirs was a loving relationship despite the strains of multiple miscarriages and the deaths of all but one of their children in infancy. Mehitable, their daughter, recently married a respected widower in the community and was establishing her own household.

When whales are spotted in the bay, the ships leave in a flurry and all the men return safely except for Edward. Their neighbor and friend, Sam Cowett, an Indian, makes every effort to save him but is unsuccessful. Now the Widow Berry, Lyddie is forced to recast her life.

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Edward’s will provided for Lyddie as best possible at that time. The home and all properties go to the nearest male relative, Mehitable’s husband Mr. Clarke, with Lyddie to be given life tenancy to a third of the home plus support to come from the proceeds of the legacy. Edward’s solicitor, Mr. Freeman was a fierce advocate for Lyddie’s rights which Mr. Clarke sought to subvert. To support herself, Lyddie  nursed Sam Cowett’s ailing wife and served as his housekeeper for a period after her death. As an Indian, Sam was an outsider in the community and her alignment with him damages Lyddie’s reputation. Day to day survival overtakes her observance of the Sabbath which further estranges her.

The strengths of this novel are the detailed descriptions of daily life and the societal hierarchy within the community. Using the conflicts within the Berry/Clarke family as the background, the roles of wives, mothers and widows are clear.  Gunning carefully portrays the shrinking of the Indian presence in the local area as the consequence of selling land for supplies. Sam Cowett remained the lone reminder of the Indian landholders and his friendship/partnership with Edward Berry a thorn in the side of the community.

Whether your interest is in colonial America, whaling in Cape Cod, feminism in early America or just a good story, The Widow’s War holds its own.

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Seeing the moon differently


There is little like the play of the moon on endless water to remind me I’m an infinitesimal particle in the vast universe. This view is of the moon on a bay leading to the ocean in Falmouth, MA, on Cape Cod. This has been a lovely change of pace with a friend at her home. Next stop, the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts. For those unfamiliar with either area, both are rich with natural beauty, culture, and endless opportunities to explore or just sit and relax.

So far, I’ve finished two books on this trip (write-ups for another time.) I’ve made a stop at the local bookstore, as I always do wherever I travel.  My purchase included a historical fiction title by a local author.

With the moon still almost full, I know I’ll be searching it out each night as we travel, much like Fieval in An American Tale.

Participating in the Daily Post “Moon”

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My to-be-read list is summer ready!

Ahhhh! Even if your student days are far in the rearview mirror, somehow summer has its own unique rhythm. Now’s the time to change your reading horizons in all sorts of ways. Grab a book and head to a park bench at lunchtime – your desk can manage without you. Try out an audiobook for that road trip. Negotiating a title with your fellow passengers may introduce you to an author or genre you’d never have selected on your own.

For me, summer is the time to queue up books that take me to another place and imgres-2time. Last summer, two particular titles really fit the bill. The Truth According to Us, Annie Barrows’ novel of small-town West Virginia in the summer of 1938, just out in paperback, has an enticing combination of family drama, labor unrest and explication of the New Deal program that brought writers to small communities across the country to preserve their histories.

In The Oregon Trail, Rinker Buck brings the reader along as he and his brother follow the trail from imgres-3Missouri to Oregon using equipment and tools of 150 years ago. Buck, a seasoned journalist in the midst of a personal crisis, decides this is just the change he needs. As a child, he and his siblings were taken on unusual journeys by their father, an accomplished, loving but difficult man. Needing another skilled horseman for the trip, Buck invited his brother who was dealing with physical and emotional problems of his own. Not particularly close since childhood, the extraordinary physical challenge of the undertaking tested and strengthened their relationship.

Page after page, the reader joins them on the trail, often within spitting distance of 18-wheelers. Along the way they take meals and spend the night with locals in small towns across the route; on farms, in dying communities set aside after an interstate usurped their role as staging point or provisioners. They meet old-fashioned craftspeople that keep their rig going when repairs are beyond their skill. Weather, rough terrain, exhaustion, and injuries leave them minutes from abandoning the quest. It was a joy to accompany them from the air-conditioned comfort of my home!

So what’s on the list for this summer? First up, Everyone Brave is Forgiven, ChrisUnknown-5 Cleave’s latest about Europe in 1939. Mary North takes on the task of teaching students that were not accepted in homes in the countryside as most children were sent for safety from London. Tom, charged with supervising the school, and Alistair, Tom’s best friend now serving as a military officer, both fall for Mary.

On a more serious note, Tribe, Sebastian Junger’s Unknown-4assessment of the damage we have brought on ourselves by loosening the communal bonds of society. He contends that combat veterans overcome their fears and insist on returning to their units after injuries because of the tribal ties they create.  Junger suggests it is the breaking of these bonds that fuels PTSD.

Louise Erdrich’s The Round House, 2012 National Book Unknown-2Award winner, is one of the finest novels I have ever read. Her latest, La Rose, is another family-centered novel of contemporary Native American life with a storyline drawn from tragedy.  Erdrich brings a unique perspective to the complexity of the tribal and state justice systems. Snagging a copy of La Rose at the library was a real coup!

Another Louise is near the top of my TBR pile. Louise Penny has created the  magical hamlet of Three Pines in Quebec. Unknown-3With an assortment of quirky locals, poor internet and cell coverage, a cafe, bookstore, and a B and B, it is the perfect retreat except for the occasional murder. Chief Inspector Gamache is the warm, intuitive yet analytical detective who uncovers the culprits and the underlying stories. Through the course of the Three Pines series, his wife and his second (now his son-in-law as well) add a comfortable and familial tenor to the stories.

Now that I’ve shared the top of my pile, I hope you’ll do the same. Please go to the bottom of this post (on the website) and click on COMMENTS so that I (and others) can see what you are reading.  I’ll keep sharing if you will!

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