Seems as though there is a ton of catching up to do since the last time I wrote. Sorry, but it has been a wonderful couple of days here in the Lexington area finishing up the last of the dance weekend and spending time exploring some of the surrounding areas. To much fun to find much tome to post anything.

   First off the dance; it finished up after nearly 3 hours of dancing on Saturday afternoon, another 4 on Saturday night and then 3 hours of high velocity contra on Sunday afternoon. All to the tunes of 'The Mean Lids' and the calling of Seth. As always it was over way to soon and it seemed like there were at least a dozen or more people whom I really wanted to dance with one last time. But alas; the music finally died down and it was time to go on to other things. Spent some time running some errands with a friend who was in town for the dance. She wanted to visit a local Asian Market so we went over there and wandered the aisle's for an hour or so. It is always fun to check out some of the more interesting food items available in a good market as well as the way some of the Chinese to English translations have turned out. On the other hand, who am I to Laugh.... it's not like I can speak even a little bit of another language, let alone get most of it right. 

   Once done there it was basically back to the trailer for a hot shower, some ibuprofen and some food. Once fed and relaxed again it was time to watch an old favorite movie, How to Train Your Dragon. I get such a kick out of that movie for some reason.

    A good nights sleep and a pleasant and relaxing morning brought in Monday. Wasn't out and about until nearly noon when my friend and I headed over to the Shaker Village over near Harrodsburg to check it out. I had been there a couple of times before, but it was all new to my friend. We wandered around the grounds for about an hour before going over to the Shaker dock on the Kentucky River where we took an hour long cruise up and down the river while hearing about some of the history of the area. We couldn't of planned it any better as it rained part of the time so it was nice to sit in the shelter of a roof as the scenery went by.

    Back to the village after that, we looked at more buildings and checked out the gardens and the livestock on the grounds. Earlier we had talked to one of the people in costume who was leading a pair or oxen off to pasture. Found out that any cow breed can be considered oxen as long as they are 'steers' (snip-snip) and are more than 5 years old. Never knew that before. They also had two sets of baby goats in the barn which were quite anxious to meet everyone as long as they could chew on your fingers a little bit.

     We hung around so long that we soon became hungry again, and why not since it was 5:00 in the afternoon by that time. We had dinner there at the Village and were glad we did. I ended up having the fried chicken dinner with fresh swiss chard from the garden, creamy mashed taters and this heavenly sweet corn pone pudding. Along with delicious ice tea and then a piece of lemon chess pie for dessert, it was all one could hold. My friend had the same basic dinner but settled on the fresh cat fish fillet instead of the chicken. We both shared however, so we both had a chance to try everything. A long day though very pleasant over all, so even though we tried to watch a movie last night, 'Singing in the Rain' we both ended up nodding off before it was done.

    Today was rather sad as it was the last day for my friend to be here with me. We ended up packing her up and driving over to the old section of Richmond, Ky where we had a nice lunch at a local Mediterranean restaurant. Good food and good company but it was soon over and time to say goodbye. Had planned to go visit a local distillery after lunch but wasn't feeling up to it after parting company. Ended up doing some grocery shopping and then heading back to the trailer. Have spent some time putting some photo's in order, loading up some CD's I bought this weekend and cooking a couple of meals to eat on while on the road.

     Will be packing up and taking off for Nebraska early tomorrow morning. Am both excited and sad about the going. Happy and excited to see family and friends and spend some time with them all again, but sad to know that I am leaving behind so many really good friends whom I won't get to see for a couple of months now. On the other hand, planning for next falls trip is already started. Another trip to the east coast this year to take advantage of some of the great dance weekends that are coming up. Will end up doing another west coast trip one of these days, but not until next year at least.

    In the meantime, here are a couple of new photo's that I got finished this evening. The first 4 are of a light house I visited a couple of weeks ago on my way back from viewing Niagara Falls. The other pictures are one's that I have taken over the years of various other light house's. Some of you may have seen some of these before, but as there is no way for people to view past photo's very easily, at least not that I can find, I decided to post a few old ones along with these new ones. Enjoy!

Light House's across the U.S.

     

Sodus Point Light House at dusk. Near Oswego, NY this light house is no longer in official service, but the light is still kept lit every night by the local group that took over the preservation of the light house and the grounds.

Another view of the light house. My friend and I arrived just as the sun was going down so the light wasn't all that great. Took a few photo's with my 'asa' setting on the camera set as high as it would go and then tried to hold still and not breath. These turned out okay, if not a bit grainy. Wish I would of had a tripod with me.

The light is now a 'steady white' light instead of some form of 'flashing' light. It still looks good shining up there though.

One last look at Sodus Point Light.

Sherwood Point Light House near Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin.

Ludington Harbor Entrance Light near Ludington Michigan.

Sand Point Light House near Escanaba Michigan. 

Ludington Harbor Entrance Light #2 - Near Ludington Michigan.

Cape Meares Light House near Tillimook Oregon

 Cheyboygon Michigan Harbor Entrance Light.

 Ponce de Leon Light House stairs looking up from the bottom. Near Daytona Beach Florida.

Sturgeon Bay Canal Entrance Light - Near Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin. 

 Grand Haven Michigan Harbor Entrance Lights.

Cape Disappointment Light House at the north side entrance to the Columbia River.

 Heceta Head Light House near Yachats Oregon.

 Cana Island Light House near Gills Rock Wisconsin.

 Ludington Harbor Entrance Light #3 - Near Ludington Michigan.

 Brookings Harbor Entrance Light near Brookings Oregon.

Ponce de Leon Light House near Daytona Beach Florida.

 Yaquina Head Light House. Just north of Newport Oregon. This is my all time favorite light as it guided me home to Depoe Bay Oregon on many a foggy night long, long ago.