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Category: Retirees on the road

Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, Ky.

Greetings from Monroe, Ohio!

Diana and I toasted ourselves with coffee this morning, celebrating nine weeks on the road. We thought it was a milestone. When my son, Steven, realized how long we'd be gone, he predicted we'd want to kill each other and/or burn the car after a month. We've done neither, though there have been times Di had a certain glint in her eye for Gertrude GPS and/or myself that caused me a bit of concern! I am happy to report that all my bones are intact, as are Di's, and Gertrude has yet to be flung out the window!

We left Berea at 8:30 a.m. with sunshine, blue skies and 53 degrees. As we were about to enter the expressway, Gerty chanted "recalculating" and ordered us to make a U-turn and go south. Why, Gerty?! WHY!? For a moment Di thought she had, in fact, been going the wrong way, but sure enough we were headed north as planned. Gerty obviously had other plans. Was there an airport nearby she wanted to see? Was Tampa beckoning? Does she not want to head north for personal reasons? These are questions that will never have answers.

North we went, in spite of Gerty. We drove the foothills, enjoying the glorious scenery. The horse ranches were beautiful, with manicured fields and white fences. Our goal was to visit the Kentucky Horse Park. Entering it is in itself an experience! The park consists of 1,200 acres of gently rolling hills, beautiful barns and buildings and breathtaking statues of horses. We had a choice of so many things to do, all relating to horses.

First we went to the International Museum of the Horse. It's dedicated to the history of the horse and its unique relationship with humans through time. The displays took us from the prehistoric equine art up to the modern day popular sporting events. A few quotes I particularly liked: (1) "And God took a handful of southerly wind, blew his breath over it and created the horse." Bedouin Legend; (2) "The four winds are blowing. Some horses are coming." Teton Sioux-song of the horse society.

We walked the grounds for a bit and saw two enormous chairs on the lawn, part of a huge table and chair set used in some sort of yearly celebration. Di took my picture perched atop one, feeling like a little kid again!

We saw the draft horses, including Percherons, Belgians and Clydesdales, in their stalls. They are big, muscular, and very strong. I didn't realize how large they were until I stood next to one! Then we attended The Parade of Breeds. The show lasted a little more than half an hour and was entertaining and educational. It started off with riders and horses showing different styles that would be used in competition. My favorite was one called dressage, which is like a dance between horse and rider. The horses used for this demonstration were the the American Quarter Horse, the American Paint, Arabian, the Manwari from East India, and the Azteca from Mexico.

Four breeds of horses were then showcased: 1) Morgan; 2) Andalusian; 3) Arabian; and for a finale 4) the Friesian from the Netherlands. The last was not ridden, but walked through its paces and performance. They were all beautiful, but my favorites were the Arabian and the Friesian.

We left the park a bit in awe of those beautiful creatures. Onward we went, north past Cincinnati. Goodbye Kentucky, hello Ohio! The traffic through Cincinnati was pretty busy. At one point the far right lane was at a dead stop. As we passed the semi-truck that had the traffic backed up, I realized he had stopped to rescue two dogs that were on the freeway. I wish we could've stopped to help and hope man and dogs came to a happy ending!

Diana and I came to the decision to head home tomorrow. We'll be in Pinckney mid-afternoon. This is Di's home, where we'll do laundry, sort out the packing from the car and let you know what our last day on the road was like. Sunday we're taking the day to reconnect with our families, then I head to Canton. We'll be posting a few more blogs from this trip, summarizing things for you, including expenses, mileage, tips on traveling, etc.

I have two trips already planned for the near future, so please stay with the blog for new and exciting adventures. The destinations are a secret, but I'll give you a hint: Aloha!

Until tomorrow, safe and happy traveling to all!