Happy bunny birthday!

Woke up this morning in the lovely Cruz Bay Boutique Hotel to see the news that Hurricane Iselle has pretty much spared Oahu, but the Big Island has a lot of flooding.  And there are still flood watches on Oahu, not to mention the other islands.  We are waiting to see what happens with Julio, which is now a Category 3 hurricane currently looking like it will be heading north of the islands.  Volcano, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea seemed to take some of the wind out the sails of Iselle, which was reduced to tropical storm level by the time it hit Hilo and Kona.

That doesn’t mean it wasn’t bad, it just means it was less than expected.  Yay!

Today was Wayne’s birthday, and we were originally going to get up before the sunrise to go hike a little bit and then come back for breakfast.  Well, he got up before the sun rose, and I continued to sleep.  I woke up briefly, just as he was beginning to fall back asleep.  We did not get up until about 6:30 am, far later than we had expected.  Oh well, sleeping in on vacation is a good thing.

We joined Matt and Jodi for our continental breakfast at close to 7:30, and then we geared up for the day.  First stop was the post office, where we mailed back a lot of unnecessary clothing.  Our bags are significantly lighter. 

From there we went to the National Park Visitor Center (fully 2/3 of St. John is a national park), where we got some options for hiking today.  The Park Ranger was really pushing an easy, exposed hike on the far side of the island (you get there by bus), but the word exposed sort of made me think it wasn’t a hike for mid to late morning.  Instead we headed out on the Lind Point trail, touted as a 1.1 mile trail connecting Cruz Bay with Honeymoon Beach at Caneel Bay.  Ostensibly, there was a scenic overlook at slightly less than 1/2 mile (obscured by overgrowth), and then down to Salomon beach.  From there we continued on the trail to Honeymoon beach, winding up at the Caneel Bay resort.  Allow me to say that the trail was slightly rocky, and there was a nearly 200 foot change in elevation, and there were cacti along the trail.  Just guess how I figured that one out.  We got to see deer, deer spoor, what may have been donkey spoor, and lots of lizards and loud birds.  While we were on route, my phone picked up the cell signal from the British Virgin Islands.  Looks like we can activate those SIM cards that we bought from Mr. Sim Card (online, of course).  I will tell you during the course of the next week whether it was a worthwhile investment or not.  We took a brief break at the resort, and then headed out towards the Caneel Hill and Caneel Hill Spur Trails.  In combination, those were about 2.2 miles long.  The Ranger trail guide listed the Caneel Hill Trail at 2.4 miles, and the Caneel Hill Spur Trail (which joins the Caneel Hill trail at about the 1/2 mile marker) as .8 miles.  We had a roughly 850 foot change in elevation, a lot of rocks, and steep ups and downs.  The views, again, when we reached them were spectacular, but it was HOT!!  We ran into two couples from Texas, one of which live very close to Matt and Jodi.  We had experienced a few sprinkles during the hike up, but as we looked out over the other Virgin Islands, we saw a squall coming our way, obscuring islands one at a time.

I will say that we got wet. Very wet.  And the trail got slick.  Wayne spent the better part of 1.5 miles being my brace as we walked down the hill.

Post rain and hike (which overall was between 5 and 5 1/2 miles), we went back and cleaned up and headed to Woody’s for lunch.  Conch fritters, and lots of other goodies abounded, but the menu itself was more than a little overwhelming.  

Shortly after lunch, Matt & Jodi went out shopping (and reserved stools for happy hour) and we went back to rest.  Wayne (power) napped for over an hour, and I read, catching up on email and other things.  

When birthday bunny was recovered sufficiently, we went to join Jodi & Matt at Lime Inn for happy hour - another set of yummy limein’ coconut drinks with oysters on the half shell.  As happy hour ended, we headed over to the Fish Trap (literally a fish market that supplies most of the fish to other restaurants on the island, as well as a restaurant), where we had more lovely, fresh seafood for dinner.  The staff brought out a slice of birthday cake and a candle for Wayne, and then we headed back.  On our way home, we heard familiar night sounds, reminiscent of Palau.  It sounded like a bunch of fruit bats (although not quite so many as Palau) having a good time.

Both sets of couples opted to not walk any further today, having reached a significant number of steps during the day today!

We shall see what the knee and ankle bring in the morning, but I think tomorrow may be a kayaking day for the Batzers.

Good night to all!  And happy birthday to Wayne!

Over the river and through the woods to St. John USVI we go

It was a fairly early morning today - up at 4:30, check in at the airport (well, check bags), hop to Newark, and the travel from Newark to St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.  We’ve been planning this trip for over a year now, expecting that it would be the only trip that I could take this summer.

We are very much looking forward to going on the Cuan Law this coming Sunday, and having the opportunity to fully unpack our bags (after mailing clothing no longer necessary back home) for 6-7 days.  Living out of a suitcase 2-3 days at a time is ok, but it does get tedious.

The flights were uneventful, and unlike last time, my dive gear made it here in one piece.  Which is good since our regulators are in our dive gear bags.

From the airport, we took a taxi with 8 other people across the island of St. Thomas towards the ferry to St. John.  We had to stop at a resort on the way, so we didn’t make the 2 pm ferry.  We did, however, make the 3 pm ferry, and were at our B&B by 3:30 pm.  Denise, our hostess, greeted us, got us signed in, and took us to our room (after carrying up my dive gear!).  We were given two drink tickets for the Lime Inn, so we freshened up, unpacked moderately, and headed out.  Let me just say yum.  We had a lime/coconut/rum concoction that was deceptively light, along with oysters on the half shell.  A mere whetting of the appetite, we needed to stay hungry because Jodi and Matt were on their way (hoping to catch the 5 pm ferry), and Jodi conveyed Matt was really hungry.  So was I.

We reviewed our dinner options, and then saw the menu special at Lime Inn.  Lime Inn it was!  Denise also gave us pointers on good hikes and snorkeling sites around the island.  Could be a good day!  Or three!

We discovered that we will be taking a ferry from a different location when we head to Tortola, so Wayne and I explored that while waiting to meet Jodi & Matt, who caught the 6 pm ferry as the 5 pm lifted its gates just as they arrived at the port.  We headed back to the waiting area, and saw the ferry as it pulled in.  It wasn’t too hard to see Matt and Jodi as they arrived, so we met them and brought them back to our lovely B&B.  We each have a fairly large room with balcony, but on different floors.

Dinner was indeed at the Lime Inn - just look at the menu, can you blame me?  Very, very satisfying.  Jodi conveyed during dinner that the Cuan Law’s nitrox system is down, and it doesn’t look like parts are on the way any time soon, so we will be diving air, and probably fewer than five dives per day (Wayne’s favorite pattern - mine too - when on a live aboard).

A small stroll after dinner helped me to make it to the obligatory 10,000 steps per day, and then we headed back to the hotel to clean up, let me blog, and go to bed.

A very successful day.

Wayne loves to agitate the dogs

Dresden and Cletus spent the morning being harassed by (I mean introduced to) Talking Tom and animal sounds this morning.  Cletus has been barking up a storm at Wayne and me since our arrival yesterday, partially, I think, because I was wearing a lot of DEET when they sniffed us initially, which would probably put off a sensitive puppy nose. So, when Cletus started up again this morning, Wayne opened up Talking Tom (iPhone/iPad app), and the cat proceeded to echo Cletus’ barking.  At first perplexed, Cletus finally realized it was a game, and tried to instigate Wayne into playing the app again.

As if Wayne needed instigating.

For our morning’s activities, we decided to go a little further east again, and hit two locations.  The first was Rock Bridge Arch.  It was labeled an “easy” trail, but it started with dozens and dozens of steps.  We continued to proceed down the hill (realize this means you have to go up again), and started searching for the arch itself.  Wayne had given up hope completely on finding the arch when we turned around a bend, saw a waterfall, and then continued on to the arch itself.  From there it was another half mile (directly up) back to the parking lot where we were parked.

I have to say that the park is well maintained.  At the parking lot there is a composting toilet that smelled freshly cleaned - and it was Monday, and there were a lot of people there over the weekend.  They do a much better job here in Kentucky than we do in Hawaii.

From there we went up to the Sky Bridge Trail, and headed out to do the loop.  It really was amazing, and amazingly beautiful.  Wayne ran down to take a photo from below, and Philip followed as the two Stephanies waited.  Once the photo ops were done, I went down the arch to meet up with Wayne, and then we finished up the trail.  We tried heading to the scenic overlook, but the brush growth was so overwhelming that it didn’t really work.

After this, I was particularly hungry, so we started to head first for the Lodge at yesterday’s hiking spot, then we revised that plan to Subway, and then finally decided on the restaurant at the end of the road - Sky Bridge Station.  It had 4 1/2 stars in Yelp, so I figured we were good.  Oh well, best laid plans of mice and men and all that.  They had good local microbrews, and the menu pretty much consisted of hot dogs and quesadillas.  Unfortunately, we had a waitress who was perhaps three weeks on the job, and not quite on the ball.  I cannot truly describe the experience in words, but imagine that it takes 45 minutes for 2 hot dogs and 2 quesadillas, they get the quesadilla order SERIOUSLY wrong, and then trying to pay.  The restaurant also had a section with climbing gear, which Wayne went to check out.  He came back with a Cliff Bar, and he told the waitress that he “would like to get this.”  She then proceeded to explain what an energy bar was…we gently explained that we would like to purchase it.

When she showed me the receipt, I wasn’t wearing my glasses, so I pointed to the total and asked her what it said.  She replied, “That says tip, and the next line says total.”  Again, the gentle explanation.  Poor kid.  She’ll probably never wait on people over the age of 40 again.

And then it was back home to the dogs, a nap, and dinner preparations.  We had giant salads, leftovers from last night, and juicy hamburgers.  Followed by a hot tub soak.  What a wonderful day, with wonderful human beings.  Wayne has promised that we will come back to Kentucky again next year.  I simply cannot wait.  I so very much enjoy Kentucky, and love my very good friends.

Good night, y’all!

Log cabin bound

How do I explain my relationship with Philip and Stephanie to the world?  Maybe the Dynamic Trio??  Anyway, however I do it, the three of us were quite a team in Karlsruhe, Germany, exploring, dining, and having fun.  I can honestly say it was miserable when they left to return to the mainland (see how Hawaiian I’ve become, it’s no longer “the States”).  After I returned I visited them a few times (once in Tulsa, twice in Mays Lick), and they came to visit me in Hawaii.  Despite the distance in miles, we are still very close, and I am sort of following Stephanie in my career path - late in life student of law.  Sadly enough, they had not yet ever met Wayne even though he and I have lived together for over 10 years, but that changed today!

Philip sent a strip map to help guide us in the final phase of our 2 1/2 hour scheduled journey today, and Wayne used that to pinpoint the location in Google Maps.  The drive was quite pretty as we left Lexington and headed further south towards Slade, Kentucky, to a rental cabin nestled in the middle of the Daniel Boone forest.

The last portion of the drive took us up a very steep incline (aka cabin driveway) towards Philip & Stephanie, who watched me drive the car partially into a rut on the side of the driveway.  Reversed, got out of the rut, and gunned it up the driveway all while they were watching.  I was glad to be done with the driving!

Stephanie, Philip & Wayne were introduced, and then Stephanie heated up some pork curry for lunch before we headed out to see the natural bridge on top of the sky lift.  We paid our fare for the sky lift, and then headed up the hill.  There were dozens of ferns, magnolia trees, and lush foliage as we went up the hill.  A number of people (well, women) on the downhill side of the lift were confessing to being anxious on the lift.  Not me, it was a great view and a great ride!  There were a few signs that appeared to be designed for Dad…or Wayne…or Phillip...

The bridge itself is very wide, probably as much as at least 1 1/2 lanes of a road.  We walked out along Laurel Ridge trail and out to the bridge itself, and then headed back to the other side of the trail.  

We went back and unleashed the hounds for a potty break, and headed back out on a circle tour of the surrounding Red River Gorge area.  We went through the Nada tunnel, which was carved with steam driven jackhammers in order to let the railroad through, and then further along the Red River Gorge National Scenic Byway.  We stopped and went out to see a suspension bridge along the Sheltowee Trace Trail (and walk across it), encountering young, dumb (maybe) teens jumping off a rock into the river below.  Ouch if the jump went wrong.  We finished up our drive and headed back home for the evening, where Philip & Stephanie barbecued up a storm.

Philip then staged for us an elaborate bourbon tasting, starting with rye bourbons, and moving along to wheat bourbons.  We tasted 9 in all, and we both had our favorites.  Philip did a most outstanding job with the tasting, clearly putting a lot of thought into the selections, and Stephanie brought out dark chocolate, almonds and craisins.  It was wonderful!

I think Wayne really enjoyed the day, definitely enjoyed the bourbon, and was pleased to make the acquaintance of Philip & Stephanie.  I don’t know WHY ON EARTH it took me so long to get these three together, but I’m so very happy that I did.

Good night, y’all!

What to do in Louisville besides see how baseball bats are made

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t was a long, long day for me - as you might imagine - yesterday into today.  I finally closed the MacBook and headed to be shortly after midnight, and I slept mostly all the way through the night until about 6:30 am.  Breakfast was had at 7, and a subsequent nap until 10 am.  

Yeah, I know, lazy.  But it’s been a stressful few weeks working on the appeal and doing work for Professor Conway at the same time, only to have the appeal go by the wayside with the Judge’s revised ruling.  She took the wind out of our sails.  But after that, it was a non-business kind of day.

We’ve been driving by the Fort Knox Mint several times, and at first, I wasn’t ready to take the shot, and the other two times I was driving.  :(  No luck.  We have one more shot tomorrow morning, where I will hopefully have Wayne driving, and I can get my substitute for the placeholder above.  Nothing like the picture of a postcard to adorn the web site.

We started out heading to the Jim Beam distillery, quite close by.  If you come to Louisville and want to tour the joint, make sure you reserve your tickets (weekend/holiday tickets in particular).  Just click here to make your reservations!  The actual tour is quite extensive.  You get to mash the contents that make up the whiskey, help shape a barrel, and help pour out the whiskey from a tapped barrel.  It’s about an hour and a quarter, it costs $10, and you get a tasting of the bourbon or rye at the end.

A little secret - anyone 21 or over can get a tasting of at least two of the whiskeys and go on a self guided tour.  If you are not interested in doing the mashing/shaping/pouring yourself, want to learn a little about the history of making bourbon, and sample a wee dram, just go get the ticket for the free tasting.  Wayne and I each got a ticket, and each were give 2 half ounce portions of our choice of whiskeys.  They have a sweet side and a dry side, we chose the dry.  The Knob’s Creek rye was particularly good, and the Knob’s Creek 100 proof singed our eyebrows and nose hairs.  We each had a sip or two and then poured out the rest into the champagne bucket.  So many of my friends would be so disapproving of that!

Lunch was at the delectable Mussel & Burger Bar in Louisville.  If you want to see the menu, log into Yelp, look for my profile (StephanieB), and check it out.  We shared a calamari sweet and sour appetizer, and then each had our own servings of Prince Edward Island mussels in individual sauces (mine was blue cheese, beer and pancetta based; Wayne’s had a sort of lobster rioux, tomato based).  They were both great, and the sweet potato and regular potato frites were quite tasty.

From there, I took over driving for the day, and we headed off to the Louisville Zoo.  The Louisville Zoo was founded in 1969, on land acquired by the City of Louisville in the 1960s from the estate of Ben Collins. Much of the initial funding was donated by local philanthropist James Graham Brown.  The Louisville Zoo has six geographic settings within the zoo: The Islands, African Veldt, Asian Plains, North and South America Panorama, Aquatics and the Australian Outback. The zoo itself is situated within the middle of suburbia, and I commented to Wayne that those who live most immediately outside its borders are probably those who hardly come in at all!

We saw lots of lovely critters - cats, elephants, giraffes, simian species, birds, you name it.  When we wind up publishing our photo album, I will return to this page to give you a link.  I think I am going to have to break this trip’s photo album into a lot of mini photo albums.  

My only anecdote - the first place we visited was The Islands.  At the entryway into the exhibit, two parents were standing with their children looking at storks.  The mother told her sons that the storks were here on earth to bring babies to their parents.  All I could think of was teenage pregnancy.  But I was good and stayed quiet and moved ahead!

The zoo itself can be covered in about an hour and a half if you don’t stop for any of the shows.  I was very impressed that the zoo housed caged areas exhibiting small children in their natural, albeit wild, habitats — there was a kiddie water park and there were several playgrounds within the park area.  It’s a little over a mile to walk the perimeter walkway, and it appears there are a number of annual members who get their exercise in by walking the pathway.  There is also a tram that covers the entire outer perimeter of the grounds, and it appears that there are several trains that do limited areas of the zoo.  We chose to walk, though, since it was very, very manageable!

For the adventurous, try the Louisville Underground Zip Lines - we didn’t have enough time, so that is something that is still not crossed off from the bucket list.  We won’t head there tomorrow, as we are off to see Philip and Stephanie in Slade, KY.  I have not yet introduced them to Wayne, and it has been 10 years now.  I feel like a bad kid in Catholic school!  I can’t wait to bring the three of them together in one room!  We also didn’t make it to the train museum, as it was a little too far off the beaten path to make it worthwhile this time.  But if we ever come here again...

Dinner was close to Knox - a Mexican restaurant called Los Nopales.  I recommend them if you come to Knox for any reason at all.  Good sized portions, some nice spicy salsa, and a HUGE menu it would take eight years to eat through.

And now to bed to get ready for a short two hour drive to see S&P tomorrow!  Yay!!