Today we toured Bowling Green by first taking the fascinating tour of the Lost River Cave where Jesse James reportedly hid out. It was a great boat tour through the cave. We loved it. Mariah's Restaurant is in an old historic building from 1818 so we enjoyed a great lunch there---the best grilled portabella sandwich I've had in ages. We continued on the Civil War Discovery Trail to tour the Kentucky Library and Musuem where we saw the Duncan Hines exhibit and Civil War exhibits. We then visited the Historic Railpark and Train Museum. We cruised Fountain Square and Circus Square and the Riverview and Hobson Grove. We finished out the day enjoying the old-fashioned 100 year-old Beech Bend Amusement Park and Splash Lagoon where we enjoyed a vintage 100 year-old wooden rollar coaster and another ... read more

Our last day in Hendersonville we hiked nearby Triple Falls in the Du Pont Forest where they filmed the Last of the Mohicans and then we drove out to the area my ancestors settled in the 1700's (Candler, NC named after Zachariah Candler my great grandfather back 8 generations). We found some old family graves I had looked up last year while doing geneaology research. It took hours to find them since they were from the 1700's and not even in a real cemetery---people own the property now that was once my relatives' land 200 years ago and the family plot is unmarked and on the property above a meadow---we had to ask many old locals who sent us from one place to another until finally one elderly lady about 80 years old told me she ... read more

Happy 4th of July! July 2 we drove to Carowinds and stopped along the way from Myrtle Beach at Sparkey's and bought a pet hermit crab. We checked into our cabin here at Camp Wilderness and ordered pizza while the kiddo swam in the pool. We caught fireflies for the first time and then in the morning we did a private tour of S. Carolina's Old English Country and Historic Brattonsville (a colonial settlement) where Patriot was filmed with Mel Gibson. It was fabulous and the history was gripping and a woman whose ancestors were the real slaves there on the actual plantation, gave us a period tour as well. They have heriloom chickens and goats and pigs there that are actually endangered and are no longer farmed. It is an actual working plantation still after ... read more

Yesterday we left Palm Key at 8 a.m. so sorry to leave such a beautiful place and we drove to Santee State Park where we took a morning Fisheagle pontoon tour boat of the swamps and Lake Marion. We saw ospreys feeding their young in huge nests, egrets, herons, alligators, hyacinth, water lillies, Jesus birds (they walk on water), snake birds, and other fascinating things like a dead alligator rotting on the banks of the swamp. (talk about stench from a 14 foot dead alligator in that heat)!! We met Polly, Russ, and Weston at our cabin in the afternoon and we all went out to a wonderful authentic VERY Southern dinner at Lone Star BBQ ust outside the park. Here BBQ is a noun not a verb! We had grits and tomato pie, hush puppies, ... read more

After having some fun pirate pancakes at the Pirate Haus in St. Augustine, we headed to the port of Jacksonville for our cruise to the Bahamas on the Carnival Fascination. We enjoyed an art auction and my honey won the golf contest and got the famous " 24 kt. ship on a stick", "vessel on a tressel" to add to our growing collection. It was a great cruise and we enjoyed shows, parties, fine dining, fine wines, swimming, games and of course the Bahamas. We went to Cabbage Beach on Nassau one day and I got my hair braided by Olivia on Nassau and we went to an all inclusive resort in Freeport where we kayaked, sailed a Hobbie Cat, and snorkeled all day. It was wonderful! I even judged the "hairy chest contest" on board! ... read more