Where we're heading next:
Home Sweet Home
Quote of the Day
Peanut, "Wow, mom, now we can say we've been to all 50 states! What are we gonna do next?"
Beckley is a bustling little town with a big mining (and hunting) culture. One of the old mines offers a short tour, and we got there early -- along with 2 different groups of kids from local elementary schools. This is how we knew we weren't in Kansas anymore:
We heard these kinds of statements
from the kids, "My Papa died last year and he was a miner." "My step-dad is a miner, too. But he works up on top." "My grandpa died in a mine; a coal car rolled over him and crushed him. I was only 3." We just listened, wide-eyed.
The grounds over the mine have been set up accurately with buildings and guides. We saw a Miner's Shack, the nice Superintendent's House (ironically, he made 10 times more money than the miner yet paid no rent), a school and a church. Peanut loved the "cozy and welcoming" Miner's Shack best, but Little Man was far more fascinated with the teacher's paddle!
An old miner gave us a fascinating 35 minute tour, taking us through the mine on a little train. I already knew mining was a sad profession -- we own The Rag Coat and know Coal Miner's Daughter -- but other than the Miner's Cough, I had no idea how physically straining the job was in the early days.
Imagine your man scooting on his hands and knees for 10 hours a day, along the floor of a 30 inch high cave. (The black line on the wall marks the old ceiling line -- now mines have much more head room.)
He'd earn 20 cents for every 1-ton coal cart he could fill and he'd probably fill 10 in a day. That's $2 a day if all went well. His rent (because he'd live at the mine all week and only be home on the weekends) was $2 a month.
Hard hats are a modern invention. Miners in the 1800s wore hats with little lamps on the front. Here are the ways a miner could die on any given day: Blackdamp, Firedamp, Kettle Bottoms, being run over, Miner's Cough and the list goes on...
When he showed us the original scooter -- used by miners -- I had to ask him to pose for a picture. Imagine?!
I might add a stat called "Welcome Signs on a Bridge" because they're pretty terrifying. The big one entering West Virginia was no exception.
Let's begin with the fact that this state makes Kentucky look barren. This state is breathtakingly easy on the eyes. To meander through
one holler after another is like taking a joy ride through colossal broccoli florets, except it also smells sweet. (To get the feeling of West Virginia, read one of our favorite books, When the Relatives Came.)
Tomcat travels to Huntington quite often, but this was our first visit. The plan was to drive right on past it, but I saw a sign and hollered to the back, "You guys want to see some art?"
The Huntington Museum of Art is closed on Mondays, but there was a High School Valedictorian Ceremony going on, so they let us in. We got to see the lobby (with an outstanding Calder overhead), the conservatory (with who else but our guy Chihuly), and the gift shop!
We wandered around downtown and found everyone we met to be extraordinary. It looks like this state is going to be another pleasant surprise like North Dakota!
Yeah, well, this is kind of embarrassing...
In an effort to get some Kentucky dirt, I pulled over and got sucked into about 6 inches of mud. Grandma tried to get out and push, bless her soul. (This my new Southern phrase.)
Fortunately, within 3 minutes these nice Kentucky folk were pulling us out. One of the men shook his head and said, "Well, we all do things we wish we hadn't." And that was the end of it.
Please let me take a moment to lament the fact that it's been raining for days. This is manageable rain as far as our trip goes, but it keeps me from taking pictures, and the scenery is absolutely breathtaking. Kentucky is gorgeous from one end to the other, but especially in the horse-country middle. I wish I could share the landscape with you as we go along...
We made it to Cave City where I thought the kids would get a kick out of sleeping in a wigwam. Let's just say, the idea was much more fun than the reality. Think camping: dirty, no hot water, and mosquitoes. We stayed one night instead of two.
Only 10 minutes from Mammoth Caves, we were surprised to find it in such a lush landscape; we saw 4 deer and 2 wild turkeys before we even entered the park!
The Junior Ranger Program was fantastic and even Doodle earned her badge. There are some seriously inviting tours available (some require lanterns!), but we decided on the two-hour New Entrance tour because it shows the living part of the cave. Also, I liked the Ranger. The tour was excellent and here are a few cool things we learned:
1. Mammoth Caves is the l o n g e s t cave system in the world, but it only takes up about 10 square miles on the surface. The under-ground tunnels (carved by the river over time) go 5 layers deep. We went down about 300 feet and only reached level 3. At this point, we sat down to rest and Ranger said, "We're resting not for what we've just done, but for what we're going to do next." Climbing back up up!
2. The reason the cave is dry and smooth as opposed to drippy and full of formations (think Carlsbad Caverns), is because it lacks a leaky roof. The entire cave is limestone, but outside the cave lies a thick layer of sandstone. Sandstone keeps the cave water-tight. Wherever there's a crack in the ceiling, you'll find Dripstone, where tiny stalactites (hang tight!) and stalagmites (stand mighty!) will start to develop.
There is one area at Mammoth Caves called Frozen Niagara where the limestone has been dripping through large cracks in the wall. It's unfathomable, the size and beauty of it. When you look eventually think to look upwards, there's the most ornate rose-shaped stalactite chandelier on the ceiling. It's truly stunning.
3. Some of the "rooms" in the cave have to be measured in acres -- that speaks to the mammoth size of this cave and is the primary reason people come to visit it.
At one point we saw a glimpse of the industrious river below. The water was a murky but inviting, turquoise blue. Peanut desperately wanted to see eye-less fish, but the tour to the bottom will have to wait a few years.
Crossing over the state line into Kentucky, fallen trees from the recently tragic ice storm came immediately into view. It looked like clear-cutting and it broke our hearts. We were told that out of 125 (?) parishes, more than 100 were affected by the ice.
We're getting set to cross this state
lengthwise from
West to East!
Paducah is like a quilters mecca. We visited the National Quilt Museum where all of our jaws dragged the floor until we exited. Each of us picked our favorite quilt, too, but remember that pictures never ever do a work of art justice:
CurlyTop - Breeze, by Rachel Wetzler
Grandma - The Beatles, by Pat Holly & Sue Nickels
Peanut - Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...And, by Choi Eun Ryoung
Little Man - Air Show, by Jonathon Shannon
Doodle - Le Jardin Nos Reves, by Myrl Lehman Tapungot
This was a grown-up day, to be sure, but don't be fooled -- my kids have a blast in fabric stores. It would be a sin to skip a shopping spree at Hancocks of Paducah; this fabric store feels bigger than my entire neighborhood. Everyone got something, along with promises from me to do such-and-such with it after the trip.
Peanut chose a rainforest animal fabric with 2 complementing fabrics, to be turned into a pillow. Little Man chose an actual U.S. flag fabric and a measuring tool, to be turned into...a flag...which will supposedly replace his pirates flag. Doodle chose a light fabric with big bumble bees on it, to become her "small blanket to bring into restaurants to keep her warm" -- we're scowled at if we refer to this as a shawl.
If you're into quilting, you'll completely understand this stop.
We could have stayed at the Opryland Hotel but I was afraid the kids would never want to leave. (That was before I learned the amusement park had been flattened in favor of a big mall.)
Still, the grandeur alone makes it worth a short visit. It's the largest hotel without a casino in the U.S. and there's a breathtaking atrium inside. At the bottom runs a 1/4 mile river (full of water from all 50 states plus thirty or so countries) that actually has a boat tour! Of course we took it, and had ourselves a nice little time followed by pizza.
Remember to visit this spot should you ever find yourself in Nashville, in a downpour with 3 little kids, wondering what to do with the hour before bedtime.
These 3 urban kids were star struck at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Grandma and I were tickled silly watching them swoon. This stop might even win the "Best Gift Shop" award.
They showed such delight here, and actually knew more country songs than I'd imagined. I'm a lover of old country (Don Williams, Patsy Cline,
Glen Campbell, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, George Jones) and 80s country (Keith Whitley, the Judds, Randy Travis, George Strait, Reba) and I guess I've listened to my old cds more than I realized.
Little Man discovered a large video screen with nutso performers and he went wild, doing his best air guitar with about 15 old guys watching him; he was
completely unaware. This was his introduction to Carl Perkins (we saw his blue 
suede shoes), shakin' Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis.
Ohhhh, Elvis. We talked about why all the teenage girls in the audience were fainting (along with their mother's back home), and why Elvis talked with pouty lips "thankyuhvurymush" and why he was and will forever be special. I thought Little Man was going to faint. New heroes were born in his eyes today.
I asked the kids to tell me what they liked so much about this place, and more importantly what they learned. Their responses came back at me in a rush and here is my attempt to translate their responses:
1. Little Man's biggest thrill was seeing Johnny Cash's real guitar. "I recognized it because it had that black shiny part on it. It's really scraped up because he used it so much. He always wore black because he wanted the sad and bad people to know he was singing for them, too. He didn't take care of himself either and he was a mess, but June fixed him. She was healthy and she helped him. We didn't get to see their graves because of the rain."
Peanut added that June and Johnny were in love and that he even sang to the people in jail. She likes his deep voice and how he sings on the Children's Album. Doodle and Peanut both liked coloring their Johnny Cash pictures although Doodle's looks much more like a glitzy Elvis, don't you think?
2. Elvis. Little Man went berserk, "I like him!!!!!!! He's AWESOME!!!!!!! He shakes his leg when he sings and then he puts his hand on his leg and pushes it behind him to kind of say, 'Hey leg, stop shaking so much.' But he just feels the beat!"
Peanut adds that he got a piano completely made of gold for his birthday, and that no matter how famous he got or how much money he made he always remembered to take care of his mother. "That's very important."
3. Watching Glen Campbell's video. We sat in benches in a small make-shift theater surrounded by plexi-glass, which Little Man tried to walk through at one point -- funny as could be. This video had us all captivated; it was basically old 1950-1990 footage of all the commercials (Loretta Lynn selling Crisco) and various shows (Hee-Haw) all run together. This was the first time the kids had ever seen Dolly Parton perform, for example. Minnie Pearl was beyond comprehension. Anytime someone sang a song they knew, they were pleased as punch, especially when Oh! Susannah rang out. This was certainly a new world to them, while it was such a walk down memory lane for Grandma and me.
4. The clothes! Doodle has fallen head over heals in love with Dolly Parton (and her wigs and dresses). She also likes the other girl's dresses and the cowboy boots with sparkles on them. Little Man would just like to add that he thought it was really funny when he learned that Dolly had big boobs.
I happen to truly love Dolly, too. She has the best sense of humor and is an unelievably talented song writer (up there with Willie). You know she wrote and sang Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You, right? Well, here's something she said on an NPR interview that just cracks me up:
"I will always appreciate her -- I made a lot of money, and I need a lot of money, because it costs a lot of money to look this cheap," she said with a laugh.
I love a rainy night, I love a rainy night. I love to feel the rain on my face...My oh my, what a fantastic rain storm! It's been y e a r s since I've heard thunder like this! Peanut actually said, "What was that noise that sounded like an avalanche coming into the hotel?" I wonder if Tennessee children know what an avalanche sounds like?Grandma shrugged her shoulders and said to the kids, "It's a good thing none of us is made out of sugar; we're not going to melt." Deciding our intended "Walking Tour of Downtown Nashville" would be best saved for another visit, we decided to learn more about President Andrew Jackson by going to The Hermitage, his beloved plantation home.Grandma had a high school obsession with Old Hickory and now I get it. There's a introductory video on Jackson's life that did a wonderful job staying objective, unabashedly stating his faults (slavery support, Trail of Tears, autocrat) while at the same time presenting his most notable and lasting qualities (devotion to Rachel, extreme compassion, the Democratic Party)."Andrew Jackson was a patriot and a traitor. He was the greatest of generals, and wholly ignorant of the art of war. He was the most candid of men, and capable of the profoundest dissimulation. He was a democratic autocrat, an urbane savage, an atrocious saint."- James Parton, Jackson's first biographer, 1859Besides the video, you can walk through the museum which was just small enough for them, and interesting enough for us then move on to the actual Jackson house. The tour guides within the house, were dressed in period pieces and they treated the kids with the utmost respect. An upstairs guide explained that in Jackson's time there would have been children everywhere. He loved children and raised about 11, not to mention all the cousins and visitors! This particular guide was charming and spoke to the kids forever about the sleeping porch (could they bring a pillow? men wore nightgowns?), and he told them why his grandmother used to send him to sit on the horsehair couch when he was naughty -- it was prickly.Outside, you followed an audio tour around the resplendent grounds. On a sunny day we could have spent twice as much time here, letting the kids run around. Check this out: they had an audio version specifically for children, narrated by Poll, Jackson's pet parrot. Even Doodle managed to use it effortlessly and thoroughly enjoyed it. Me, too! (Grandma listened to the adult commentary.)Keep in mind that the rainstorm raged on and we were getting soaked! We still managed to walk through Rachel's lovely gardens, the tomb and one of the slave family cabins. I turned around at one point and the kids were happily barefoot, sloshing through puddles, soaked to their skin. We were quite a sight when we finally made it to the gift shop and I explained to the employees that these kids have never experienced a thunderous and warm downpour. We were all giddy!Praise, praise, praise is all I can offer for every moment we spent here. It was such a breath of fresh air after our experience with Guide back in Louisiana (see Rant post). In fact, one guide in the museum passed us into the hands of another guide with the words, "Pay attention to these kids; they're not the usual lot -- they really want to know." That's just the medicine I needed.
There are a million freeways in Nashville and they're chock full of kind and sensible drivers. In fact, Tennessee hosts the most wonderful people, rivaling North Dakota for what appears to be genuine friendliness.
The Marriott Hotel staff absolutely wins our affections for taking such an interest in us.
With a bounty of great energy about us, we decided to go for an evening stroll around our neighborhood (Vanderbilt University is only a block away). The hotel tried to give me a list of good restaurants beforehand but I said, "No thanks. We usually make out just fine." Naturally, we ended up in Gigi's Cupcake House for dinner! Why not? We only live once.
Well save your, "I told you so!" because now I know. Doodle came running over to me after Grandma had been trying to get her to bed. She was doing a peculiar side-step jumpy thing which complemented her sing-songy broadcast perfectly, "No more cupcakes at night for Doooooodle! She's allllllllll sugared-up!"
