MICHELLE'S AUBURN GRADUATION - 2012

On May 6, 2012 our granddaughter Michelle graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition with the option: nutrition and dietetics.

Two proud grandparents.

 

A family celebration.

Proud graduate with her sister.

 

 

and here are some more pictures

Some more celebrating

Proud sister

Getting her degree!

It's official, Michelle graduated.

Nashville, KY Bourbon Trail and KY Horse Park May 2012

 We arrived Sunday May 13, 2012 at Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park in Nashville, TN for the Winnebago Itasca Travelers (WIT) Nashville rally. There, we joined with 11 other motorhomes for our week long adventure in Nashville. Below is a group picture.

Our first tour included Franklin, TN site of a bloody Civil War battle. It is a very nice town, interesting stores, and very friendly people. Above and below are pictures of the town square with its Civil War memorial.

The Lotz House below was directly located where the battle took place was at the epicenter of the Battle of Franklin, a pivotal battle in the Civil War on Nov 30, 1864. The house contains a collection of antiques that is the finest private collection of American Victorian furniture in the Southeast, making the interior looking much like a home of the 1860s. Signs of cannon ball hits are still visible today.

On Wed we toured the historic RCA Studio B where Elvis, Dolly and many other stars recorded their hits.

Above is the control room used by them in recording. Below is the actual studio and instruments used in their recordings.

After Studio B, we visited the Country Music Hall of Fame for a self guided tour of the 130,000 square foot museum.

Above is Elvis' solid gold caddy. Below during lunch we were entertained by Kristine Arnold and Janis Gill singing at Country Music Hall of Fame. They were great. Got their CD!

Kristine & Janis signed my CD. They may be old stars, but they are still fantastic.

Belle Mead Plantation where we got some wine. Historic in that  modern racing is still dominated by the bloodlines sired by Bonnie Scotland raised here is ancestor to most Derby winners.

Here is WIT group in Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park along Music Valley Drive about to board bus for one of our local Nashville tours. Today, Thursday, we are on our way to the Fontanel Mansion and Farm, once the home of Barbara Mandrel.

At Fontanel Mansion and Farm, once home of Barbara Mandrel.

This is her 27,000 sq ft log cabin build by her husband who specialized in log homes. This is 10 times as large as our house in Sun City.

The kitchen.

Dining room.

Play room and bar.

Bathroom. Must have been a pretty sight when Barbara was there.

Hermitage, home of President Andrew Jackson.

One of several Grade schoolers serving as a guide. They each had about 2 or 3 sentences to say about the area where they were. I thought this was a great idea to let school children learn about their history.
Afterwards, we departed on bus for the General Jackson and a luncheon cruise on the Tennessee River.

The lunch wasn't that great, but the entertainment was really good.

Pushing the General Jackson along.

After the cruise, we visited the full-scale replical of the Greek Parthenon, the world's only full-size replica of the ancient Parthenon. Forty-six Doric columns encircle the building.  The largest bronze doors in the world, weighing 7.5 tons each, stand at the east and west entrances. Featured is Athena Parthenos, the tallest indoor sculpture in the Western world. Sculptures and friezes are modeled from Elgin Marbles at the British Museum in London.

Athena Parthenos is 41 feet, 10 inches tall. There are about 12 inches between the top of her helmet and the ceiling beams. Her weight is estimated at 12 tons.

A view of our camp site in Jellystone Park.

Spotted this Winnebago Elante motor home from early 90s parked in our campground.

49 Mercury woody station wagon

36 Ford in our camp ground for a Car Show in Nashville.

Lill liked this 40 truck and 09 teardrop RV

Saturday, May 19 we visited the Grand Ole Opry Show and got an interesting back stage tour. We all got to sing, but to an empty house.

Sunday, May 20 we left Nashville for Lexington, KY where we had reservations at the Kentucky Horse Park Campground. Here, on our own, we toured the Horse Park and the KY Bourbon Trail. Last year we visited 3 distilleries in western Kentucky near Louisville when we went to the Derby. We had 3 left to tour, after which we will each get a free T-shirt for touring the Bourbon Trail.

Woodford Reserve bourbon distillery

Woodford Reserve bourbon distillery

Beginning of bourbon, here they used red cedar for vats, wood around 100 yrs old. Woodford uses corn, rye and malt barley. The brew is fermenting. Each distillery has its own patented brewing yeast which has been handed down since the beginning of operations.

Woodford uses a 3 step distillation process.

Oak barrels just filled with White Dog and on their way to ware house for aging. Barrels are rolled from here to warehouse.

After aging, Barrels are unloaded one at a time so that bottled bourbon comes from one barrel or single barrel bourbon as it is called.

Bottling and packaging operations. A few have this function in a separate location.

Warehouse at Woodford Reserve.

And next, Four Roses.

In background is the multistory still.

Four Roses. I was surprised at how good their bourbon tasted. Real smooth. Here they only made the bourbon. They have another facility where they store and bottle it. They have a single story warehouse whereas the others have 3-4 stories. This effects aging process, which relies on heat and cold of KY to move bourbon in and out of charred oak.

Frankfort, KY capitol building.

Here we are, two sitting KY supreme court justices.

Buffalo Trace distillery in Frankfort, KY

Bottling operation

Buffalo Trace, also great bourbon. I have yet to find one I didn't like.

Meanwhile, back at the Horse Park we are relaxing by our RV.

And finally, a trip to Makers Mark. We visited this distillery last year and found time to visit it again. Here I am dipping my bourbon bottle into hot red wax for the final step.

There is my bottle with the wax seal. Makers Mark uses wheat instead of rye in its distillation process. They claim it makes a smoother bourbon. Indeed it is smooth, but so are the others. Of all the bourbons I've tasted, I cannot really say that I prefer one over the other. All 7 distilleries we visited produced a great bourbon. Some like 4 Roses were really smooth, others like Woodruff Reserve and Wild Turkey had a mild bite, but the variety in bite and taste is subtle, at least to me. I could not drink the same bourbon all the time, so at home I consume different ones, rather than the same one all the time. Between brands, I sneak in Jack Daniels for variety.