Travelog for: Lumpy

We visited the Silvan Ridge winery (http://www.silvanridge.com) to sip some great pinots. My host is on the wine club so I got to drink the good stuff. 

Today I got put into a priority mail envelope and shipped to Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, NV. I can't wait to meet my new hosts and update my log again soon!

Today we went to visit the worlds Largest giftshop so my current hosts could pickup some suvineers to remind them of things they saw and did while they lived here.

Getting ready for the road trip ahead. I decided to keep Carol company in the backseat.

This is our first stop and it is very pretty. We had a long day yesterday and drove through NV, AZ, and are almost done with Utah. Gotta get back on the road.

We can't plant yet but I helped get everything ready before I left.  My host also got a new scale, she tried to weight me so she would know what my postage would be. I am sooo skinny that i didn't even register.

We will miss lumpy. One last picture of him getting ready to go(The most awesome drop box outside our apartment)

I just arrived in a small town called Berea in the state of Kentucky.  I am just below the Mason Dixon line.  My host family has promised they will start showing me around tomorrow, because it was starting to get dark when they got me out of the mailbox.  I met their little girl already though. 

Hello!  As promised my host family started my tour of their area!  I couldn't believe all the flowers!  I must have picked the right time of year to visit the Appalachain region.    We took a LOT of pictures today!

When I got there I read the sign posted about the college. The town was founded around the college and it was one of the first integrated colleges in the south.



Next we went around checking out all of the lovely blooming trees.  Berea is a nationally recognized tree city so there were lots of those.





The lovely flower beds





We even found sculptures of flowers! And lots of other neat art around town.



Woo I am riding a metal bull!



Watching the faeries dance



And sitting on a giant spider carved from a tree trunk!



I also liked these neat hands that are all around town.




The Appalachain mountains are famous for their quilters, so I stopped to look at some of those too.




Whooo! What a day! I am tired.  We are going to see the historic Old Town in the next few days, then some of the horses KY is famous for, and hopefully the foothills of the Appalachians.  It sounds fun! I will keep you updated!

Hey all!  I went a little south of Berea today to where my host mom grew up.  It was a beautiful place, but it rained most of the day and we didn't get to go see the mountain or the creek.  Next time!  I did get to see some horses though.  Sorry, the sun was setting while we were taking pictures.  I met this big fellow today though.  We regarded each other for quite a while before he turned around and swished his tail at me and trotted away.





I also got to see a lovely sunset!



My host said we would try to get back there this weekend to take in the country side a little better though. 

Wow, I had the most fun day!  We went back to the country and I got to go exploring at the creek that runs through my host familie's grandma's property, see their garden, meet a cow, a crawdad, and a bullfrog!

First was the creek. The water was really cold but it's lovely there!



I tried my balancing act on a tree that had fallen....



Then I just decided to hang out on a branch for a bit and look at all the little creatures swimming by.



We were wading back to the bank when we saw a bullfrog!  My host Nikki caught the slippery guy, he was huge! But when we posed for our pic, he slipped away!!!!  We looked for a long time but couldn't find him again, however, we did manage to find this little guy. I was just trying to make friends, but he attacked me!!!!  Creeks can be dangerous to little blue dinosaurs!




On the way back we stopped to look at the garden where they grow corn, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, and a ton of other stuff. It's all just starting to peek above the ground (sorry we could only fit a little bit in the picture) and the little boy in my host family held me up so I could be a camera hog in the shot like I always am!



They even let me drive the tractor!




We also found this lovely stand of blackberries that will be full of juicy berries by end of summer (too bad I have to leave before I can have some cobbler!), and these pretty daisies growing wild.





I stopped by Nikki's brother's room to see the turkey eggs he is trying to hatch...




Then on the way home I met Ms. Cow.  Try as I might she wouldn't talk to me, just wanted to keep munching the grass.



I have one more stop to make and I will be on my way to a new family. This has been so fun though!  I love it out in the boondocks!

Taking a bath before my trip to Europe

Ok, the littleminn is sucking at posting my updates.  Here we go again.

My pre trip bath

I'm going to Europe!!  But first I need a bath.

Well today was my last day seeing the sites in Kentucky. I have had a lot of fun.  We finally got great weather (it sure was hot though!!!!) and went to see Old Town Berea, which is basically the other half of the crafts district and where a lot of the artisans Berea is famous for practice their trades and sell their work. 

We started at the old train station, which is now the welcome and tourism center.  Lily, my host's daughter, was my tour guide today.



We stepped out back to see the rail road tracks. (sorry this one is dark, if you haven't noticed, host mom isn't the best photographer in the world)



Next we ran into more of those hands that seem to be everywhere here! 



In the square next to the welcome center is an Appalachain cabin that was moved from it's home nearby and put in town as an example of the way the mountain people lived, and some still live today, though it isn't common anymore.





And the smokehouse



This craft store and gallery is built to look exactly like the barns common around the farms here...



Next we went over to the Weaver's Bottom where the resident artisan has been creating and working for more than 20 years.  I loved the paint job!






Next on to the historic jail, more than a hundred years old. It is now an antique shop, but the original iron bars are on the windows and the iron gate is still on the door.



We stopped off for a quick play break at the city playground...





Then I helped drive home. I wasn't so good at steering,



So I sat on Nikki's shoulder and navigated instead...



I really have enjoyed my stay here, and my last post will be getting in the box in the morning and heading off for a new adventure!