A Fall Trip (Part 4)

We got up on Wednesday and went to the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center. There was not a huge crowd (given that most kids were not out of school). We traded in our vouchers for what they called "One Plus" passes. These are in effect two day passes. They allow you into the "Governor's Mansion".

One we had our passes, we walked across the bridge to Colonial Williamsburg. They have markers on the bridge telling your of the changes that occur as you "go back in time". For example, "You've never seen TV" or "You've never been more than 20 miles from home". My favorate was "You've never paid income tax and you won't get Social Security". I'd make that trade in a heartbeat. The first thing you pass is a working plantation and then an area where you can get an orientation to the settlement. Then, you reach the actual area.

It's spaced out very nicely and covers well over a hundred acres. You first reach the Governor's mansion where the Governor of Virginia lived at the time (Lord Dunsmore). You can tour the mansion (we didn't). You can walk the garden and go into the back courtyard where famous men speak. The first day, we heard Patrick Henry. I found it very interesting as he spoke for almost 45 minutes about the current situation (pre Revolutionary War). Donna lost interest a few minutes into the speech.

Afterwards, we started walking around. You can actually walk the streets freely without a pass. The buildings that require a pass (and that you can enter) have a British flag in front of them. We went into the courthouse and observed several trials. We walked into a few shops as well. We finally headed to the edge of the settlement to look for somewhere to eat. The University of William and Mary is right next to it. There was supposedly a Chick-Fil-A there, but we could never find it. I could tell Donna was kinda bored, so we left (you could come and go) and went to a Wendy's to eat.

I took Donna back to our resort and headed back to CW. I first went to see the "gaol". It was very interesting to see. The jailer and his family actually lived there. The cells had "indoor plumbing". It was used until 1910. Afterwards, I headed to the Capitol Building - the location of the House of Burgesses. Then, I walked around to the Wigmaker and Shoemaker's shops.

I then waited in line to go in the Coffeehouse. It was very interesting. We first sat in the parlor where men would talk and play cards, dice or checkers. We went into the common serving area where on the men working there told us of rumors going around. The lady doing the tour would occasionally lean conspiratorially up to one of us with a rumor about something going on. We finally went down to the basement where we were given a free sample of coffee or "chocolate".

Once I got it, it was nearly 3:00pm. At this time, they put on a performance starting with the reading of the newly received "Declaration of Independence" at the Capitol Building. Then, a young man gathered us around to give news of the Colonials victory at Saratoga. We then went to a stage behind the coffeehouse, where a captured British officer was brought forth to be condemned for his actions in attacking and scalping Colonials. There was more to come, however a strong rain began to fall. So, I left.

We had been invited when we were at the Williamsburg church of Christ on Sunday night to eat with them before Wednesday night Bible Study. We went and had an excellent meal with them. We also enjoyed the Bible Study.

On Thursday, I really wanted to hear George Washington speak. So we went back to CW to hear it. He spoke in the time frame of right after the Boston Tea Party. He was urging Colonials not to buy British goods. He played his character well. Several people asking questions called him General and he corrected them and said he was a Colonel. Others used the word "boycott". He said that he was not familiar with that term and perhaps the person meant "embargo". The term "boycott" did not come about until the 1880's. He kept stressing how we were to be "loyal" subjects to the crown.

After this, there was a reenactment of the Scioto Indians who were guests of the Governor. At this point, they were very worried because the Governor had left because he was worried about his safety with the possibility of the Colonials revolting. When it was over, we saw some more of the artisans. Watching the brick maker was especially interesting. We left and went back to the resort.

After lunch, I went out on my own to see Jamestown. It is a national park as well in the "Colonial Triangle". It was kinda neat to see it. My admission was included in the Yorktown pass I'd bought a couple of days before. However, the one thing it lacked was the park rangers to "bring it alive". I grabbed us something to eat on the way back and we ate and packed to leave the next day.

What was my overall opinion? If you are a history buff, you'll love Colonial Williamsburg. If you're not, it's mildly interesting but not something you'd spend two days at (like I did). Historic Jamestowne (yes with an e) again is interesting if you are a history buff but not that great if you're not.

A Fall Trip (Part 3)

We got up on Tuesday and ate at a place called Mama Steve's Pancake House. The food was excellent and there was plenty of it. Once we finished, we headed out.

Donna has always wanted to visit a lighthouse. We've never really gone anywhere that is close to one. I had found the Cape Henry Lighthouse on the map about an hour's drive from Williamsburg. So, we decided to take the plunge and go. We also found there was a zoo in Norfolk right on the way back, so we could stop there afterwards if we chose.

There are actully two lighthouses. One is the one that is actually in use and the other is the old one built originally in 1792. They are the Cape Henry Lighthouse. They are both located on a military base - Fort Story. You have to show ID and get a pass to get in. Then, they have you get out of your car and check all over for security purposes. I totally understand that. The man leading the search said he had a grandmother with the last name of Yancy. Since I know my ancestors came from Virginia, I wish I would have had time to talk to him more about that...

We got to the lighthouses. The newer one is a black and white structure there on the Chesapeake Bay. You are not allowed to go up in that one. We could go up in the old lighthouse (pictured above). It's a very imposing brick structure built in 1792. You pay 4.00 and you can go up the lighthouse. Of course, I was game to up so off we went.

Donna as you may know has a fear of heights. I was concerned about her going up in it and unfortuantely, she got about 3/4 of the way up and couldn't go any farther. It is somewhat intimidating. There is a long spiral staircase leading to a ladder to get to the top. I made it up and the view was wonderful. It it warm up there even though there is no light in it any more. The glass all around allows the sun in and makes it very warm. I made it back down OK. I didn't see Donna so I went back down the to our car, but she wasn't there either. Turns out she was on a bench outside the lighthouse and I somehow missed her. She saw me taking pictures of the other lighthouse and came out to meet me and we left.

We went on to the Zoo in Norfolk. It was not a huge zoo, but we found it very nice anyway. There wasn't a huge crowd, so we were able to take our time in viewing the animals. We saw all sorts of animals. We were able to get really close to the giraffe. We also saw some striped antelopes called bongos. We left and went to eat an early dinner at Chili's. We were watching Cash Cab later and the video question to double the money showed a picture of striped antelopes and asked "This creature shares it name with a type of drum". We both immeidately shouted out "Bongo".

We rested for the evening in our room. We planned to go to Colonial Williamsburg the next day. I'll give you my review of that in my next post.

A Fall Trip (part 2)...

Now that we were settled into our rooms at the resort, we started planning the week in Williamsburg. We took a walk Monday morning and then went to that survey/lunch I had mentioned we'd signed up for. When we walked into the building we were supposed to be in, I got an immediate bad feeling. There was the usual high pressure look of a bunch of tables with couples and a salesman at each. We went to the front of the building to sign in and were told to wait. We were sorely tempted to just bolt...

After about ten minutes, a gentleman came out and called out our names. We went back with him. There was actually some food in the back. I got a polish sausage and Donna got some barbeque. We went to his office and ate and he came back and asked questions about our stay and our experience with Wyndham. He then started talking about our home resort where we have ownership (Nashville). He asked if we were concerned since the resort had to considerably rebuilt after the recent floods. He offered us the chance to trade for another timeshare there at Williamsburg. He came back with the terms. We'd get to do this for only 300.00 a month (for 60 months!). I told him "Absolutely not, We don't borrow money for anything". He was very nice about it (unlike our last experience in Nashville where we were literally told we were stupid not to accept). He escorted us to the exit survey and we got our tickets to Colonial Williamsburg. They were even the more expensive two day passes, so it wasn't a bad experience at all!

I've said this before, but if we had it to do all over again, we wouldn't buy the timeshare. When we bought it in 1997, Nashville was the home of Opryland and we envisioned being able to stay there and literally walk to Opryland. The park closed only a few months after our purchase. Also at that time, the Internet was in its infancy and it was much more difficult to find places to stay than it is now. We've gotten a lot of fun out of it, but I still wouldn't do it again.

Donna wanted to rest so I decided to forage out to Yorktown. This of course is the site where the Revolutionary War ended so I was very interested in seeing it. One thing you have to realize is there are two places to go. One is the actual National Park at the site of the actual battlefield. The second is "Yorktown Victory Center". The latter is more for entertainment purposes from what I hear. The true history buff would much more enjoy the actual park.

I paid 10.00 which covers your entrance there and to the Jamestown National Park. There is a small museum to see plus the battlefield around the Visitor Center. The best part though were the tours the Park Rangers gave. They talked about the different type of cannon (I had no idea) plus how the actual battle was fought. They discussed how the war actually turned here for the Colonials. It was very interesting. I then took a short walk to see the Yorktown monument and the acutal city of Yorktown. There are a few shops and things to see there (including the cave General Cornwallis hid in for a while) but nothing stupendous. I finally took the driving tour of the rest of the Yorktown Battlefield. The neatest thing was seeing the site where George Washington camped and to realize you were standing where he stood almost 230 years ago!

I went back to the resort and picked up Donna and we went to the Longhorn Steakhouse and enjoyed an excellent dinner. We came back and watched a bit of Monday Night Football and went to sleep.

Part 3 is about our foraging out of the "Colonial Triangle" to see something Donna has always wanted to see..

A fall trip (part 1)...

For years and years, we went to Myrtle Beach with our sons every fall. We had some very great fun times. Now that they are in college, we don't do that any more. Donna asked about going again and I simply cannot bring myself to go there without them.

Last year we went to Nashville because we just had to go somewhere for a week. We planned it out a bit better this year and decided to go to Williamsburg Virginia. We saw that our route would take us right through Lexington on I-64 to give us the bonus of seeing Josh twice in one week.

We left on a Friday and headed to Lexington. We picked up Josh at UK (he's working a few afternoons a week in computer support for the Math Department). He wanted to go to Red Lobster for the "Endless Shrimp". His roommate Cory met us there. We polished off about 240 shrimp between us, but I was the only one to break 100. We went and got our rental car at Hertz at the airport. You are probably asking "Don't they have rental car places in Paducah?". Indeed they do. However, I could rent a car there for 169.00 with tax and everything for a week. To rent a car for 10 days to cover the whole trip in Paducah would be closer to 350.00. We just drove our van and left it with Josh while we were gone.

On Saturday, we stopped to see Josh before we left, then headed out. We got to West Virginia. I found out the state is very hilly. It seemed like we were either pulling up a mountain or speeding down one the whole time we were in the state. We stopped in Lewisburg since it was about half way. We got there just in time to watch the UK South Carolina game. It did not go well. Uk got down big at the half so Donna and I went to dinner at Applebee's. I noticed Kentucky making a slight rally but was still not optimistic. We got back to the room and KY really started coming back. They shut out South Carolina the whole second half. UK finally took the lead with a minute or so left on a 4th down pass from Hartline to Cobb and got the 2 point conversion to go up by three. I was on the edge of my seat now (I am surprised I didn't get us tossed out of the hotel by my yelling). South Carolina drove to the end zone. With a few seconds left, South Carolina went for a TD instead of a field goal. UK tipped the pass in the end zone and intercepted it. I was ecstatic. This was the first time UK had beaten them in 10 years and the first time they'd beaten Steve Spurrier in EIGHTEEN tries.

We got up Sunday and ate at the hotel (Hampton Inn of course). We went to the Lewisburg church of Christ. Everyone was very nice and friendly. We headed out after that. The rest of the drive went well except for the part of I-64 that combines with I-81. I've never seen so many 18 wheelers on one stretch of road. Donna was a nervous wreck.

We got to Williamsburg and checked into our resort. It was beautiful. I did get talked into signing up for a free lunch and survey the next day (more on that later). We unloaded and headed for Williamsburg church of Christ. The brethren were very nice as well. The preacher there is Bill Butterfield the brother of Tom Butterfield who preached a Gospel Meeting at Central a few years back. We grabbed something to eat and headed back to the resort.

In Part II, I'll let you know about we we saw and did in Williamsburg

A little Political Humor...

I read this in the Reader's Digest today. I found it quite funny, based on your political leanings you might not...

A Republican and a Democrat were walking down the street when they came to a homeless person. The Republican gave him his business card and told him to stop by for a job. He then took $20 out of his pocket and handed it to him.

The Democrat was impressed, and when they came to another homeless person, he decided it was his turn to help. So he reached into the Republican's pocket and gave the homeless man $50.

The Big E

I saw on the news today that the Executive Inn was going to start being demolished tomorrow. For those of you non-Paducah people, the Executive Inn was the hotel in Paducah from the early 1980's until a few years ago when it was allowed to fall into serious disrepair. WPSD asked for people to post memories of the hotel, so I thought I'd blog a few of mine.

• I remember right after it first opened, Brent Starkey, Kenny Martin and I (and probably a few others) walked from their house to the hotel. We were just wandering around the place taking in how huge it was when we were approached by a security guard telling us "You boys ain't allowed in here".. We laughed about that all the way back to their house.


• I took this girl I was dating to "Mr. G's Gourmet Room" (I think it was called) to impress her. It had beautiful views of the Ohio River. I remember they gave us sherbet between the salad and our main course as I found out later "to cleanse our palates". I also ordered a dessert I always wanted to see it flame up when they made it (Cherries Jubilee). I was horrified to see how they made it burn. Fortunately, it burned away as fuel before they poured the hot cherries on vanilla ice cream.


• Later I took her for her 21st birthday to see some red haired country singer she really liked in the showroom. I wasn't a big country fan at the time, but I remember thinking "Hey, she's pretty good, she might really make it big some day". Her name was Reba McIntire. I remember the girl I was with talked me into buying Reba's latest album for sale right after we left the showroom. Donna and I still have that album.


• I saw several more shows in that showroom. We saw John Anderson. I remember he sang with his eyes closed (yes, we were that close unfortunately). He also sang one of my least favorite songs "Just a Swingin" and that he looked like "death warmed over". We also saw a pretty good Beatles tribute band (1964 I believe). I remember "John Lennon" throwing picks at Donna trying (I felt) to flirt with her. She's always been beautiful, so catches a lot of guys eyes.


• Their restaurant had and excellent prime rib buffet on Sunday where they carved it right in front of you. I enjoyed that several times. Makes me hungry right now just thinking about it.


• USEC would hold "galas" every year there for their employees in the showroom. They'd feed us really well and then have entertainment. Bowser of Sha-na-na was there several times, but I remember most Paul Revere and the Raiders because they are Jim Faughn's favorites.


• They had some pretty good events in the convention center. I remember baseball card shows and taking the boys to a train collectible's show. I also remember in the infancy of quilt show that Donna wanted to go see it so we went about 4 on a Saturday afternoon only to be turned away since "we're ready to close up the show". My how that has changed.


• Our house had a minor fire (burning our basement and smoking up the rest of the house) in the summer of 1984. I was on my first business trip ever (to Boston for computer training). My parents and sister Melissa stayed at the Executive Inn for the first few weeks while the house was being cleaned. I remember ordering room service one night while there and getting asparagus. I never ordered that again.

It was sad to see the place fall into such disrepair. I hope they build something just as neat when they rebuild (although I doubt they will). Oh, maybe you are wondering why it was called the "Big-E"? I had some visitors they were coming to our plant from Oak Ridge ask that once. I told them just to watch as they approached the hotel and they'd know. There was a large E (it was lit up as a green "E" at night) that you could not miss as you got close.

At the Dollar General store...

For several months, we've noticed a building being built on Highway 60 a few miles from our home. It's right down the road from our mechanic (Mansfield's). A couple of weeks ago we finally found out it was a Dollar General store. This seems like a strange place to build. There are now five Dollar General stores in a thirty mile stretch of road in our vicinity. Starting with the one at Cardinal Point in Paducah, then the store west of the mall. Then, after the new one, there is one in LaCenter and finally one in Wickliffe. The other four are at least built around some city or town. The new one is closest to Future City and Cimota City. Do you know where the name Cimota City comes from? I'll let you know at the end of this post.

I went by there last weekend. It's a very nice Dollar General store. The parking lot is very spacious and easy to get out and back from. I was able to get a great deal on 2 liter Diet Dr Peppers. They are always 1.25 but these had an immediate savings coupon of .55 on each. However, as my father-in-law says "Not everything in there is a bargain". It's a good lesson to remember about stores like this. Just because it's in a discount store doesn't mean its the best price.

Figured out that Cimota City reference yet? Think about what major business is close to it....

"At the Dollar General Store" was a famous ad campaign for the stores years and years ago. I looked on YouTube and other video sites and alas I couldn't find a copy. It's been running through my head since I noticed that new store. I'm still amazed that there so many of these stores around. They must be very profitable. I wonder what will happen to the local Supermarket (Food World)?

Oh yes, what's the answer? Spell Cimota backwards and remember that it's close to USEC and it'll make sense.