Monday April 18,2016  OUR JOURNEY HOME

The last day on the road and we are literally traveling on the highway as I write.  It has been quite difficult to have time to write the last few days as each day was jam-packed with activities.  In my mind I wrote much more than I accomplished on my blogs.  I wrote when I was so tired that I actually fell asleep sitting up at the computer with my fingers still poised over the keyboard.  So today I am writing in the car while Dave is driving.  I am awake!

My alarm went off at 5:45 a.m.  We left the Airbnb a bit after 7:30 a.m. and arrived at the Kentucky capitol building in Frankfort by 8:38 a.m.  The drive was spectacular.  The road was two lanes, very narrow from side to side and had a stone wall along each side.  The kind of stones that are stacked without mortar.  And to top it off, the road was extremely curvy and tree lined.  Very early spring growth, vivid green, and the purple and white blooms of the dogwood trees decorated the picturesque drive.  I was at the wheel so I did not have any chance of taking photos.  The surrounding land was horse country.  There were beautiful mansions surrounded by lush lawns and long, tree line driveways.  Beautiful stables dotted the area.  They looked like buildings I wouldn’t mind living in.  Large, spacious and aesthetically designed.  As I was driving around a sharp bend I was so surprised to suddenly see the most spectacular view of the Kentucky capitol building.  I had no idea is was around the curve, nestled among a thicket of trees.  The capitol was tucked neatly on a rise with huge circles of yellow and red tulips leading up to the magnificent structure.

If you read my blog a few days ago about the simple elegance of the West Virginia’s capitol in Charleston then you will understand when I tell you that this capitol holds a tie in its design and grandeur.  The Charleston building was by no means modest in its architecture but it held a quiet reverence of such magnitude that I felt as if I was on holy ground when I walked into it.  The capitol building in Frankfort was every bit as well designed and elegant but with a grand extravagance of not just space, but of color and detail and boldness.  Beauty such as these two buildings feed my soul.  It causes me to wonder what it will be like in heaven surrounded by the glory and beauty of who God is, and all He has designed in His heaven, for His children to enjoy.  I truly do not know how people cannot crave to have their eyes filled with such awesome works of art.  And I don’t mean paintings.  The buildings themselves are the art of which I speak.  It’s sort of like a wonderful feast, but it is through your eyes that your soul is fed.

Being that I am in the car I do not have access to any of my reference material of places I’ve been the past few days so I must tell you about some places we have been without remembering their correct names.  On Saturday after we left Carole’s home we drove to the Charleston West Virginia Capital.  It did not take a lot of time to view the rest of the capitol as it is mostly a working building housing hundreds of state workers.  The main attraction there was the architecture and the rotunda.  The building is huge and has 535,000 square feet under its roof.   We spent most of our time there in a building across from the capitol which houses THE CULTURE CENTER.  There was a museum in the basement that led one on a journey through time in West Virginia history.  We had so little time and there was so much to see that I had to hurry through it.  I would love to go back and spend a couple of days there.  The displays were amazing and creatively displayed each decade going back to when the land was first occupied by the native inhabitants and then by the white man.  The path through the museum was one way, very winding, and was made up of many small rooms displaying a timeline with a certain theme. 

It is mind boggling to realize how much there is to see in this vast country.  It could easily become a lifetime pursuit and there would still be more to see.  Everywhere I go there are so many interesting exhibits that have been prepared for public display.  I have found that a bit of internet research will open up doors of opportunity.  There is always way more to see than for which I have time.  No matter how long the trip, time runs out before the exhibits do.  The more I experience and see, the more I desire to explore and learn. 

Dave and I are seriously thinking of planning a “TRIP WITHOUT PLANS”.  We will need a time frame so we will remember to come home, but other than that we will drive back roads, stop when we want, drive deeper into the unknown, and figure out where we plan to stay the night as we need the lodging.  Many Airbnb facilities have same day reservations available.  We have even discussed choosing three states and renting a place to stay for one month in each space and using it as our home base to come and go and so see all the sights within driving distance of the cabin, apartment, or Airbnb, or whatever it is we rent.  We’d love to go to Maine, Vermont and perhaps New Hampshire in late a late summer going into early fall.  Does anyone have any suggestions of a state with recommendations of what would be fun to explore.

Lord willing, we will be home tonight.  We are thankful for beautiful clear weather, sunshine, and beautiful sights to view along the way.  And it is fun eating up all the food we have left.  Our snacks consisted of sugar snap peas, cherry tomatoes, cauliflower, cheese, crackers, prunes and apple slices.  It was all the courtesy of Carole fixing us a care-bag to eat along the way.  Later in the day we ate the yogurt she sent, more cheese, and I ate a bran muffin.  We still have oranges, more yogurt, and grapes.  I think we will probably need to stop for a protein meal for Dave, as an extremely balanced diet is a must for him, as it should be for all of us. The foods I described above are the kinds of foods I ate all across the country as I traveled last year.  On that trip I stopped at only one fast food place during the entire four months and that was on the next to the last day before I came home.  I stopped for a subway chicken sandwich.  And it was good!  We stopped several times along the way on this trip.

I JUST CLICK “SEND”

By Kathleen Martens

April 18m 2016

Such a peace to be heading home

With my computer and little IPhone.

Writing my blog and getting it done

And posting my photos is quite fun.

But alas, there is much yet to do

As it must be proofed to be able to view.

And sometime, I must confess,

My proofing I sometimes rue.

Please have compassion on what I write

Often I’m tired and my day is spent.

But I am never satisfied until it is done,

I wish for perfection when it is sent.

Just so you know I am never perfect,

So I just click “SEND” and off it goes,

Misspellings and grammar, punctuation and all

And I just hope, no one knows.

Lord, thank You opening the opportunity for me to see the Frankfort Capitol building today.

Lord, thank You for licorice.

Jesus, thank You for loving me today.

Thank You for the Airbnb we stayed in.

Thank You God for the opportunity to meet Sarah and Nicholas.

Thank You for trip ticks.

Thank You God for the color green.

GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS YOU.

P.S.   We arrived home about 8:45 p.m. central time.  Actually for us it felt like 9:45 p.m.  Must go as I would like to publish this now that I have WiFi.