​To say that it has rained here, would be an understatement.  Certainly, others across the country have also seen a lot of rain recently too.  We had flood watches and the rivers, ponds and streams were certainly full,  creating some pretty waterfalls.  

​So with rainy weather and being stuck inside, it is a great time to cook!  Rick and I made some homemade cream of mushroom soup one night for dinner that we had with some hot crusty bread.  Yumm!  I also recreated a dinner that I made at a cooking class, which was pork chops, mashed potatoes with a secret ingredient of nutmeg on them and then the crowning glory of sweet red cabbage that cooked all day in the slow cooker.  Boy did the RV smell wonderful with the fresh apple and cinnamon sticks simmering with the cabbage.

​Our outdoor work here has been curtailed a bit this week by all the rain but we had some indoor work as well.  This week we helped to get a golf cart ready for sale as well as a circus wagon concession cart.  Any one looking for a cool concession cart or golf cart out there, let us know.

​We also took some time to do a bit of touristy sightseeing and went to the Kentucky Derby Museum and took in some horse racing at Churchill Downs.  Even though it was raining for most of the day, we still had a great time.  

​Included in the museum admission is a guided tour around Churchill Downs.  We had a great tour guide who was a wealth of information on everything horse racing and Churchill Downs.  Interesting fact, did you know that a necropsy, an autopsy on a horse, was done on Secretariat and it was discovered that he had an enlarged heart that weighed 21 lbs. where most horses’ hearts are around 12 pounds.  This then allowed Secretariat the ability to sustain a longer full out run longer than most other horses, which is probably why when other horses were reaching their max in the triple crown races, he was just getting started and was able to continue racing at full speed.

​The museum was very interesting and interactive.  The have an 18-minute movie which is done in the round and really does a good job of telling the story of everything that leads up to a Kentucky Derby.  The museum then had two floors of exhibits and really gave you a good look into raising a race horse and the Kentucky Derby experience.  We also had to stop at the famous Derby Day hats.  $200 for this one...I quickly put it back!

​We had lunch at the Derby Café on the grounds and what trip to Kentucky wouldn’t be complete without trying the Kentucky Hot Brown delicacy.  This sandwich was really good and the creamy bechamel sauce put it over the top. 

​We then stayed for the last twilight races of the season.  While certainly not as busy as a Derby race, there were a lot of folks there, watching the races, placing bets, walking around the grounds and partaking in the food trucks and live music in the courtyard.  We even bet on some games and won! 

​We also had a nice evening out this week with our hosts.  After striking out on our first choice for dinner upon finding the restaurant closed for the evening, we went to the Lighthouse, which is a floating dock on the Ohio River.  Think of a floating bar that serves food and has some live music.  They were even getting a new outside cook area ready so that could have a Hootenanny.   We might just need to come back and experience that one!

Last week we were able to get more things accomplished at our workcamp location.  We completed the door replacement on the bath house, which turned out to be a bit more involved, but turned out really nice in the end.  We also were able to get some trees limbed up, other "weed" trees cut down, round up applied to areas and some hay wagon boards replaced.  It was a productive week!  

We also were able to get some work done around the RV too.  I took off all the screens and cleaned them and the windows, boy were they dirty!  Rick also installed and tweaked an external antennae for better TV reception.  He also further diagnosed an issue we are having with our electric hot water heater and we are waiting for the part to arrive.  We then took some scenic drives to explore the area more.  We are located along the Ohio River Bottom, so we took a lesser traveled narrow dirt road that skirted the river into town and found a great point to see the barges that travel the river.  You can see on the other side of the river that the water is down from where it was just last week.  We are currently in the midst of continual rain for several days, so I expect that level will rise again.  Flooding in the area is a big concern and we have seen markings on buildings and pictures of just how high the water can get in the area and how devastating it can be.

I also wanted to try and give an idea of what the narrow road is like that we travel to get to our location.  The pictures don't do it justice because you can't really see the grade and continual curve of the road, but it still amazes me that we got a 42 ft RV with a dually truck down this road.  To locals, I am sure this is nothing for them to zip up and down with their car, but even with just our big dually truck it is a hold the breathe sort of moment in hopes someone doesn't come down the hill, because there is nowhere to go on this one and a half lane road.

One day when we were out on our adventures, and also completing some more of my WeGoLook work, we stumbled upon a great little Mexican place for lunch.  From the outside, Diegos doesn't look like anything, but their food more than makes up for it!  Each chair in the place is carved with the logo and they had cute little salt and pepper shakers to boot!  The food was delicious!  Rick had their signature enchiladas and some of their homemade pico de gallo.  He loves his pico and this was really good.  I had the polo locco which had a yummy cheese sauce.  The portions were huge and we were more than full for the rest of the day!

Hopefully the rain here will stop in the next couple days as we are planning a trip into Louisville to check out Churchill Downs museum and hopefully a horse race.

That sounds like a darn nice weekend, hey?  We took the day Friday to get some errands and household tasks done and even was able to squeeze in a WeGoLook gig nearby.  For more info on those, check this post out on my side gigs. Whew, that was an interesting one!  Let’s just say I was glad that Rick was along to provide some machismo in the background.
We went in to Jeffersonville, about 45 minutes away, a northern suburb of Louisville, on the IN side of the river.  It offers larger stores and some better restaurants and food selection.  On a tip from our hosts, we ate lunch down on the River at Buckhead Mountain Grill.  Since it was almost 90 and humid, we opted for an inside table along the windows overlooking the Ohio River and the downtown Louisville area.  Our food was delicious!  I went out of my usual comfort zone and had a portabello burger on tomato herb focaccia bread.  OMG, delicious!  Rick had a beer cheese burger with the housemade chips, which was also really good. We then drove along the river and saw some really stately older homes that look to be making a comeback with some rehab efforts.  Unfortunately, it was a driving tour because it was so hot and humid out, so good pictures are lacking.

​We were able to get some laundry done, although at a much higher price!  I’ll stick to our small town laundry from now on.  No frills but clean and cheap.  $10.25 vs. $18.50…ouch!  We also got groceries at Meijer, which was nice to pick up some of my staples they carry, but still not as nice as the Meijer back in WI.  There is a new Kroger just down the street that I may try next time.  Rick was also able to get the truck washed in a self-service car wash. We ended the day with a relaxing night around the fire with our hosts watching the motorized paragliders that came to practice at the field.  Funny story, proving it is a small world, a fellow Grand Design RV’er commented on one of our Facebook posts of the sunset at the air field and asked if we were here Friday night to see the paragliders, as one of them was her son. 

​Saturday we decided to take a leisurely drive over to Carrollton, KY to check out their Bands and BBQ festival.  All I can say is WOW!  Man, do these folks take their BBQ seriously.  This was a full fledged KCBS sanctioned BBQ competition.  Check out some of the rigs below and some homemade barrel smokers.  We stopped and talked to a couple of the competitors to learn more about their BBQ and their competitive history.  We even got some samples.  Amazing stuff and in talking to one couple, competition BBQ is different than your average BBQ.  They are judged on appearance, tenderness and taste.  One lady showed us her different jars of BBQ sauces that she makes.  Too bad she doesn’t sell them because her sweet and spicy was delicious!  While there, they also had some great bands playing and we even enjoyed a small air show by Cliff Robinson as he did some aerobatics over the river.  

​We then took a leisurely drive up the river on the KY side and came back on the IN side.  We arrived back just in time for the WI Badger game, but, alas, it was not meant to be.  Did I mention our cell reception and over the air TV here is very eratic and depends on the weather and atmosphere and it doesn’t help that we are up against a bluff. Well today was on the lower end of minimal, which meant we couldn’t stream the Badger game.  Looks like it was not a game we wanted to watch though anyway…ouch! 
Sunday was another football day with some work mixed in.  Before the GB Packer game, Rick did some more work on the bath house door.  We then were able to intermittently watch the Packer game, again due to the touch and go OTA reception, but we ended up being able to see most of that crazy game.  We then finished up the bath house door installation and tomorrow I will finish up the painting if it doesn’t rain too much.  We are supposed to get some residual rain from Hurricane Florence, but certainly not what our Carolina friends have experienced!  Stay safe!  We also put up our window hummingbird feeder and the cute little guys found it in less than an hour!

​Last Tuesday we woke to yet another quiet day at the Hardy Lake State Park campground.  With only two other campers and the hosts, we felt like the place was all ours.  We took a morning walk around the campground and while it was nice to be here when it was quiet, I don’t think I would enjoy it as much when it was full on a busy weekend.  The sites do have a bit of room between them but there is no privacy between sites and it felt like any noise traveled quite far.  If we were here with a group I probably wouldn’t mind as much. 
We packed up and headed out to meet our workamping host, Ginger, at a parking lot on a country road.  She would need to help get us to our site and block any oncoming vehicles as we slowly made our way down the bluff road which was a one and a half lane paved road in trees with tight turns and a switchback thrown in for extra excitement.  Rick was able to navigate us down the ridge with no problem and then we wound along next to the Ohio River to Lee Bottom Flying Field.  Sorry no pictures of the hairpin turn, I was a bit preoccupied and I don't think my hands would have unclenched enough to hold the phone. To get to our parking pad, we drove down the airfield, hoping a plane would not decide to come in at that moment!  Our site is just off to the side and midway down the field.  We took the rest of the afternoon to get set up and take in the sights of this beautiful lush green hidden gem.  We even had a plane fly in.
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​This workamping job is unlike most as we are not at a campground and there are no other campers here.  It is just us.  Our hosts, Rich and Ginger, own Lee Bottom Flying Field and it is certified as a public use grass airstrip.  There is no tower or public use hangar, but it is well known in the flying community.  It is a perfect place for vintage and small aircrafts to land and enjoy the peace and quiet, have a picnic lunch or read a book.  There are also local police and military entities that utilize the field.  We have seen several planes now either stop to use the restroom, take a picture of their plane at the airstrip or just practice take offs and landings.  In addition to the airfield, our hosts own a couple other properties surrounding the airfield and we are here to help with some repair projects and get things ready for winter.  Our first completed project was to rebuild and paint the wooden box on the back of the golf cart and give the it a bath.  We have also done some storm clean up and cut up a fallen tree and hauled off another.  We have a good list to keep us busy and being able to relax and enjoy the planes and wildlife coming to visit and is an added bonus!

​While here we plan to explore the area and try to “live like a local” since we will be here about two months.  We have already visited the local grocery store, laundromat, Walmart and propane company.  We have checked out a couple of the local food fare and had the opportunity to meet up with some friends we met at the RV rally for dinner, to help them celebrate their 38th Anniversary.  Congrats again Melanie & Tom!  Look forward to meeting up with you again further down the road.

​Also, while we have been here, we have tackled a couple projects in the RV as well.  As we mentioned in our last update, our microwave had decided to take its last breath at the rally and Grand Design was going to order us another one.  Well that arrived in a big, heavy crate on Thursday and we installed that with little problem.  Rick then wanted to solve for an issue with our main living room AC intake.  It seems that when the AC kicked on the middle baffle separating the intake and cool air area would get sucked over to the intake, allowing the unit to keep sucking in all the cool air and not allowing that cool air to come out into the room and the vents near it.  MacGyver was on the job!!  First Rick used foil tape to tape up the leaking areas around the inside of the unit so that we were not losing cool air into the ceiling.  He then took three metal sign stakes he bought and cut them to size and installed them on either side of the middle baffle to hold it in place.  Once that was done, we cleaned the intake filters and reassembled and walla, air now coming out the vents and the baffle has stayed in place.  Rick also hooked up the On The Go Double Water Softener since the water is very hard.  It really works well and only takes 2 lbs. of table salt to recharge it.  He then flushed out the hot water heater with his new flush tool and got quite a bit of calcium buildup out.  Finally, we mounted the WeBoost RV cell booster to a PVC pole and the heavy-duty antenna suction cup holds it to the RV.  It works wonders and stays in place, even through the torrential rains and wind of last weekend.

​We are now working on replacing the restroom building door and cleaning that area up.  Stay tuned for more of our Kentuckiana adventures!

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