Kentucky Horse Park Day Trip - August 19

I've been wanting to visit the Kentucky Horse Park for a number of years but this is the first time that I could go when we had a Young@Heart trip. I will admit that I was a bit concerned about the amount of walking for this one. I assumed it was something like a county or state fair. Perhaps this is the closest someone like me could come to describing the park layout. There were a lot of barns and other buildings, but no rides or outside vendors.

The park is really beautiful and is a great place to visit with your family, sometime. But - - - there is a lot of walking, if you want to really see the park. Of course, there are always places to sit and rest a spell, too.

This is the view at the main entrance and gift shop

As we entered the park the first thing to see is the main building where they sell the passes and have a gift shop. There is a huge mechanical horse. It seems to gallop on some kind of schedule but isn't working all the time. I guess even mechanical horses want a rest, now and then!

The first event that we did was to go to "The Big Barn" for a demonstration on harnessing the work horses. A young lady handled the harness parts very well and I was surprised about the weight. It was over 70 pounds. Remember, these work horses are for pulling things such as carriages and plows. They aren't normally ridden but harnessed to pull other things. The horse is the motor that pulls and also the brakes to stop the forward motion. The harness and collar are put on in a way that they can effectively allow the horse to stop.

Of course, the horses can pull a variety of wagons, carriages and farm implements.

There were other demonstrations and even various performance events to see. There is also a very nice museum about horses over the centuries. I didn't realize there is so much history concerning horses. Of course, they are mentioned in the Bible and were created at the beginning of our world. One could easily spend several hours in this very well laid out museum.

Following the tours and museum we had an opportunity to eat in their restaurant. They also have a smaller cafe. I was pleasantly surprised that the food and service were actually very good.

It's always good to tour with our people. One thing that makes is special is that so many of our people have talents that far exceed mine. Bill Speyer with Darlene were part of this group and Bill took an excellent video of the tour which he posted on YouTube to share. So, now you can see it, too! Just click below! Be sure to expand it to full-screen and turn on your sound.

Now. off we go to the gift shop. I like their taffy and Nancy likes the cups.

I'm tempted to call this, "Nancy Rides Off Into the Sunset"

Maybe that is because she enjoyed shopping in the gift shop. They have the normal things like model horses, carriages, candy and for Nancy and I, COFFEE CUPS!

August 2016 YAH Luncheon Program - Chuck Curran

This month we featured a couple of first time events for our luncheon program. Robert Rhodes sang a couple of Broadway musical songs and Chuck Curran shared from his experiences in politics.

However, to start, Grace Averitt and Nancy Jensen played the piano and organ for our prelude period. Grace went on to perform with and accompany Robert.

After our jokes (we use those to bring people in from the foyer) we introduced Robert Rhodes.

Robert is the newest member or our Pastoral staff at Washington Heights. He is the Pastor of Worship and Arts and is a recent graduate of Cedarville University and performed there frequently with the Jubilate Chorus and also in a number of musical plays. Some of you may have seen him in one of those musicals.

This month he performed pieces from two different musicals. First, was Beethoven’s Birthday (from Charlie Brown) and the second was Dream a Little Dream of Me.

Robert will do an entire musical program for us in October.

Following Robert’s music, we did our normal opening program with acknowledgements of birthdays and anniversaries and upcoming trips, etc.

Then, we brought Chuck Curran up to speak to us about the elections and the importance of our votes. Chuck is a long time resident of the Dayton area and has filled a number of political positions. Curran relocated to Dayton, Ohio in 1963 to handle government documents for the Dayton Public Library. He then worked as a Social Sciences teacher at Fairborn High School from 1963–65, and he worked as a Reference Librarian at Belmont High School from 1965-66. In 1966, Curran was hired as a Political Science instructor at Sinclair Community College in Dayton. He served as a Democrat on the city commission of Dayton, from 1970-79. He later served as the Democratic Ohio State Senator from 1979-83. In 1983, Charles began his first of 6 four-year terms as Montgomery County Commissioner (served 1983-2006). In 1996, Curran switched to the Republican Party. He continues to serve as Associate Professor of Political Science at Sinclair Community College.

As you can see Chuck served under both the Democrat and Republican parties. He brings a wealth of experience to his teaching position. After listening to him, I can readily see that he is an excellent teacher. His talk was informative and at times humorous and even spellbinding. I can honestly say that he taught me a few things about politics.

Thank you Chuck. I believe this is an important time in American History and therefore our votes are important. VOTE!

Unfortunately, our recorded audio did not work, except for the video. So, there is no recording of Chuck or of the Piano/Organ music.

Following Chuck we had a very nice picnic meal prepare by Lisa and her very capable volunteers.

Next Month, we will be entertained by the Music and Crazy antic of Spittin’ Image!

Ark Encounter - Day Trip (July 19)

This week we enjoyed a good trip down to the Ark Encounter in Kentucky. This Ark is built by the Creation Museum people and is built to the Biblical dimensions. The purpose of this structure is to show how it COULD have been done and perhaps how it could appear inside the ark.

This ark has three levels plus an upper deck, which is not completed, yet. This is the outside appearance, however I don't think this is completed, either. The appearance of the other side shows. perhaps, how the completed exterior may appear.

I'm not sure what that material is but it appears to be something like reeds or maybe wooden shingles. The structure up the backside of the ark is for stairways and elevators. Generally, people move from deck to deck via ramps, however there is an unmarked elevator available, if you ask for one.

The ramps were not steep and were easy to use, however it might be better for some to use the elevator and go to the 3rd level then move down the ramps. For me that was actually worse, because of my knees. Once you arrived at a new level, there are displays and cubicles for the animals, etc. For example there were cages for all kinds of animals with the feeding and drinking fixtures, as shown above. There was also storage for the food and water and living quarters for Noah's family.

 This image shows the family praying and giving praise to God, who saved them on the Ark.

The ark structure is the largest timber structure in the world. This shows one end of the ark from inside. In addition to the cages and storage for supplies and food, there were a good number of informative displays. The picture below illustrates one display of Arks as we see them in children's stories, etc.

 
 There were more living quarters and working places. Even shops for repairing the ark.

This picture represents some of what was going on during time time immediately prior to the flood, such as idol worship and human sacrifices to those idols.

Now, I know that you are saying, "Where are all the animals?" They had a good number of animals, some of which were slightly recognizable. Remember, God and Noah brought a pair of each "kind" of animal, not a pair of "all" animals. These are the animals in the Ark. They also had a small zoo outside to show real live animals.

 

 Another set of displays that I enjoyed were the early Bibles. These were on loan from the Museum of the Bible 

One display and Bible that I enjoyed was from Ethiopia, because our daughter and her family adopted a little boy from Ethiopia.

 One of the big needs, unless God put all the animals into hibernation, was the provisions of food. I already showed how they stored food in jugs, etc. However, they also demonstrated a way that they could have even grown their own food.

 Finally, we know that Noah sent out a dove to find out of it was OK to open the Ark and send the animals on their way. He did this with the dove. It returned with an Olive branch!

Now, I know you are saying, "Well, how did WE eat?" Actually, we ate pretty well in Zamara's Kitchen. Zamara is the name they gave for Noah's wife, according to ancient documents (other than the Bible). Zamara's is a separate two-story building which has a seating capacity of up to 1,500 people. They have it set up to work similar to some of the Disney food facilities, we order in a central location and get our food then go to tables. It worked well and the food was OK.

Now, for some of my other thoughts - I enjoyed visited the Ark Encounter. But, I have some concerns. 1) It is not really handicap friendly but I know they disagree. The ramp system could be a problem for us older people and think about walking a couple of miles. 2) We were there on a day when attendance was not heavy but were frequently delayed seeing some displays because of congestion in the isles. If it was a heavy attendance day, this could become a big problem. 3) Signage is currently minimal, but will surely improve. 4) I received confusing instructions about leaving and returning to the Ark during a lunch break. Their instructions where that we needed to return via the main entrance queue, which would be very inconvenient, with a longer walk and waiting in the queue. We exited from, and returned to, the gift shop without any issue. I was told that was not really permissible by they're Ark Encounter on their Facebook page. 5) Some areas are not yet completed. I mentioned the exterior and some displays but there will eventually also be an observation deck, perhaps with more food service. There is also a ZipLine (not my thing) and it was also not yet in operation. This could put off some of the younger people.

So, would I take another Young@Heart group in the future. Probably not! But, I do recommend it for younger people.

See you in August!

Patriotic Luncheon Program - July 12

This month, we featured a very nice piano duo with Amy and Alex Anand playing piano for our prelude. Amy also played a number as a special during the actual program. We often miss out on some music because we are all busy visiting during the prelude time. That is a good thing, but I also asked Amy to play again, so we could pay special attention to what she is playing. Thank you Amy and Alex for playing for us, today. We enjoyed your music. You can listen to the music, HERE and to Amy’s solo, HERE.

Today, we had an interesting, educational and entertaining program. Stephen Hollen joined as his great grand-pappy (x6 I think), George Adam Mann. George came over from Germany and was one of the people whom we often refer to as the Pennsylvania Dutch. He told about life as a soldier in the Revolutionary Militia and events prior to, during and after the war with the British which secured our independence. You can listen to his program, HERE.

 As I always remind you, Just Click on any Image to See it Larger!

During the program, he also told about a young teacher by the name of Nathan Hale who was called on by George Washington to act as a spy against the British. That young man is related to my mom (stepmother) who’s maiden name is Hale.

As George (Stephen) ended the program, he produced a copy of the Declaration of Independence and asked if we would sign it, knowing that we could face death if the British would win the war. Of course, we won, so our lives are secure. Would you have signed the Declaration?

Next month, we will have another special program by a current day patriot, Chuck Curran. Many of you may recall the days when Chuck was a State Senator, County Commissioner or in Dayton politics. Chuck and his wife Mara have attended our Young@Heart. He will talk more about the election process. Maybe we’ll even have someone who can sign you up to vote, either at the polls or by absentee ballot. I'll see if we can work that out.

Following our program, Lisa and the kitchen staff served another  delicious meal. This week it was ravioli with a fruit salad and cake for dessert.