Travel

Before Laptop Computers, This Movable Typewriter Was All The Rage

/ Ally Bean / 15 Comments

[A bit of background: Cheri at Naples Girl Blog went on a trip to Cuba a few weeks ago.  Since then she has been writing about what she saw and including photos in her posts.  When I read her post, Hemingway and Cuba,  I knew that it was a sign for me to write the following.  You see, Hemingway had a typewriter just like the one that I inherited from my Dad’s side of the family.  Kind of cool, eh?]

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My grandfather was a shoe salesman who travelled around a three state region.  This is a photograph of his Corona typewriter that he used for work.

This particular model of typewriter folds shut making it portable.  It was referred to by Corona as The Personal Writing Machine.  Over a 30 year period of time, 700,000 of this model were made.

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I did some research online and found a copy of the original instruction manual: How To Use CORONA, The Personal Writing Machine.  The last page of the manual says the following… which seems as applicable to today’s portable technology as it did back in 1920 when this manual was written.

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I like this little typewriter.  It’s a fun example of something practical + quirky from the past– favored by Hemingway, used by traveling businessmen.  And I think that it’s kind of cute– in a WALL•E sort of way.

Bourbon, Bourbon, Who’s Got The Bourbon?

/ Ally Bean / 14 Comments

{A Weekend Getaway – Part 2 of 2.  Part 1 here.}  

[I know, I know.  I said that I’d post once a week during the summer… but this adventure was two parts.  My blog, my rules to break at will.]

After taking time to enjoy Shaker simplicity, we hit the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.  Yes, there is such a thing.  You didn’t know that?!!

•  First we went to Woodford Reserve.  It was the only distillery to charge admission.  This might be in part because it was a very commercialized, modern place.  There were tickets & lines & audio headsets & a short bus ride & a long-winded presentation.

Our one small taste of Woodford bourbon was smooth & delicious, but the tour was not what we expected.  The whole experience had a “keep it moving” vibe to it.

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•  Next we went to Four Roses.  This distillery was about as mellow as the product they were selling.  Our tour guide was a young & friendly guy with an amazing knowledge of how the bourbon was made, the buildings in which the bourbon was made– and the charming family history that underscores the brand.

At the end of the tour our complimentary tasting included three different types of bourbon with suggestions of which ones to use in mixed drinks & which one to drink straight.  This tour was more of the experience that we had expected.

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•  Our third and final tour was at Maker’s Mark.  This distillery was by far the most personable and well-organized of the three that we visited.  The tour started in the refurbished home of the company’s founder, walked us through the distillery grounds, showed us the fermenting vats, the oak barrel storage facility & the bottling line where the bottles are hand-dipped in the famous bright red wax.

This tour ended in a laboratory-type setting where we each had four generous tastes of bourbon.  Our tour guide talked us through each glass telling us how the different Bourbons might taste to us– and why.  This was the experience we had hoped for along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

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[Hello FTC!  As you may recall I do not take any money or other compensation for my opinions about any products that I discuss on my sweet little bloggy.  I tell you this again in case you’ve forgotten that fact.  We good, my friend?] 

Simply Shaker

/ Ally Bean / 22 Comments

{A Weekend Getaway – Part 1 of 2.  Part 2 here.}  

[I know, I know.  I said that I’d post once a week during the summer… but this adventure was two parts.  My blog, my rules to break at will.]

This past weekend we got together with some friends and we went to Lexington KY for the weekend.  On Saturday we drove about 25 miles from Lexington to Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill.  Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill is a living history museum with 14 buildings nestled in the hills of Kentucky.  It is the largest restored Shaker community in America.

Above is a stone building with wood floors built by the Shakers.  When built in the [early?] middle 1800s, it was a wonder to behold because at that time many people lived in log cabins with dirt floors.  The fact that this building is still standing today is equally amazing to me.

This is the dormitory where the Shakers lived.  At the height of their popularity the Shakers, who were celibate, numbered around 500 people.  Notice that there are two front doors on this building.  The left door was for the women & the right door was for the men.

I loved this well-maintained, yet slightly off-kilter, shed.  The white fences and the stone fence you see here were everywhere on the Shaker property– as well as all around Lexington KY.

Inside the barn we saw this snoozing lamb whose mother [upper right corner] gave me her version of the evil eye as I snapped this photo.  In all honesty, sheep don’t do evil very well;  they are just way too cute for that sort of thing.

I like goats so when these two guys decided to try to eat a leather tab on my cross-body bag I let them do it… for a short while.  This is the look they gave me when I stepped back from the fence taking my handbag with me.  Not pleased were they.

This guy, one of two oxen, was a goof.  He loved having his photo taken and followed me along his fence pausing so I could get a good shot of him.  Such a cooperative fellow!

Here is a view of the land surrounding Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill.  It was spectacular to see.  We enjoyed craft demonstrations in many of the restored buildings, then stepped outside each building to see a serene view such as this one.

Naturally there was gift shop at this museum.  Many of the items for sale were either made/grown on the property.  Also, it was possible to special order some pieces of furniture.  We didn’t buy a thing, but enjoyed the inside of this shop which was beautifully merchandised.

While on the outside of the shop on a window ledge this little guy– blissfully unaware of anyone or anything except his own comfort– cleaned his toes .  ‘Tis a gift to be simple, ’tis a gift to be free… 

Reflections On A Vacation Not Taken

/ Ally Bean / 12 Comments

“I do not know everything;  still many things I understand.”  ~ Goethe

It’s unseasonably warm and slightly overcast here this morning.  I’m all for this unusually warm weather.  I don’t need the sunshine to make me feel like winter is over.  The warmth alone is enough to give my spirits a boost.

I got up later than my usual 6:00 a.m. today and decided to drink my morning coffee out on our screened-in porch.  We keep two old chairs and a make-shift table out there all winter long– just in case the weather allows us the opportunity to sit outside.

I got thinking as I sat outside this morning.  When Z-D and I sat down in early January to plan our vacation days, we had thought that we’d go somewhere together in March.  A spring escape to get away from the crushing gray of winter was what we had in mind.

At first we were going to San Diego.  Then it was Desert Springs.  Then it was Phoenix.  Then it was Tucson.  Then it was L.A.

But nothing would fit together quite right… his work schedule, our frequent flyer miles, our frequent snoozer points, our attitudes.  It just didn’t work for us.  So, we gave up the idea of vacationing in March.  There’s always April, we said.

However, now that I’ve spent a warm mellow morning out on our porch I have to admit that staying at home seems like a good idea.  Nice to hang out at home in my jammies and slippers.  Wonderful to kick back and plan my day with a mug of coffee at hand.  Very pleasant and rejuvenating.  Just like a late winter vacation in March, only much less expensive.

All of which makes me wonder if going on a vacation in April will be worth the bother.  We’ll see, of course.  Time– and hotel/airline prices– will tell.