The Road Trip Has Begun!

Manchester Farm, Lexington, Kentucky (click to enlarge)

Our road trip has begun and I am smiling from ear to ear.  Nothing makes me feel more alive than a road trip to destinations unknown.  No, it doesn't compare with spending time with my family, but a road trip with cameras is second best!

We ended up leaving two days early due to Hurricane Florence's potential impact on our area.  We live in southeast Virginia and the last time we had an almost identical storm, Hurricane Isabel in 2003, my city lost about 40,000 trees and we were without power for 6 days.  Since I was Chief of Police at the time, I had to work just about 24/7 for many days so I sent my family out of town for a week so they would be safe and have some semblance of normal life after the storm.  In that storm, I lost two trees in my backyard.  One fell and hit my next door neighbor's home.  He was upset until one of his hit his neighbor's home on the opposite side.  

Lexington Cemetery (click to enlarge)

After Isabel, I bought a whole house natural gas generator and it has been a Godsend since.  All that said, the impact on our city from Florence was almost non-existent as Florence made a hard left turn (south) and my neighbor told me we only had a slight breeze and just a little rain.  That is a far cry from what was predicted.  Even though my wife and I weren't home at the time the storm was predicted to hit, my stress level was high. That comes from 35 years of law enforcement and worrying about everyone and everything else.  But I"m now on a road trip! The house is safe and all is well!

So far, we have visited Lexington, Kentucky, thoroughbred horse racing capital of the United States.  I wanted to see if I could find an iconic horse farm or two, with steepled barns, green pastures and white fences, while we were there.  I did find one on the way out of town.  If I had another day or two, I could have found more.  But they are not all accessible for photography.  You can pay for a tour, but photographing from the road is not ideal with most of them.  The image posted here is just one.  I'll post additional after I return home.

Also, to go along with my "Cemetery Project," I paid a visit to Lexington Cemetery #7, a cemetery that was created in the mid-19th century.  It turned out to be a beautifully landscaped place, nicer than any I've visited all over the U.S.  I made some images of some unusual monuments to add to my gallery.

We also took a bit of a detour to the small town of Casey, Illinois where they boast a series of "world's largest" objects.  There is the world's largest rocking chair, ruler, pencil, bird cage, mailbox, mouse trap, knitting needles, wind chimes, etc.  Quite whimsical and unique.  We enjoyed a couple of hours walking the town and making some images of the various object.  I applaud the people of Casey for coming up with a unique way to revitalize their town, bring tourist dollars and life back to Main St.  Very inventive.

World's largest rocking chair, Casey, Illinois

We also visited Hannibal, Missouri, the hometown of Samuel Clemens, also known by his pen name, Mark Twain,  A quaint little downtown right on the banks of the Mississippi River, steam powered river boat and all.  

We continue our journey west and I will continue posting and sharing our trip with you.

Join me over at Instagram @dennisamook or my website, www.dennismook.com. 

Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

Dennis A. Mook 

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