7/25/15,
"The Also Rans"
Frankfort,
Kentucky
I woke up
this morning in Columbus, the capital of Ohio, now, 17 hours later I find
myself in the capital of Kentucky, desperately wanting to go to sleep. so much of today is familiar to the way I
travel, but so much is also unfamiliar, including the fact that I an writing
this entry on my phone and not my computer, due to a possibly fatal error my
computer has encountered. I do not think
I will be able to fix it before I get back to New York. The title of tonight's entry originally
applied to the two National Park Sites we visited today that have pending World
Heritage Site nominations. However, here
in Kentucky, smoking my pipe and drinking bourbon, I have realized that
Kentucky better exemplifies the idea of the also rans. All the horses who also ran at Churchill
Downs comes to mind, as does the state's junior senator. While, idealogically be nay be my favored
candidate, I have little faith in his ability to lead the country. This time next year, he will just be an also
ran.
I will have to save the more
thorough philosophical exploration of the idea of the also ran for another
time, but suffice it to say, it is a concept apt to personal experience. Every boy who was ever turned down to prom is
an also ran. I will recall the events of
the day as concisely and quickly as possible, since it is really annoying to
write this on my phone. I have to be on
the road again in five hours. Agh, fuck
it. I'm going inside to finish this on
a computer.
I appear to
have found a temporary fix. I hope it
can lead to a permanent fix. Either way,
I am now back on the computer, and I will do this entry as quickly as possible. We took our ceremonial pictures at the
Statehouse before, after one thing led to another, getting donuts for
breakfast. We then made our way to
Hopewell Culture NHP, the first of the also rans. We were there before they opened, but I could
still get my brochure, so I lit up the new Davidoff Escurio, and we walked
around, taking pictures of the earthworks.
It is basically the same as Cahokia and Poverty Point, and I have no
idea why those were inscribed and not this one, or if this one is even worthy
of inscription with those two already inscribed.
We made our way to the river, and we started
to walk down, but the mud made it very difficult, and I slipped twice. We headed back and were at the VC a little
after they opened. I talked with the
ranger about the also ran status of the site, and he said this would be the
next one to get inscribed. I knew far
more about the process than he did, and he asked what I studied in college,
saying that I was clearly very intelligent.
I liked that. It is likely this
one will get inscribed next summer, which would mean I would have to
return.
After I did my business in the
VC, we headed to Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers NM, which just Colonel Young’s
house, empty and unrestored. It was an
Official visit, and I had some more of my cigar. Well, I might have to return for that, too,
if Hopewell gets inscribed. We took our
ceremonial pictures there and continued to Dayton, the other also ran, which
was clearly the most interesting stop of the trip.
We did everything in the wrong order, but we
soon found ourselves at the world’s first airport, Huffman Prairie Flying
Field. This was where the Wright
Brothers perfected their flying machines.
I could have spent all day in Dayton, and I will return for a full day
if they do get inscribed. It’s a site
very worthy of inscription. We were
tight on time, so we raced from one stamp spot to the next, continuing my
Escurio as I could. We saw the Wright
Brothers’ bicycle shop, yes, the Dunbar House, which was an NHL, and other
sites in Dayton, but we did not afford them the proper time or respect.
We spent too much time in Dayton and were
behind schedule, us starting to get on each other’s nerves, only our old jokes
keeping us from fighting. We stopped for
Arby’s on the way to Kentucky, and we were at the amusement park around 3
PM. We had a full agenda to do before
dinner, but my friend was insistent we did every ride, including a Wizard of Oz
show. This was a familiar experience for
me and my old friend, new for my new friend.
We had our fun and ate more food than necessary. There was an incident with my old friend
finding his glasses, which delayed our entrance to the Wizard of Oz show,
which, in turn, cost us the Louisville Slugger Museum.
After the park, we headed to Churchill Downs,
which is an NHL, so I lit up a Jericho Hill there, after we took our ceremonial
pictures, and I took some more ceremonial pictures with the cigar. We went to the Louisville Slugger Museum, and
we could see the bats inside, so we took even more ceremonial pictures and
headed down to the river. We then went
to a place to get a cup of burgoo, which my old friend insisted we try, even
though we were about to get dinner. It
was good, but it was just plain stew.
We
headed to dinner at Jack Fry’s, Kentucky’s “most iconic” restaurant, and it was
well deserving of its title. The meal
was exceptional. We had early stopped at
a liquor store to get some bourbon. Even
though my new friend (weird calling him this as he’s practically been my best
friend for the past five months, but I have known the other guy for almost five
years, I think), felt guilty about buying a bottle four hours before he turned
21. They didn’t card him. At the restaurant, I said we were celebrating
his 21st birthday, so we needed some Mitcher’s bourbon to
celebrate. They didn’t card him. We ate family style, getting fried oysters
and bone marrow for appetizers, steak and pork chop for the main course. My old friend complained that this was not
enough food, even though we had been constantly eating all day. He complains about everything, which sours
the trip for me, and it is my least favorite part about travelling with
him. The meal was delicious, and they
brought a piece of cake afterwards, as the pianist played “Happy
Birthday.” The meal was, in a word,
fabulous, and we topped it off with espresso.
We tried in vain to find Derby Pie before we made our way to Frankfort,
stopping at a random location for a ceremonial picture at midnight. We got to the hotel and settled in. I then went outside where I lit up my Ardor
and tried to restart my computer. No luck. I had a very specific problem, so I googled
it, and it turned out my antivirus software was the issue. The best fix was to log in in guest mode, so
that was what I did. I proceeded to
write my entry at first on the phone, until I was able to get the guest mode to
work, which is now working, so that’s how I finished the entry. I will now close so that I can get some
sleep, and I heavily doubt that I can publish, but I will give it a try as I
finish my bourbon.
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