I am seventy years old. How could I possibly be feeling like a little kid? But, I do have a sense of anticipation as tomorrow is Christmas Eve! It's not about presents, because we don't do much more then little stocking stuffers (and I find and wrap most of them...). It's not so much about food, though we are planning to go to dinner at Joe's Crab Shop tomorrow night and having Christmas dinner at Leslie's parent's house on Sunday. It's certainly not about a WHITE Christmas, it was almost ninety here in Clermont, Florida today and we actually turned on the air conditioners. It's not about family, as they are sadly all a L-O-N-G way away.
My early memories of Christmas are of driving around town at night looking at the Christmas lights and decorations; of pieces learned and recited for Grange Christmas parties; of Christmas Eve at church and then going to Grandma Kubik's house to open presents -- in the parlor we weren't allowed into any other time of the year.
The constant of Christmas all of my life has been a sense of wonder about the child that was born in the barn -- and laid in a manger. The realization of what a wonderful gift that infant was to be to all of us. So I guess that's what the sense of anticipation is all about. A sense that once more we are celebrating the remembrance of that wonderful present so many years ago that still is with us today!
Showing posts with label Clermont. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clermont. Show all posts
Friday, December 23, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
I Think We've Found a Gem!
Sometimes you just get lucky, I guess. We found a gem of an RV Park today! Yesterday when we decided we did not want to drive all the way to Clermont in one day, Forry just started looking at the map and outlined an area about halfway there. Then we looked at our directories to see what we could find in that area in the way of RV campgrounds.
We found two near White Springs that both looked good and offered a 50% discount. I called the first one, Lee's Country Campground, let it ring, but got no answer, not even an answering machine. So I sort of shrugged and started looking for the number of the second one. But before I could punch it in, my phone rang.
It was Myrna from Lee's Country Campground calling me back! And apologizing because she hadn't gotten to the phone in time to answer my call! Myrna asked me the usual questions: how big is your rig; any pets; do you need sewer, etc.
She then assured me that they had plenty of space and could give us a pull-through space.
We left Pine Lake RV Park in good time this morning and had an easy trip east on Interstate 10 through Tallahassee. We stopped for diesel at a Pilot near Midway, Florida. We put in 48.4 gallons at $3.829. With our RV Advantage Card it was a quick in-and-out as the card gives you Pump Start privileges and there is no need to go inside until it is time to pay. It also gives us 3 cents per gallon off. Not much, but that's $1.44 we didn't have to spend...
We were pleasantly surprised when we turned into Lee's Country Campground. It's small, they have eight acres with only 38 sites. Very tidy and clean. There is a gate across the entrance and there was someone there immediately to open it for us. The office is just beyond the gate and Myrna was waiting for us. She said that they had started the park from scratch twenty-two years ago. The park has no long-termers, mostly over-nighters and a few weekly renters.
Auntie Violet is parked on a grassy area with 50 watt electrical service and a water hook-up. We very quickly put the jacks down and the slides out. I put an acorn squash in the oven with some honey and butter and thawed some crab cakes for supper. Rigs have pulled in on both sides of us since this picture was taken. Like us, they are on their way further south.
We found two near White Springs that both looked good and offered a 50% discount. I called the first one, Lee's Country Campground, let it ring, but got no answer, not even an answering machine. So I sort of shrugged and started looking for the number of the second one. But before I could punch it in, my phone rang.
It was Myrna from Lee's Country Campground calling me back! And apologizing because she hadn't gotten to the phone in time to answer my call! Myrna asked me the usual questions: how big is your rig; any pets; do you need sewer, etc.
She then assured me that they had plenty of space and could give us a pull-through space.
We left Pine Lake RV Park in good time this morning and had an easy trip east on Interstate 10 through Tallahassee. We stopped for diesel at a Pilot near Midway, Florida. We put in 48.4 gallons at $3.829. With our RV Advantage Card it was a quick in-and-out as the card gives you Pump Start privileges and there is no need to go inside until it is time to pay. It also gives us 3 cents per gallon off. Not much, but that's $1.44 we didn't have to spend...
We were pleasantly surprised when we turned into Lee's Country Campground. It's small, they have eight acres with only 38 sites. Very tidy and clean. There is a gate across the entrance and there was someone there immediately to open it for us. The office is just beyond the gate and Myrna was waiting for us. She said that they had started the park from scratch twenty-two years ago. The park has no long-termers, mostly over-nighters and a few weekly renters.
Auntie Violet is parked on a grassy area with 50 watt electrical service and a water hook-up. We very quickly put the jacks down and the slides out. I put an acorn squash in the oven with some honey and butter and thawed some crab cakes for supper. Rigs have pulled in on both sides of us since this picture was taken. Like us, they are on their way further south.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Jim Beam
It rained almost all night again and it was extremely dark and overcast again this morning. I did several loads of laundry, then we decided to check out the Jim Beam Distillery. This one is only about twenty miles from Radcliff. It was a good choice as they do not have a tour of the distillery (though there will be one in 2012), but take you through the warehouses instead. Since we didn't get a chance to see inside a warehouse yesterday, it was a good choice.
Jim Beam is the largest of Kentucky's bourbon distilleries. They said they make over 50% of the world's bourbon. Twenty-seven of their seventy-two warehouses are at this distillery in Clermont which is one of three.
At the beginning of the tour, we were taken to see an 1800 copper still, believed to be one of the oldest in America. In 1788, Jacob Beam and his family settled in what would be known as Kentucky. He began distilling bourbon for his personal use and sold his first barrel in 1795.
The bark of the trees around the distillery all have this deep black color, as do many of the buildings. The color comes from the "angel's portion" of the bourbon -- the evaporation of the liquid through the charred barrels. They said that was one of the ways the revenuers could spot an illegal still --
Jacob's great grand-son, James B. Beam, rebuilt the family distillery by hand after Prohibition ended, and from then on, the bourbon was called Jim Beam. We were taken to Warehouse D, the oldest rack house, which was built by Jim Beam after Prohibition in 1934. It holds 20,000 oak barrels of aging bourbon --
The barrels are placed in "racks," three high and fourteen barrels deep where they will remain for at least four years --
Looking back down the hallway to where we entered the rack house at the racks of barrels on either side --
And then looking up -- fourteen stories!
Each barrel is stamped on the end with numbers and letters that identify the contents and when it was barreled. The liquor begins to be taxed from the moment it is poured into the barrel and is taxed every year for the next four to twelve years or however long it is aged. They told us that 3/4 of the cost of bourbon is tax.
Outside on the grounds is this statue of Booker Noe, Master Distiller, enjoying a glass of his own product along with his dog, Dot.
This is the Beam family home where three generations of distillers oversaw the distilling of the family's bourbon --
At the Jim Beam Tasting Room, we were each given a taste of Black Label Jim Beam and of one of their Small Batch Bourbons, Baker's. The Baker's was served with bourbon chocolates. Yummy!
Jim Beam is the largest of Kentucky's bourbon distilleries. They said they make over 50% of the world's bourbon. Twenty-seven of their seventy-two warehouses are at this distillery in Clermont which is one of three.
At the beginning of the tour, we were taken to see an 1800 copper still, believed to be one of the oldest in America. In 1788, Jacob Beam and his family settled in what would be known as Kentucky. He began distilling bourbon for his personal use and sold his first barrel in 1795.
The bark of the trees around the distillery all have this deep black color, as do many of the buildings. The color comes from the "angel's portion" of the bourbon -- the evaporation of the liquid through the charred barrels. They said that was one of the ways the revenuers could spot an illegal still --
Jacob's great grand-son, James B. Beam, rebuilt the family distillery by hand after Prohibition ended, and from then on, the bourbon was called Jim Beam. We were taken to Warehouse D, the oldest rack house, which was built by Jim Beam after Prohibition in 1934. It holds 20,000 oak barrels of aging bourbon --
The barrels are placed in "racks," three high and fourteen barrels deep where they will remain for at least four years --
Looking back down the hallway to where we entered the rack house at the racks of barrels on either side --
And then looking up -- fourteen stories!
Each barrel is stamped on the end with numbers and letters that identify the contents and when it was barreled. The liquor begins to be taxed from the moment it is poured into the barrel and is taxed every year for the next four to twelve years or however long it is aged. They told us that 3/4 of the cost of bourbon is tax.
Outside on the grounds is this statue of Booker Noe, Master Distiller, enjoying a glass of his own product along with his dog, Dot.
This is the Beam family home where three generations of distillers oversaw the distilling of the family's bourbon --
At the Jim Beam Tasting Room, we were each given a taste of Black Label Jim Beam and of one of their Small Batch Bourbons, Baker's. The Baker's was served with bourbon chocolates. Yummy!
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