the second big highlight of the Memorial Day weekend trip

Highlight number 1:  The Grand Ole Opry.  Highlight number 2?  Mammoth Cave National Park.

OK, in case I haven't made it clear with previous blog entries, Van is a national parks enthusiast.  And really, who can blame him?  Why not be a fan of and go visit interesting and scenic and historic parts of the country?  Van is one of many USians who have a little passport book and get stamps at the parks they visit.  We've been with him for a few of those, and now we've added another.

A visit to Mammoth Cave National Park was the whole point of the trip, in fact.  We built the trip around seeing the park and then seeing a few other places and catching up with friends.  There is lodging at the park, but there's not much near the park - oh, Bowling Green, KY, is not too far away, but it would be a drive to and from the park to find a good dinner.  That's why we decided to drive up from Nashville and otherwise enjoy the amenities of being in a city.  It wasn't too bad a drive either, only about an hour a half.  The wet weather that had been threatened throughout our vacation held off as well, happily, and although the sun barely peeked through the overcast day, we stayed dry on our drives and in the park.

And ah, the park.  First off, busy place on a holiday weekend!  Second, so very green. 

You really take for granted how lushly verdant (oh, and I should add that that part of the US is suffering from drought - not dry, dust bowl drought, but much less rain than usual) a place is when you live there, but for us to come from California where things are really drying out after the winter, it was so wonderful.

We had booked a tour into the cave, a moderate tour.  No crawling, no super tight spaces.  A one-mile bus trip to and from the cave, and with that round trip included, it was two hours from start to finish.  A ranger gathered us all in a meeting space before boarding the buses. 

112 of us on the tour.  I was worried that it would be super crowded and, well, irritating (hell is other people, or so I have read), but it wasn't.  We headed into the caves single file with areas for collecting to hear about the history and the geography.  The ranger had good stories to share, and the cave was awesome in the truest sense of the word.  So, herewith are photos from that tour.  Lots of cave shots. 

There was illumination in the caves, as you can tell, but at one point when we were collected, the ranger turned off the lights as part of storytelling, and yes, so very dark.

The tour was just right.  Van was a little uncomfortable with being enclosed, but the wonder of it all overcame any sense of dread.  It was all so incredible to see.  It honestly didn't seem real somehow because it was so fantastic.  We were so very glad we made the trip there.

Back at the park visitors center, we ate a light and not especially good lunch before browsing for souvenirs, then headed back to Nashville.  We had time to relax, freshen up, and then head to dinner over across the river on the east side of the city.

Years ago in Chicago Conrad and I met a couple, Amy and George.  George was one of the rare straight guys on our swim team, and he and Amy were actively part of the Smelts socializing.  They had lived in LA before Chicago, and they moved back several months before we did.  When Conrad and I were out here for my job interviews, we had dinner with them in DTLA and then again a year later to mark that anniversary.  We saw them one or two other times as well.  And then their marriage broke up.  George was the one we knew better because of swimming, and we tried connecting with him a few times, but it never seemed to work out.  We drifted apart.  Amy, though, remained a connection on social media.  She moved to Nashville years ago, and when we were planning dinners during our time there, Conrad and I knew we had to get together with her is she was free.  Hooray, she was! 

She met us at Butcher & Bee, a place she recommended.

Amy?  Great recommendation!  We sat by the window and shared eastern Mediterranean food, drinking Last Words and catching up.  She gave us her insights into Nashville as a resident, which we really appreciated.  And the food was great! 

We did the chef's choice/feed us option for a set amount, and they really delivered.  When the chicken came out,

we tapped out, asked for a box, declined any dessert, and declared it a meal well done.  Oh, and the charred snap peas dish? 

The best of the night and one I want again.  Yum!

The rain had really poured down around the time of our arrival at dinner and while we ate, but it let off by the time we headed back to the hotel.  Our last hurrah in Nashville, so we went to see Nate at the hotel bar.  Well, Van didn't, but Conrad and I did.  I ended up enjoying his riff on the classic Jungle Bird, a cocktail he called Fossil Fire.

We didn't have to be in a rush the next morning, but it was just the one nightcap.  Up the room and to bed, happy that we'd had a terrific dinner to cap a day with such a fantastic trip to Mammoth Cave. 

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

It wasn't our original plan, no.  Conrad, Van, and I are trying to give each other experiences for Christmas rather than things, an since Van is a national parks enthusiast, I thought it would be great to take him to one that he hadn't visited before.  So I booked us flights and a car and a hotel room, and we were going to go to Crater Lake in May.

And then we all went to the Grand Canyon in January, and Van once again had a bad experience dealing with the altitude.  Poor man.

Crater Lake sits at about the same (or perhaps higher) elevation as the Grand Canyon (and higher than Boulder, where he's had problems before).  That wasn't going to work, alas.  I had to pivot.  And pivot I did.  All the way to Ohio.

It was funny and a little sad and, frankly, kind of shitty how people would react when we told them we were going to Cleveland, to Ohio.  It's as if we had picked not just a weirdly random place, but one that is associated with Rust Belt decay and too little going for it.  Which is a shame, and I wonder how many of those people have ever been to Cleveland anyway.  And you know what else Ohio has going for it?  A national park, one of only three in the Midwest (I've not been to the other two).  And a national park at about or even below the elevation that Pasadena is at.  A national park that Van had never visited (nor had he been to Cleveland - he had, curiously - been to Dayton, however!).  And that lovely national park, Cuyahoga Valley,

was our destination for a two-night stay.

We rolled up to the historic Inn at Brandywine Falls late in the afternoon. 

See all that green?  We don't get that here, not outside of well-watered neighbourhoods, and even then, it's not the same.  The old inn was charming, ramshackle in a delightful way. 

Our suite was one half of the restored barn building, and it was similarly cozy and a hodge podge of things. 

We had some light left in the evening, and time enough before a dinner reservation in nearby Hudson, so we walked over to view the falls from the top,

then came back to freshen up for dinner.

Vicky from the Inn had suggested Rosewood Grill in Hudson as a good dinner option, and she was right.  In fact, we went both nights we were at the Inn though I didn't take photos from the second dinner.  But that first night we shared deviled eggs

and each had Boulevardiers,

and I made a meal of a pork chop with peach glaze and some roasted asparagus. 

Satisfying!

If you know me by now, you will guess that I left Van to sleep in (and boy, did he ever!) and headed out on a walk. 

There was the threat of rain later in the day, so I made a circuit down one side of the creek gorge and back up the other side,

crossing back over above the falls. 

Again, so green. 

 

Wow!  No blue skies like the day before, but it was still lovely.  I came back, joined the other guests (save for Van) for breakfast, then came back to the room to relax until he got up.  That?  Was after noon.  He needed the sleep, I guess, and besides, it was pouring rain at that point.  Eventually we got out the door and over to a Starbucks before heading to a few points in the park to get photos, see the sights, and appreciate it all.

Another nice dinner that evening, and then back to the Inn.  Oh, look:  deer!

I got up early the next day,

looked at how much time I had, and decided I would be ambitious, mix in a little jogging, and head to the Boston Mills

visitor centre

and back.  A little over five miles round trip, and not a soul to be seen for almost all of it.  Tranquil, and calming, at least until I came upon the half-consumed fawn.  Then I thought, hmmmm.  Anyway, I got some shots there and on the way back (including from near the bottom of the falls)

and made it back with minutes to spare before dinner, sweating profusely as I made small talk with a different group of guests than the day before.  As for Van, I got him up about an hour or so before check out.  Rain had again come through while we were in the room.  Starbucks, and then back to Cleveland for us to relax in a lounge at the airport

and eventually fly back to LAX.

I'm already thinking on where to take him next year....