All good things must come to an end...

I saw this sign at the bookstore the other day and it describes perfectly my Kentucky experience: 

Life Begins at the End of Your Comfort Zone

This could not be more true for my 8 short weeks in Lexington, KY. Honestly, I was nervous at the beginning,  new state,  no friends,  no family, and not sure if I was ready for whatever Kentucky threw at me, certainly I was NOT in my comfort zone.  Although on the outside one may think I exude confidence, the opposite is true. I was shaking in my sneakers (I didn't own boots at the time but thankfully I am now the proud owner of new boots) Needless to say after reading the posts before this, Mom having to force me to pack up, this is certainly bittersweet. I made numerous new friends, had many laughs and adventures that I will NEVER forget. From conquering a fear of heights to celebrating with a patient whose hamstrings had returned, I've learned quite a few things from my experience that I would like to share with you: 

1. There is no other phrase that can replace "Bless your heart" and I'm bringin it to the Northeast. 

2. Although it may have slipped a few times "Y'all" just doesn't roll off this New Yorker's tongue like it should and will not be in my new vocabulary. 

3. Never approach a horse from the front or be in kicking range. 

4. In rehab, attitude is EVERYTHING

5. Everyday you have a choice to go out and live for the moment or sit back and watch life pass you by

6. People are friendlier than you think, greet them with a smile, be honest, and the world is a much more pleasant place. 

7. You are never truly alone. 

8. Not paying rent will get you evicted. :) 

9. Chicken should never be eaten for breakfast. 

10. Bourbon Slush can always use an extra splash of Bourbon. 

• 8,000 miles on Tillie the Tahoe, 40+ hours a week for no paycheck, lots of $$$ on Bourbon, and countless memories were all worth it! So I thought I would be more insightful in my last post on this blog but my brain is mush from 13+ hours of driving. 

• To all the PT's, Friends, Clients, and Horses,  I cannot thank you enough for my experience. 

• To everyone who read this; thanks for reading and motivating me to enjoy every second of my clinical in Lexington, KY!

There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.   ~Winston Churchill

Torrent Falls Climbing Adventure & Natural Bridge

Hello?! Does anyone still read this?


Torrent Falls Climbing Adventure & Natural Bridge: A Trip to Red River Gorge 

So for those of you who don't know me...I'm afraid of heights. Example: Brad Paisley concert @ Mohegan, I cried because we were in the top row. Enough said? I think so. Never in a million years would I think that I could go rock climbing. Well, I guess anything is possible when in Kentucky, and to be completely honest, this blog had to go out with a BANG! So I suppose I have to thank you fools who actually read this for making me do such craziness. 

I am going to let these pictures speak for themselves...let's just say my friends were great cheerleaders, I said a lot of hail mary's and I'm so glad I did it! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. 

This is a panoramic of the first half of the amphitheater that we climbed. If you look to left of the picture you will see the cable system that you clip into and some of the rebar hand and foot holds. This was called Via Ferrata. A via ferrata (Italian for "road with irons". Plural vie ferrate. In German, Klettersteig) is a mountain route which is equipped with fixedcables, stemples, ladders, and bridges. The use of these allows otherwise isolated routes to be joined to create longer routes which are accessible to people with a wide range of climbing abilities. There is only 5 of these in the US. I certainly felt challenged but safe at the same time! 

Natural Bridge

• The sandstone arch that is called Natural Bridge has stood for millenniums. The arch is 78 feet in length, 65 feet high, 12 feet thick, and 20 feet wide. Some geologists believe that the stunning natural sandstone arch is at least a million years old. There are other natural archways in the area, but none have gained the prominence of Natural Bridge. Since 1889, visitors have made the trip to the eastern Kentucky Mountains to see this amazing natural wonder.(Info taken from Kentucky State Parks Website) 

• Natural Bridge is composed of what is known in geological terms as Pottsville conglomeratic sandstone. Large blocks of stone falling off either side of a narrow sandstone ridge caused the first opening that began the transformation of the sandstone outcropping into an archway. The weathering process, along with the root systems of plants, continued to develop the unique archway that makes up Natural Bridge. (Info taken from Kentucky State Parks Website) 

Mom comes back to Kentucky tomorrow! Starting to tie up the loose ends here, final CPI is complete and leaving is certainly bittersweet! Maybe a few more posts before this journey ends!

Bourbon Trail Passport = COMPLETE!

Bourbon Trail Part 2!

James came down from Cincinnati and joined Cardinal Hill PT kids, me, Mary and other James. We had a great Saturday and really enjoyed the Bourbon Trail! These distilleries are a little bit further from Lexington, out toward Louisville and we really enjoyed our scenic drive! 

Fun Fact: In Kentucky, they say the trees talk.... what does that mean? Well, especially during prohibition the law enforcement looked for these black trees. Distilleries create a mold that will take to the trees so during prohibition the trees gave away who was making moonshine! :) 

First Stop: Jim Beam

• Immigrants from Germany named Boehm came to America. They later changed the spelling to Beam, and fortunately for us, seven generations of Beams would—and still do—ensure that their name would remain synonymous with the world's finest and best-selling bourbon.
• What did the family do during Prohibition (1920-1933 in case you forgot your US History...)?
• They tried their hand at citrus farming in FL, and Coal mining in KY, nothing was satisfying to them therefore when Prohibition was repealed in 1933 Jim Beam rebuilt the distillery in 120 days. Crazy! 
• Below is the budget that Jim Beam sat down to crunch the numbers and below is his list. 

Next Stop: Heaven Hill

• We were on a time crunch and Heaven Hill's complimentary tour was full & us poor PT kids didn't want to pay the $$ for a long tour. 
• Heaven Hill's portfolio includes both domestically produced products, such as Evan Williams Bourbon and Christian Brothers Brandy, as well as a growing line of selected imported brands from around the world, such as Hpnotiq Liqueur and O'Mara's Irish Country Cream.  
• Oh well, not much to share here but we got our stamps for the passport! 

Last Stop: Maker's Mark! 

• What's in a name?
• Marjorie Samuels always had a special knack for marketing our little bourbon. She was a fan of fine pewter pieces, which were known for the mark their maker put on them. Hence our name.
• But to truly embrace the name, she felt that we needed our own special mark. This led her to the SIV symbol, which stands for Samuels 4th generation. 
• Fall 1959: Maker’s Mark® was finally available for market after 6 summers of aging. The first bottle was a four fifths of a quart and sold for $6.79 a bottle. 250 cases sold in year one. All of which happened to be in Kentucky. The first case sold to Keeneland Racetrack in Lexington.
• We got to dip our own bottles at Maker's Mark!!

My completed passport!

Off to the Races!

I'm a good photographer! :) 

So I live approximately 30 minutes from Saratoga Springs Race Track, in Saratoga, NY. Have I ever seen the races there during late July/early August? Nope. Sooo my first horse race happened to be this past Sunday, June 26th at historic Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY. I had no idea what I was doing but was there to cheer on Big Flirt. Big Flirt is a five year old Grey Gelding ridden by jockey Matthew Straight from  East Greenbush, NY. Gotta cheer on the hometown kid! It was an awesome experience, there is SO much history there and makes me wish I got to come down a week earlier than I did so I could have experienced the madness that is the Kentucky Derby (stupid finals, lol).

Louisville was approximately an hour and 15 minute drive from Lexington, scenic of course.  So I made it to the track with about 30 minutes to spare before Big Flirt's race, he was racing in the first race of the day! Next stop, wagering window! Good thing I called my brother-in-law Jeff who informed me about how to place a bet. You can do the following:

• Bet to Win: obvious- you only make $$ if the horse wins
• Bet to Place: Win $$ if the horse comes in 1st or 2nd
• Bet to Show: Win $$ if the horse is in the top 3
• Unsure who to bid on? I recommend choosing by name or the color/design of the jockey's silks. LOL the program definitely has other information they recommend but it's way too complicated for me. 

I bet that Big Flirt would Place and he came in 2nd!! Ready's Rocket, the horse that beat him set a record 10 wins at Churchill Downs with the win. Wooo!! I'm up $14 and done betting for the day! I could see how quickly people lose money at a track. Please note the SWEET Syracuse colors!

GO BIG FLIRT! 

About Churchill Downs:

• Horse racing in Kentucky is rich in history, dating back to 1789 when the first race course was laid out in Lexington. However, it was almost 100 years later, in 1875, that Churchill Downs officially opened and began its tradition as "Home of the Kentucky Derby."
• In 1787, The Commons, a park-like block near Lexington's Race Street was used by horsemen for racing. By 1789, complaints by "safety minded" citizens led to the formal development of a race meet at The Commons. The men who organized this race meet, including Kentucky Statesman Henry Clay, also formed the Commonwealth's first Jockey Club. The organization later was named the Kentucky Jockey Club in 1809.
• For his inaugural race meet, Clark designed his three major stakes races, the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and Clark Handicap, after the three premier races in England, the Epsom Derby, Epsom Oaks and St. Leger Stakes, respectively. These events have each been held continuosly at Churchill since their debut in 1875.
• Has hosted the Kentucky Derby continuously since 1875
• First winner: Aristides 
• 2011 winner (137th Derby): Animal Kingdom 
• Recent History: Tornado at Churchill Downs on June 23rd, lots of debris but no humans or horses were injured, approximately 75-100 horses were displaced as a result of the storm! 
• Official Drink of the Derby: (I have yet to have one...time is running out!) 
• Mint Julep: 
• 4 Mint Sprigs
• 2.5 oz Bourbon
• 1 tsp powdered sugar
• 2 tsp water
• Serve over ice! 

Monday at Clinical:
I got a chance to get out to the horse park this afternoon while UK PT students had an elective Hippotherapy class (1 of 5 sessions). It was great! I got to show off some of my new horse knowledge and groom and help tack up the horses. Following the class I got to long-line two of the horses, Lincoln & Chico. The horses need exercise too! I took Lincoln outside and we did hills for some exercise, I think we were both sweaty messes by the end of it. Long-lining is when you "drive" (not sure if that's the right word for it) the horse by 2 long lines (go figure) and you stand at the horses back hip. It was kinda like steering a boat lol! It was awesome to work with the horses outside of a hippotherapy session. Lincoln definitely tested me, seeing how much he could get away with...needless to say by the end he knew who was boss. Longggg but great day!

OHHHHH- HI- O

Roadtrip!! A view of Cincinnati from KY! 

So you will have to forgive me, this post is not about Kentucky but a trip to Cincinnati, Ohio! It is just a hop, skip and a jump over the Ohio River from Lexington. I went to visit fellow QU PT James who is doing a rotation at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. He was kind enough to give me a tour of the city and University of Cincinnati, Reds and Bengals stadiums, and then we went to the......drumroll please.... ZOOO! It was SOOO fun! We made sure we saw every inch of the Zoo and didn't miss any animals! It was great to chat and catch up while observing some of the most fascinating creatures God created, I mean seriously He's pretty creative with all those zebra's, tigers, and manatees to name a few.

About the Zoo: 

• The Zoological Society of Cincinnati was founded in 1873 and officially opened its doors in 1875, making the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden the second oldest Zoo in the United States (Philadelphia Zoo is the oldest) 
• The zoo conducts breeding programs, and was the first to successfully breed California Sea Lions. The zoo also has other breeding programs including cheetahs, Sumatran rhinoceros, Malayan tigers, Western Lowland Gorilla, Pottos, and Masai giraffes. 
• Three Bonobos were born at the zoo last year, two in March and one in May, along with another birth in December 2003. 
• The Cincinnati Zoo was the home of Martha, the last living passenger pigeon, which died there in 1914. It was also home to the last living Carolina parakeet in 1918.

James- figuring out our next stop! 

Adorable!

Sampling of some of the pictures I took! Enjoy!! 

Dan's Visit!!

So Dan came to visit me this weekend. Wanting to be a good girlfriend I had plans for Friday, Saturday and Sunday so he could get the FULL Kentucky experience. Well, Mother Nature thought otherwise because clearly all of my plans revolved around having nice weather. Here were the supposed-to be plans and what we actually did:

Moonbow (Planned Friday Night) 
At Cumberland Falls ("the Niagara of the South" located about an hour and a half from Lexington) there is a phenomenon called a Moonbow that only happens in 2 places in the World, here and New Zealand. What happens is when there is a Full Moon, on a clear night the Moon's light creates a rainbow in the mist. Pretty Cool huh? I think it would have made for a sweet Friday night. The storms did not allow for this trip to happen :(

Instead, we went to the Horse Park and walked around for awhile, there was a show going on and also Polo Practice. So we watched a lil Polo (I don't understand the rules but hey, that might make a good blog post in a few days...)

It's like field hockey on horses!!

                                               

Saturday- Original Game Plan Kayak Red River Gorge 

Red River Gorge is famous for it's Limestone cliffs and awesome rock climbing, which Dan totally would have been into. However being afraid of heights and having terrible grip strength, I opted for Kayaking the gorge for an 8 mile trek of gorgeous scenery. Again, strike #2 with Mother Nature, the company that operates the kayaking was not renting on Saturday due to the storms. 

Instead: Farmer's Market,  Raven's Run & Scenic Drive 

Raven's Run is a Nature Sanctuary that has 350 acres of trails through forests, creeks, meadows, wildflowers and historic geological landmarks. We managed to get there during the only sunshine of the day and had a lil trail run/walk (me being super cautious of my wobbly ankle). It was beautiful and we were the only ones there. We alternated who led the way because we kept getting spiderwebs in our faces. We had a great view of the Kentucky River from one of the Overlook spots!

On the way home, I put away Frank the GPS and just took a drive. The houses and horse farms are soo beautiful. We discussed how nice it is to see that there is still undeveloped land left in this country. 

Kentucky River! 

Somebody forgot what a Razor and Clippers are while their girlfriend is in KY!!  Mountain man...

He blends in... and moves awfully fast too. 

I was faster than this turtle on the run!! 

Sunday: Real Polo Games (Cancelled due to Rain) so CrossFit instead!  

Lazy Sunday. Lots of Thunderstorms and watching the US Open (Golf). We managed to make it to CrossFit Maximus so Dan could check out their "box". Needless to say he was impressed. We did a quick workout (4 rounds of400m run, 10 pull-ups, 20 sit ups, and 30 air squats) and chatted with one of the trainers. Then it was home to get Dan ready to go to the airport. 

The weekend FLEW by... but it was definitely nice to be able to show him around my small world here in Lexington. I drove him by Cardinal Hill, went to the airport and CrossFit which is pretty much my M-F here. Only 3 weekends left here, where does time go?! Plenty of adventures to come!

Thanks for visiting!!

Halfway?! Week #4 Recap.

You know the sayin'...time flies when your havin fun! This week was week #4 and that means midterm. I should be completing my CPI at the moment but I enjoyed a bit of sun today at Cave Run Lake and Finding Nemo is on and I haven't updated this in a week, sooo the CPI can wait another day. And Shelby- if you ever end up reading this I didn't just BS it, it's almost done.

Lunch Break at the horse park on Friday...watching a horse competition! 

Thursday Night Live

Downtown Lexington holds a Thursday Night Live downtown with live music and beer, similiar to Alive at Five for the 518 (ironic though because I have never been to the one in Albany). PT Kids enjoyed the late afternoon drinks and then dinner at Ramsey's (homecooked southern food).

 The hometown KY kids filled us in on the correct use of "Bless your heart" and "noodling". Apparently there is no other phrase out there that can replace "bless your heart", can you think of one? 

Noodling apparently is a method of catching catfish by sticking your arm down a hole in the muck and pulling out a catfish that latches on to your arm. (GROSS and OW!). Click Me For a Video on Noodling

Cave Run Lake

My impressive photo skills...haha 

The lake is located within the scenic Eastern Highlands Region of Kentucky and is almost completely surrounded by the northern-most section of the Daniel Boone National Forest. An earth and rockfill dam built across the Licking River created Cave Run Lake. The dam is located near the small community of Farmers, Ky., 10 miles west of Morehead and 60 miles east of Lexington. It was primarily created to reduce flood damage in the Ohio River Basin. The lake is almost 48 miles long and covers 8,270 acres. -Info courtesy of the Army Corps of Engineers.

Mary and I had a splendid day! We found a spot near the water and the place was empty when we got there! It was awesome. Mary's Golden Retriever Madison came along too and swam her little heart out. Funny though that as the day went on, the shoreline started to fill up, but not near us... maybe it was Mary's Duke sticker on her car? We smelled funny? Who knows, we do have another theory but that is a story for another day.  I also had a chance to finally swim some laps to get ready for 2 upcoming triathlons later this summer. I <3 the water. KY is too land-locked for me.

Wishing I was knee deep in the water somewhere

Got the blue sky breeze and it don't seem fair

Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair

Sunrise there's a fire in the sky

Never been so happy 

Never felt so high

And I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise

This is what a torrential downpour looks like, 25 feet later, no rain. Crazy! Good thing it was at 5PM!