Would you think less of me if I admitted that when I was considering making the trip down to Kentucky to visit the caves, that the idea of staying at the Wigwam Village was what truly sold me on the idea? I have a real weakness for anything quirky or weird or retro and this place had high marks on all of those criteria.
The Wigwam Village was built in 1937 and is only one of three that remain in the country. The entire area was like going back in time to the 1950/60s which is something that I enjoyed tremendously. (Is it a surprise that I also enjoy vintage clothes and purses and watching Mad Men?)
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The children were both intrigued and skeptical when we pulled up in the parking lot outside. They’ve stayed in more than their share of nice hotels with all the traveling they’ve done at their young ages. Fortunately, they’ve also stayed in some real holes in our tours around Egypt so they have a wide range of what is acceptable!
The room was actually much larger than it looked from the outside. It wasn’t luxurious, but it was clean and everything worked. The bathroom was a narrow strip on the back of the wigwam – the mirror above the sink was actually hung at a downward angle because of the slope of the wall – and the only fault I could find with it is that the shower had no light source and an opaque shower curtain so it was dark in there!
The best part of the Wigwam Village was the open space. Because the rooms were not designed for staying in and lounging, the playground was the place to be. There were many other families with children staying that night and all the children found each other outside and played tag and hide and seek until the fireflies came out, at which point they all started chasing the bugs instead. It truly warmed my heart to see them all having such a great time in such old fashioned ways.
While the children were playing, I wandered over to the office / gift shop to have a look around. When I went in, the owner was there by himself so I started chatting with him. Ironically, he is an Indian man from India. When I started to tell him about living in Egypt and all the places I’ve traveled (including India) he really seemed pleased to talk to someone with an international perspective (me too!). I was planning to purchase a couple of postcards featuring a picture of the hotel but before I could he made a gift to me of two postcards and also a plaster replica of a wigwam that he has made locally.
He suggested that I might clean it up a bit and paint a “15″ on the back to remember the room we stayed in. I just might. I like my little wigwam quite a lot and every time I look at it I remember that pleasant conversation.
What can I say about the Wigwam Village except that I loved it. So much of America has been franchised by chains of one sort or another that there are fewer and fewer truly unique places out there anymore. If you like the homogeneity and assurance of a certain level of quality that the big hotel chains offer, then the Wigwam Village is probably not for you. The Wigwam Village did not have a pool, the playground equipment was in need of some attention, there was no Wifi, and the cable TV was snowy. On the other hand, because there was nothing much to do in the rooms, people came outside and mingled and children played in the twilight.
There is an area of Kentucky only a few hours away from where I am currently staying that apparently has the world’s longest known cave system, with more than 390 miles explored. I’m always up for seeing something interesting so I packed up the children and set off for some weekend fun.
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Our first stop was Mammoth Cave National Park. They have big caves and several tour options, so it seemed like a natural place to start. TIP: if you should decide to visit the park yourself, book your preferred tour online. We arrived just before noon and most of the best tours were already sold out. Since we were there, we did a self led tour which was just the ticket to whet our appetites for seeing more.
I’ve never had any reason to visit Kentucky and have never given it much thought except as a place I need to pass through to get to some place else. It really is a beautiful area.
Mammoth Cave is so called because it has a really large central chamber – the scale of which is hard to appreciate in this picture. As it turns out, it is only the sixth largest chamber of caves in the area. We didn’t see the others but I was pretty impressed by this one so I can only imagine that the other would be more impressive yet.
Apparently the cave was mined for salt peter during the Revolutionary War to use in the production of gun powder. Interesting!
Seeing the cave at the park only whet our appetite to see more so we headed off next to see Diamond Caverns.
It’s hard to appreciate the beauty of the caves in photographs – things looked so much different with and without a flash.
With a flash…
And without.
Each cave has its own beauty and you can appreciate the depth and scale so much more with your own eyes – and also the cold drips from the ceiling!
The guide called this formation “cave bacon”. It reminded me a little of the alabaster pots I have in Egypt, which glow so prettily when you put a candle inside.
See the stalagmite slab cut off in the bottom left of the photo. Apparently people used to believe you could date a stalagmite as you do a tree, by counting rings. A lot of effort to cut it off to be WRONG!
There were many levels to the caves. I think the deepest under ground we went in this one was about 80ft.
There were clear rules when we entered the caves: No purses or bags, No touching the cave formations. Obviously people were not always so observant of preservation of natural wonders – note the stalagtites which are snapped off flat.
By the end of our tour of Diamond Caverns the children and I were so high on cave exploring we decided to try one more: the Lost River Cave. Long time readers might have noticed by now that I’m a bit of a sucker for adventuring, but especially adventures that involve riding animals or interesting vehicles. The Lost River cave tour is in a boat in an underground river – the only such tour in Kentucky according to their brochure. How cool is that? Unfortunately, the tour was not operating that day due to excess rain fall – the water level in the cave was too high. Disappointing, but now we have something to look forward to next time we are in the area.
I have been in idling mode this last week. Technically now that school is over, summer vacation has begun but it doesn’t really feel like it yet. I’ve just been killing time.
I’ve been told I’m a good mother, but I am not without my weak points. For instance, I am no good at organizing housebound activities. Though I am a crafty person myself, I am no good at directing craftiness in my children. They are always enthusiastic about making things, but inevitably the set-up and clean-up portions of the program last much longer than their actual interest in the project. Also, they take a much more haphazard approach to making things and I have a hard time not interfering in their process. In short, I either take over or make it an unpleasant process for us all. (They want to make pet rocks and bottle cap magnets for an upcoming arts festival in Minnesota… god help me!)
It’s better for me to just step away from the paint pot / glue gun / glitter glue and leave that to their teachers at school.
I much prefer just keeping the kids moving and active. Tennis lessons, swimming, zoo trips – anything where we can get out and go. It not only keeps them busy and entertained, but it usually has the bonus of making them tired as well. Win-win for me.
I’m starting my summer this weekend with an overnight trip to Cave City, Kentucky. It’s apparently one of (the?) largest natural cave formations in the world and it’s only a few hours from here. How could I *not* go to see it? One of the cave tours is offered on a boat. Cave exploring on a boat? I am so there.
There is so much to see in the greater Cincinnati area and suddenly not so much time left to do it. Still, I’m trying to hit the highlights. This weekend I took the children to the Newport Aquarium, located just across the river in Kentucky.
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The aquarium opens at 9AM for the summer months and we were there right on time. I can’t think of a better time to arrive – I bought my tickets ahead of time at a local grocery store and there was absolutely no waiting in line to get in. It was worth waking up early for that alone!
I suppose every aquarium strives to have something special to distinguish itself and one of several items the Newport Aquarium has is a pair of shark rays – fairly rare. They are hoping that the shark rays will eventually feel the urge to mate.
They are fascinating to watch and one hopes that the aquarium achieves its goal – but one might think the sharks might appreciate a tiny bit more privacy and a tad less pressure!
The only place I’d like to run into this creature, the Japanese Spider crab, is on ice at an all-you-can-eat seafood bar!
I really liked how the aquarium included fun things for all ages as well. There was a shark cage simulator where you could see what it might be like in an actual shark cage underwater – it shook and bumped when the video sharks came close. You can get up close and personal with real live sharks at the shark petting pool. Also, in the Frog Bog area, there was a Frogger video game which you stood on to play and also a climbing tunnel play area – and of course there were also many exhibits of frogs from around the world.
I’ve gained a new appreciation for jelly fish from the several zoo and aquarium exhibits I’ve seen in the last few months. I would love to have a tank of them in my house. They are the lava lamp of the sea. It’s very relaxing to watch them propel themselves around. And they are fascinating to think about since they are apparently made-up of something like 98% water.
The last thing we saw was the shark diver show. The diver spoke to us from the tank and told us facts about the various sharks in the tank and answered questions from the audience. My son was underwhelmed. I wasn’t sure what he expected – maybe for them to dump bloody chum into the water for a feeding frenzy??
One of the best parts of visiting the aquarium is to learn new things about the animals we share the world with. We may be at the top of the food chain, but it never hurts to understand our place in the world and how our actions effect the rest of the ecosystem.
The children have four half days of school this week (why do schools do that??) We’ll have another fun trip to Kentucky next week before we head to see family in northern Minnesota at the end of the month – stay tuned…
Our one full day in Chicago, Friday, was a gray, foggy, drippy mess. It didn’t *really* matter because we were planning on going to the Shedd Aquarium anyway. I didn’t get any pictures worth sharing in the aquarium – if you want to know what it is like, you’ll just have to go for yourself. It is totally worth the trip. We spent about three hours wandering around and still didn’t see everything. The only thing I wasn’t so impressed with was the 4D Movie. We saw Planet Earth. First of all, it wasn’t originally produced in 3D so the effects they managed to add-in were unimpressive and blowing some air on our necks, bumping our seats once, and piping in some bubbles did not WOW me into thinking I was in the Arctic. The Jellies exhibit, however, was great and the aquatic show was fun – not to mention all the regular exhibits. Overall, I highly recommend the aquarium.
Saturday morning was somewhat better weather so we took a walk down to Millennium Park to see The Bean – a Chicago landmark. How can you go to Chicago and not get a picture with The Bean? (Unless of course you happen to be in the midst of a nasty dermatological peel and flee from all cameras).
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We started at my friends’ condo near the Museum Campus. Just across the street from their place is a park with these walking leg sculptures.
I think they are made of iron. Kind of strange, huh? They remind me of something out of a Roald Dahl story.
The next big scenic item we saw was Buckingham Fountain. It’s lovely, isn’t it?
I believe these are cherry blossoms, but don’t quote me on that.
Then finally we came to The Bean. Isn’t it amazing?
Even the under side was fantastic.
I can only be grateful that we got to see it on such a lovely clear day.
As you might imagine, I have several pictures of the children pretending to lift the bean. I could have taken pictures for hours with the optical illusions it created.
After walking nearly all the way back to the condo, we stopped for breakfast at Yolk, then my friends went shopping and the children and I did a whirlwind tour of The Field Museum. We didn’t see everything, but we did see dinosaur bones – a must see for any little boy in your company.
And that was the end of our time in Chicago. It might have been better if the weather had been nicer, but I have absolutely nothing to complain about. You get what you get when you visit in April!
Spring break is over and the children are going back to school tomorrow. I’m going to bask in the glow of last week for a little while longer however and share some pictures of our quick trip to Chicago.
How much luckier can a girl get – not only do we have a week off, but I just happen to have a couple of friends from way back who own a condo in Chicago. I would have gone to see them in any event and been happy at their place in Ohio, but I surely wasn’t going to turn down a suggestion to go and spend a few days in Chicago since they offered.
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Here is the view from their condo – notice Soldier Field to the right:
And now to the left. Is that amazing or what?
I could not have dreamed up a better location for taking the children to see some of the big attractions – the Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum, and the planetarium were right across the street!
We didn’t arrive in Chicago until mid-afternoon and since the weather was clear we decided to seize the opportunity and go up to see the view from a tall building. We choose the Hancock Building.
It isn’t the highest building in the world, or even in Chicago, but going up 94 floors in 40 seconds was impressive enough for me. I occasionally have nightmares about speeding elevators so though the ride was smooth enough, it was still a little freaky for me!
It has never been my particular goal to live in a giant city, but even I was impressed with the view.
After we’d seen the view from every angle available, we strolled down Michigan Avenue and window shopped for a few blocks. That worked up our appetites nicely for some Chicago-style pizza. Y-U-M. Why does anyone eat any other kind of pizza?
It is a good thing we went up to see the view when we did because the next day, our only full day in Chicago, looked like this:
The fog and drizzle didn’t slow us down though – we just spent the day inside at the Shedd Aquarium instead.
It’s just as well that I don’t live at the condo full time or I’d never get anything done for looking out at the view all the time. It was even pretty at night.
Stay tuned for part 2 of Chicago on Wednesday: A sunny day and The Bean.
Two weeks back in the US after our evacuation from Egypt and I still feel disoriented.
To be honest, I don’t attribute this feeling entirely to the stress of evacuating my home – I feel this way every summer I am back and see all the changes that have occurred since my last visit. The feeling is somewhat exacerbated this time however by being in a large metropolitan area instead of the north woods.
In my decade of living abroad I have developed a particular set of skills useful for traveling in foreign countries: I can fake my way through conversations in languages I don’t actually speak and usually get my point across, I can pack a bag within a pound of the luggage allowance without using a scale (it’s something of a personal challenge in fact), and I can navigate nearly any airport in the world.
It’s things like credit card swipe machines, self-checkout lanes, and choosing a bottle of shampoo (or a loaf of bread) on an aisle with fifty different varieties that throw me off.
The one big new-to-me thing that I’ve had to learn to deal with this time back is using a GPS to get around.
My first experience with watching anyone use a GPS was on a trip to Germany back in 2007. The husband of a friend there had just purchased a car with a built in GPS and he wanted nothing more than to play with and rely on it. His wife, my friend, wanted him to also pay attention to road signs and make some independent decisions. Many an argument ensued. I watched from the backseat and tried not to snicker when he misinterpreted vocal directions from the GPS and was then instructed to “make a u-turn”.
When I am in the north woods I have no need for a GPS because there is all of one highway that runs up and down the coast of Lake Superior and the towns I am navigating are both familiar and small. Not true of the Maryland / Virginia area where I am now. I had only been in the US two days and had my rental car for a matter of hours before I had to find my way from my sister’s house to the home of a friend half an hour away.
Ever tried driving an unfamiliar rental car on a six lane beltway that is under construction, in the dark, with jetlag and nothing but the disembodied vocal commands of a GPS to guide you? It’s a bit like playing a life and death video game. I am happy that all ended well – and that it wasn’t snowing or raining – but it isn’t a trip I would have attempted at that time if the friend I was going to see hadn’t been leaving for India the next day.
I admit that the GPS is indeed handy – I have been able to find specific places I need to go independently while my sister is at work- but I have noticed a few quirks too. For instance, I have been to the same shopping center at least four times and even when I start from the same place, the GPS has taken me at least three different routes. It’s almost as if the GPS is messing with me – or trying to make me dependent on it.
And once in a while it announces the directions too soon – like giving me the next three instructions while I’m sitting at a traffic light – or too late – as I’m sailing past the turn. I admit that I am not that great at estimating what 200 feet looks like, but “make a u-turn” isn’t always a possible maneuver when you miss a turn and suddenly find yourself on the entrance ramp for the interstate. “Recalculating…”
Monday morning was the worst though. The GPS seemed to have woken from its slumber disoriented. We turned it on, ready to go back to the same shopping center yet again. I started out the same way as ever, having learned the first several turns on my own. It remained stubbornly silent for the longest time, yet every correct turn I took, it said “recalculating”. At one point it directed me to turn in a new spot so I did, trying to be cooperative. “Recalculating…Make a u-turn.” I went back and then promptly started to ignore it for the next several blocks. I was going the correct way, but it persisted in telling me to“turn around here, keep right, recalculating”… I eventually made my way to the shopping center in spite of the GPS and only hoped that it would collect its wits so that it could assist on the way home.
It was actually kind of funny as it hysterically issued instructions to me as I made my way through the parking lot, ignoring it in favor of my eyes and brain.
Somewhat appropriately, the REM song “Stand” was playing in the office supply store in the shopping center:
Stand in the place where you live
Now face North
Think about direction
Wonder why you haven’t before
Now stand in the place where you work
Now face West
Think about the place where you live
Wonder why you haven’t before
If you are confused, check with the sun
Carry a compass to help you along
Your feet are going to be on the ground
Your head is there to move you around
I have since returned the rental car and am now back to navigating on foot. Yes, it takes longer to get places but hey, it’s also hard to get lost in a hurry…
My family departed the Cairo airport on Tuesday February 1st, at the private terminal where the US State Department had set up chartered planes, and were sent to Istanbul. I only have the highest compliments for the US State Department – they were very organized and calm in a time when I was so stressed out I could hardly follow the simplest of instructions.
We stayed in Istanbul for a few days, to collect our wits and relax. I wanted very much to enjoy my time in Istanbul because who knows when I might get back, if ever, but it was bittersweet. I was too emotionally raw to fully relax. Also, Istanbul is too reminiscent of what Cairo could potentially be like with proper leadership and care.
Well meaning friends suggested I should take advantage of the tip to shop. There were certainly many lovely items I could have happily bought in other circumstances, but with the thought that we might shortly be both homeless and jobless, I decided to limit myself to taking pictures instead.
It helped that we had been to Istanbul once before because we even though we arrived a bit shell-shocked, we were able to arrange for a hotel in Sultanhamet, the historic area of town. We stayed in Sultanahmet ten years ago – Istanbul was our first big trip abroad after we moved to the United Arab Emirates, before we had children.
Both of the pictures above are from the roof terrace restaurant at the hotel. Isn’t the Bosphorus lovely?
We happened upon this local market and I recognized it as one we had explored ten years ago, and I am pretty sure we bought two lovely carpets in one of the shops. I deliberately avoided the carpet shops this time. I have a weakness for them and carpet merchants are extremely persistent.
I was more drawn to the ceramics, but it isn’t so easy to carry around – particularly when you don’t know where you’re going to end up.
The Grand Bazaar is a wonderful place. I enjoyed it more this time, now that I have more bargaining skills.
We didn’t end up buying anything except two soccer jersey sets for the children – the one bright spot of the trip is that I bargained him down to 50% of his starting price.
Now I’m killing time at my sister’s house in the US, waiting to see what happens next. I find myself alternating between despair and anger. Despair over all that has probably been lost in Egypt and also anger that it could have been avoided if only the regime had listened to the people they ruled. I know it is much more complicated, but even if the president had invested a fraction of the money he lined his pockets with for three decades, it is likely that all of this could have been avoided. As it stands, not only will the country have to be calmed and rebuilt but all of the accumulated mistakes of several decades rectified.
I have often likened the various economic and political problems in the US to a diet – it is very easy to gain weight but it takes a long time to lose it. In the same respect, people expect Obama to fix America’s problems in a much shorter time span than they were created. How long will it take to fix the problems of Egypt?
I was reading a blog summarizing the problems in Egypt recently in which an anonymous comment asked “Why should I care? If they want a better life, they should leave.” It is always more complicated than that. Many do leave, but many more are either prevented from leaving by the immigration policies of other countries or they do not wish to leave because they want to live in their own country. There are no easy answers, anywhere.
Yes, my own life is in a time of upheaval, but I do at least have other options. I have another country to go home to and eventually will find new job opportunities. There are so many hard working Egyptians that I have met in my time in the country who are only going to be hurt by these problems, at least in the short term, that I cannot help but be depressed for them – and perhaps foolishly optimistic that I can return to Egypt if only to say a proper goodbye…
Ironically, I am posting about my first day in Germany last, more than a whole week later and after my return to Egypt. Huh – how did that happen?
The first full day I was in Germany, my friend had to work so her sister very kindly offered to show me around a bit. We had a fabulous lunch at the Fruh, a local brauhaus, in city center and then took a walk across the bridge over the Rhine River to a tall tower with a scenic view.
The bridge is for trains with a pedestrian sidewalk separated from the rails by a metal fence. I was walking along chatting when spots of color caught my attention from the corner of my eye. At first I thought it was bits of paper.
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Then I took a closer look:
Yes, it is what it looks like – hundreds (and hundreds) of bicycle locks.
Bicycles are a popular mode of transportation here, and apparently it is a fairly recent trend to express your love for your significant other by placing a bike lock on the bridge. Some are even engraved.
In terms of ways that people publicly display their affections, I love this one. It’s clever and it really brightens up what is a very dull, gray structure. This project has even gained what I assume is public / state support as the words “Love is a Four Letter Word” have been stenciled and painted on the sidewalk.
It was a snowy day so the view from the tower wasn’t as impressive as it might have been in other weather – but I didn’t have to climb the tower to see it so that was a plus.
I deliberately planned my trip for December so I could see the Christmas markets so I knew I was taking my changes with the weather. I am however already scheming when I can visit again in warmer, clearer weather. My friend told me if I come back enough times, at various different times of year, I was bound to get a blue sky eventually! Works for me
My last day in Cologne my friend and host was ill – fever, stomach upset, headache. It was a cold, gray, drippy Sunday so it wasn’t exactly the most inviting day to go sightseeing – which I why I was all the more appreciative when her boyfriend offered to take me around in her stead. We went to lunch in a neighborhood pub and then we hopped on a train and went to the Chocolate Museum.
The museum is located on the Rhine River and in addition to the chocolate molds and historical advertising items included, you could also watch the chocolate being made – and even sample some.
It is probably a very good thing that they don’t just let people help themselves at the chocolate fountain!
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If I worked here, I would be their most conscientious employee ever and do frequent quality control tests!
This batch passed the test, but it pays to be vigilant!
There were machines mixing up chocolate and pouring it out to make candies – and people working with and packaging the chocolate. Okay sure, it might not be the most mentally stimulating job and it probably is a bit irritating to constantly be on display, but there are certainly worse jobs. Just think of the chocolate. The smell alone was enough to make me swoon.
Maybe it is me, but this Santa looks rather fierce!
Why don’t you see more chocolate pigs around? It seems strangely appropriate! (At least in my case!) There were also molds for bishops, elephants, and camels. It makes sense – why limit themselves to Santas and bunnies? Makes me wonder if you can buy a chocolate Pope at the Vatican gift shop.
Notice the size of the chocolate elephant compared to the woman walking behind the shelf – even assuming it is hollow, that elephant is the size of a small dog!
In my absence over the weekend, my son’s soccer team won their league’s tournament so it only seemed appropriate that we should celebrate that somehow.
My daughter’s team did not do so well, but I got her a chocolate soccer ball too. She made a goal doing a header off a corner kick so it wasn’t for lack of effort or skill on her part. We’ll just call hers a consolation prize. I got my husband some truffles cause I’m just nice that way!
The different Christmas markets around the cities have different themes and merchandise, which makes sense since many of them are located fairly close together. There was a market right next to the museum which featured a Middle Ages-theme – which my friends referred to as a “Middle Aged” market. I knew what they meant but it made me giggle – and them too once I explained it. I was picturing the stalls selling canes and reading glasses on chains. Instead they had armor and swords. Needless to say I didn’t buy anything but a glass of gluewein before we headed home for the day! It was just as well because with all the Christmas goodies I bought, I never would have fit a battle axe in my bag…
I write books for fun so why is it so hard to write my own bio? I am an American currently living in Cairo, Egypt. Aside from writing, I'm a married mom of two under ten, a decent (if reluctant) cook, an encyclopedia of random scientific / medical facts, a wine lover (but not a snob!), and a Capricorn. I love to travel, spend time with good friends, and laugh at life's surprises. View of life - definitely half full.
Would you think less of me if I admitted that when I was considering making the trip down to Kentucky to visit the caves, that the idea of staying at the Wigwam Village was what truly sold me on the idea? I have a real weakness for anything quirky or weird or retro and this place had high marks on all of those criteria.
What can I say about the Wigwam Village except that I loved it. So much of America has been franchised by chains of one sort or another that there are fewer and fewer truly unique places out there anymore. If you like the homogeneity and assurance of a certain level of quality that the big hotel chains offer, then the Wigwam Village is probably not for you. The Wigwam Village did not have a pool, the playground equipment was in need of some attention, there was no Wifi, and the cable TV was snowy. On the other hand, because there was nothing much to do in the rooms, people came outside and mingled and children played in the twilight. 
