Kentucky Waterways 19 August 2023
Posted by KentuckySerendipity in Outdoor Activity.Tags: waterfall, waterway
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Kentucky has more navigable waterways than any other state in the lower 48. Of the 50 states, only Alaska has more waterways. Kentucky Living (an interesting monthly magazine) published an article on some available water adventures in Kentucky. There are many places for boating, fishing, water skiing, canoeing, diving, paddle boarding, and kayaking. You can even go on a subterranean water excursion at Red River Gorge. There guides take adventurers through an abandoned limestone mine. Visitors ride clear kayaks and paddleboards and navigate through 60-foot-wide passageways hundreds of feet beneath the Earth’s surface.
If staying above ground is more your thing (as it is mine), then there are many other places to visit and enjoy. One very popular spot is Cumberland Falls near Corbin, Kentucky. The fall is large — about 68 feet tall and 125 feet wide — and is called “the Niagara of the South.” I attended Union College in Barbourville, a few miles east of Corbin, and I and other students often visited Cumberland Falls. Despite my many visits, I am sorry to say that I never saw the moonbow. Yes, there really is such a thing as a moonbow. During a full moon (if the sky is unclouded) the light from the moon shining through the mist thrown up by the falls creates a colorful arc. Cumberland Falls is one of the few places in the world which regularly produces a moonbow.
With so many miles of waterways in Kentucy, it’s not surprising that there are many waterfalls; in fact, there are about 1200 confirmed waterfalls. Kentucky Monthly (another interesting magazine) published an article highlighting some of the waterfalls in Kentucky. Cumberland Falls is the most impressive, but there are many other lovely falls. A visit to a Kentucky waterfall almost always requires a hike, but most of the falls are in lovely wilderness areas so the hike is pleasureable. There is an online waterfall database which one can use to search for waterfalls to explore and enjoy. The Kentucky Wildlands has created a Waterfall Trail which goes from the Tenneessee border in southeastern Kentucky to Carter County in the northeast. Kentucky Wildlands is a tourism site and gives information on other activities in Kentucky so if waterfalls aren’t your thing, you can still find something to do.
August is a hot month in Kentucky, and water activities are a great way to cool down. Visit the web sites, use Google, and plan a wet weekend getaway.
August is a
It’s a Southern Thing: Moon Pie 28 October 2020
Posted by KentuckySerendipity in Food Reviews.add a comment
Moon Pie is definitely a southern thing, especially when paired with the traditional RC Cola. Southerners have enjoyed this treat for more than a century. It’s embedded in the culture and celebrated in songs, festivals and eating contests. Even though it’s a southern thing, Moon Pies are enjoyed by people throughout most of the nation and can be found wherever there’s a Dollar General Store (another southern icon).
As all children of the south know, a moon pie is two graham crackers with a marshmallow filling covered in a flavored “icing”. The original flavor was chocolate. It was the only flavor until the 1960s. Like most other brands, Moon Pie increased it’s offerings, and the Double-Decker Deluxe chocolate was introduced as were vanilla and banana single decker pies. Later additions have included the mini size as well additional flavors including strawberry, mint, and salted caramel. Seasonal flavors of orange and coconut were also introduced. In all flavors and sizes Moon Pies have remained popular, and the factory in Chattanooga, TN, produces about a million a day.
It should come as no surprise that Moon Pie has followed the cultural lead (if it can be called that) and introduced Pumpkin Spice flavor pies. I sampled a box of the minis even though I am not a big fan of pumpkin spice. As expected, the composition is the same as earlier versions with the graham crackers and marshmallow. The flavor is mild which is nice; I had feared an overpowering flavor as has occurred when some other foods jumped on the pumpkin spice bandwagon. In addition to being mild, the flavor was inoffensive. It hints at the flavor of autumn without slamming your face in it. Because of this, the cake is clearly still a Moon Pie — the taste buds are not tricked into sensing it as something else. I found the Pumpkin Spice Mini to be a novelty rather than a staple, and accepted it as such. The flavor was acceptable but I wouldn’t want it regularly. I still prefer the chocolate or banana variety but I’m happy to try any flavor Moon Pie wants to throw in the market.
If You Have a Library Card, Then You Have hoopla 1 August 2020
Posted by KentuckySerendipity in Technology.add a comment
One of the few good things about the pandemic is that it has given us time to catch up on books and movies. In addition to paid video streaming services, there are many free ones which permit us to watch TV shows and movies without payment (but with ads). But what about books? Where does one get free books with libraries closed or inaccessible? That’s where hoopla comes in.
hoopla offers ebooks, videos, music, and audiobooks as streams and downloads. An account is free to anyone with a library card from a member library, which is most public and academic libraries. Setting up an account is quick and easy: Go to the hoopla site; select the library which issued your card; enter your email address and library card number; and — that’s it. You now have access to thousands of materials. The site has items sorted into categories for browsing and of course, there’s a search function.
hoopla has an app which is available for Android, iOS, and even Amazon Fire devices. You can use the app or the web site to select and view materials. If you use the app you can also download materials for viewing or listening when you’re not connected to WiFi. I tested by the web interface and the app.
The web interface is exactly what one would expect. You select an item and it’s available in the web browser. The app provides greater functionality. hoopla items can be viewed on a TV using Roku or Chromecast. When I installed the hoopla app on my tablet it recognized that I have Chromecast (through Google Home) on the tablet and asked whether I wanted to connect the app to Chromecast. I did and hoopla set up the connection immediately. When I check out a video I can tap the screen on my tablet to cast the video to my TV (as one does with other apps which can cast). Setting up the Roku device is a bit more work but not complicated. I searched for hoopla using Roku and selected the channel. I then clicked to add hoopla to my channel list. I clicked to go to the hoopla channel. I then went to the hoopla app on my tablet and under settings selected the option to set up my home device. hoopla provided a four character code on my TV screen which I entered into the hoopla app. The two were then connected. (This is the same procedure used to access many other channels through Roku.)
hoopla setup is quick and use is easy but as is the case with many other things (especially free things), terms and conditions apply. First, there is a limit on how many items one can borrow in a month. This limit is set by your local library. In my case it is five items — not five of each type but five total. So if you want to binge a TV series, forget it! On the other hand, five books is an acceptable number for a month. Second, items are checked out for a specific period. In most cases videos are loaned for 72 hours and books for 21 days. The time limits are reasonable in my opinion. Third, not all items on hoopla are immediately available. Some items are “flex borrows” which means that only one copy is available for use. If someone else has it checked out then you have to wait. (hoopla does provide a waiting list.) This is the same as what happens in a physical library but it isn’t what one expects from a streaming service.
I dislike the per month borrowing limit. I understand the need for a limit but why can’t it be a limit on the total number of items borrowed at any specific time? This is the policy at all the physical libraries I’ve used — I’m limited to five items out at any one time but when I return a item I can immediately get another. But with hoopla it’s five in a month. Since this policy is set by my local library it can’t be considered as a criticism of hoopla per se.
My only criticism of hoopla is the help section. It is very difficult to find information on things such as the item limit and borrowing length. When one does find the information it isn’t in the place one would expect. All things considered, I recommend hoopla, especially for book borrowers. It’s a terrific way to get books without cost and without leaving your home.
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