A Minute and a Half of Fame

Day 130  | Paducah 

Rain was falling heavily when the alarm went off at 7:00. Knowing we had nowhere to go and no where to be, I rolled over and went back to sleep for another half hour. It was a very nice treat. Barry left around 9:00 to take the rental car back and while he was gone, I curled up in the salon with my book and blanket and turned some more pages. When Barry returned he was excited that Chad Darnall, a videographer from the local TV station, was on the dock and wanted to interview folks about traveling to Paducah for BBQ on the River. Partly because we had a covered cockpit, but more so because no one else wanted to do it, Barry was chosen to be the spokesperson for the dozen Looper boats tied up at the town dock. Following twenty minutes of filming, Chad was off to do some editing for the 6:00 news and we were off to the National Quilt Museum.

Yes, there is such a place. Yes, it was interesting. Several galleries contained quilts spanning 200 years -- from all hand-pieced and stitched, to all machine-pieced and stitched. I am a traditionalist and consider most of the current-day machine-made quilts to be more computer aided design projects than handiwork. The photo on the left shows complex designs possible with modern technology. I prefer the designs of my grandmother's day. The Whirligig Hexagon quilt from 1936 is a simple patchwork design that has a frugal backing made from flour and feed sacks. As the pattern shows, the whole thing is made from only two shapes.

These are a few of the other designs that caught my eye. The four black squares were basic yet complex and stunning all at the same time. The red design uses uniform fabric strips at different angles to create drama. The final two shown are classic examples of the "keep-me-warm" counterpane that my Grandma always had readily available.

We spent about an hour at the museum and then walked out the front door, past statues of Lewis and Clark (below is the one of Meriwether Lewis and his dog), through the festival, and to the riverfront where the American Queen was docked. It began to drizzle again so we retreated to Crossroads for a few hours. While waiting for the afternoon to improve, Barry napped and I did a bit more reading. At 4:00 the sun came out and we picked up where we left off ... at the riverfront. American Queen was preparing for departure by loading on the golf carts and releasing the docklines. Once underway, the calliope played a few songs including Toot, Toot, Tootsie and God Bless America. We watched until she faded into the horizon. By 5:30 the streets were packed with folks looking for BBQ and all the standard carnival fare.

Barry and I shared a rack of ribs and a funnel cake before heading back to the dock. Each captain helped move the boats closer together to make room for two that had not yet arrived. There is a full house tonight with 14 Looper boats at the marina, including one from Urbanna, VA -- just up the Rappahannock River from our home port.

We missed the 6:00 news broadcast, but Barry found the internet link to his 1:30 of Fame.

After four great nights in Paducah, we will leave in the morning for Green Turtle Bay along with most of the other Loopers staying here tonight. It should be a chilly, but dry 40-mile day with one lock.