Farm Machinery Show: Where are all the farmers?

Well, the Farm Machinery Show is this coming week (Feb 11-14) and I don't have a single booking as yet.. Last year I had a full house; interesting people who own farms and come into town each year to enjoy the displays and new equipment at the fair grounds and have a good time. My guests all went to one of the local restaurants last night for dinner (will post on local restaurants later) and said the food was great. It's an Italian restaurant called Amici's and , since it changed hands a couple of years ago, they now have a terrific owner and chef, and they are top notch!

So what's going on? I'm always booked for the Farm Machinery Show. Are people waiting 'til the last minute? Or is this a sign of the bad economy? One of the biggest reasons for coming to the show is the Tractor Pull! What fun! Officially introduced to the world in 1969 during the fourth National Farm Machinery Show (NFMS), the Championship Tractor Pull is now celebrating 40 years of making champions. The competition had been a vision of its originator, Billy Joe Miles, and was so popular in its first year that 15 drivers signed up to compete in the inaugural pull before it was officially established.

Truck and tractor pulling, also known as power pulling, is a competition using tractors and large trucks to pull a heavy drag along a 'track'. It's very popular in rural areas. Usually the drag offers progressively greater resistance as it is pulled. It can be a great spectacle, although the vehicle produces a great deal of noise and smoke and tends to kick up dirt. Also, the tractors pulling don't actually travel very far (a typical "full pull" is 300 feet). There are many different classes, from "factory" tractors, to custom built vehicles with multiple engines.

When farming machines were pulled by horse, farmers would boast about the strength of their horses, claiming their's could tow the largest loads. They would challenge each other to contests to prove who had the strongest horse. A barn door was removed and laid flat the ground, the horse was then hitched to it and the farmer urged the horse to drag the barn door along the ground. One by one, people jumped on the door until the horse could no longer drag it; the horse pulling the most people the greatest distance was judged the strongest. This event, was called horse pulling,. Although still carried out today with specially bred horses, in around 1929 power pull contests began utilizing motorized vehicles. By the 1950s and '60s, the tractor pull had become a popular sport. For complete history see: http://tinyurl.com/ar4o7c

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Surviving the family road trip: Base yourself in Louisville

This year, all of us are going to have to come up with some creative ideas for summer travel. The economy is still in a slump, but the kids are out of school, they've worked hard all year and, hopefully have gotten passing grades! They really deserve a break. One of the most painless ways for folks to take the kids along on vacation is to take a car trip. You can stop along the way, they sleep in the back seat, play video games, and listen to music with ear-phones on. They can eat snacks and drink beverages in the car and even take fido along. Most dogs love to travel with the family. And, it's a lot cheaper that airflight.

There are many cities in the US that make good central locations for a week-end or week-long getaway. And the choices in accommodations are better than ever. Nearby state parks offer both cabins and lodges in beautiful woodland settings, farms or ranches are great places for kids, and if you want to include some city life, a bed and breakfast is ideal.

Our national parks are astounding. Most people don’t realize that many state parks have lodges and cabins that you can rent. In South Dakota, you can rent a rustic cabin — there’s A/C but no bathroom — that sleeps four for $35 a night, or a lodge that sleeps eight for $150 (800/710-2267, sdparks.info) . In West Virginia, you can rent a modern cabin that sleeps four for under $100 a night (304/558-2764, wvstateparks.com).

In Kentucky, Cumberland Falls offers beautiful affordable accommodations (http://parks.ky.gov/findparks/resortparks/cf/). Besides relatively cheap lodging, you get inexpensive activities like hiking, fishing, kayaking, biking, etc. Some even have golf courses! Plus, the rangers usually lead programs and activities designed for children.

Farmstays are B&Bs or working farms, where you help ocan out as much as you like, or just explore the area. This trend first took off in Italy, where they’re called agriturismi. A room that sleeps four usually goes for around $100 — and that includes farm-related activities and breakfast. You can help gather eggs or feed sheep at Leaping Lamb Farm Stay in Alsea, Ore. The daily cost for a family of four starts at $125 — and the seventh night is free (877/820-6132, leapinglambfarm.com). A week at the Herds Inn at Hedgebrook Farm in Virginia is $750 (866/783-2681, theherdsinn.com). Working Cows Dairy is a farm near Dothan, Ala., that rents a cottage that sleeps six for $300 per week (334/886-3839, workingcowsdairy.com).

Some states have farm associations — including Pennsylvania (888/856-6622, pafarmstay.com) and Vermont (866/348-3276, vtfarms.org) making it easy to locate farmstays. Other states such as California (805/238-3799, agadventures.org) maintain agritourism sites where you can find farms that rent rooms or welcome day visitors. And you can always just Google your state’s name and the phrase “farm stay.” Most of Kentucky's farmstays are B&Bs and are associated with the Bed and Breakfast Association of Kentucky (http://www.kentuckybb.com/).

Bed and Breakfasts are ideal for combining what a city has to offer with the surrounding area. You can situate yourself in a beautiful Inn for a week and take day trips to small villages, farms, lake, beaches or whatever you like. A city like Louisville, in Kentucky, is perfect. It has all of the above, plus outstanding restaurants, museums, theater and many attractions. There are a whole host of events and festivals going on all summer, from the Shakespeare Festivals in Old Louisville's Central Park to My Old Kentucky home pageants to the Kentucky State Fair.

An advantage of staying in Louisville is that it is very accessible from other states; such as Illinois Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Iowa and Arkansas, etc. The innerstate highway system is amazing and easily leads right into downtown Louisville. Another advantage is that Louisville has aproximately 18-20 awesome bed and breakfasts (www.lbba.com), most centrally located.

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Tractorpull tonight!

Well, the Farm Machinery Show is in full swing and I have a full house; interesting people who own farms and come into town each year to enjoy the displays and new equipment at the fair grounds and have a good time. My guests all went to one of the local restaurants last night for dinner (will post on local restaurants later) and said the food was great. It's an Italian restaurant called Amici's and , since it changed hands a couple of years ago, they now have a terrific owner and chef, and they are top notch!

So what's on for my guests for tonight? It's one of the biggest reasons for coming to the show! The Tractor Pull! What fun! Officially introduced to the world in 1969 during the fourth National Farm Machinery Show (NFMS), the Championship Tractor Pull is now celebrating 40 years of making champions. The competition had been a vision of its originator, Billy Joe Miles, and was so popular in its first year that 15 drivers signed up to compete in the inaugural pull before it was officially established.

Truck and tractor pulling, also known as power pulling, is a competition using tractors and large trucks to pull a heavy drag along a 'track'. It's very popular in rural areas. Usually the drag offers progressively greater resistance as it is pulled. It can be a great spectacle, although the vehicle produces a great deal of noise and smoke and tends to kick up dirt. Also, the tractors pulling don't actually travel very far (a typical "full pull" is 300 feet). There are many different classes, from "factory" tractors, to custom built vehicles with multiple engines.

When farming machines were pulled by horse, farmers would boast about the strength of their horses, claiming their's could tow the largest loads. They would challenge each other to contests to prove who had the strongest horse. A barn door was removed and laid flat the ground, the horse was then hitched to it and the farmer urged the horse to drag the barn door along the ground. One by one, people jumped on the door until the horse could no longer drag it; the horse pulling the most people the greatest distance was judged the strongest. This event, was called horse pulling,. Although still carried out today with specially bred horses, in around 1929 power pull contests began utilizing motorized vehicles. By the 1950s and '60s, the tractor pull had become a popular sport. For complete history see: http://tinyurl.com/ar4o7c