Monday's Bean Count

Hello again!

There were a total of 13 visits from Kentucky today, which is a good start for the first day of the week.

Check back again tomorrow for more tastes of USA and another bean count!

Katie K (cspgradstudent)

Welcome to the Bluegrass State

Kentucky is famous for breeding horses, the Kentucky Derby, tobacco, and bourbon. There are lots of historical people from Kentucky starting with Daniel Boone, Abraham Lincoln, the McCoys from the famous Hatfield & McCoy dispute, Bill Monroe and Loretta Lynn.

Kentucky Music Hall of Fame located in Renfro Valley honors Kentucky music professionals who have made a difference to Kentucky and the world through music whether it's the songwriter, the performer, or the promoter. Members include Dwight Yoakum, the Judds, and Ricky Skaggs just to mention a few.



Let's round up the kids and take them to the Louisville Science Center for hands on, interactive exhibits like The World We Create, The World Within Us, and the World Around Us. We can take on an educational show at the IMAX theaters or learn about the dinosaurs.



We can go the Muhammad Ali Center to learn about the boxing legend himself who was born in Kentucky. Or if baseball is more your style, we can go to the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory to see what has to be the world's largest baseball bat and learn about the history of the baseball bat.



I love quilts. Inside each quilt is a world of history from the woman who made it. So I would love to go to the Museum of American Quilters in Paducah. Quilt designs have come a long way from just being a design in a square. Some are so elaborate they look like paintings but the squares are still my favorite.

Church Hill Downs is where the Kentucky Derby takes place and at Gate 1, you can stop by the Kentucky Derby Museum to learn all about thoroughbred racing. I'm concerned that I might be looking more at the hats than actually watching the races.



Kentucky also has a long list of lakes and parks where we can experience outdoor adventure. Some of the include Red River Gorge, Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky Lake or Cumberland Falls.

The Kentucky Bourbon Festival sounds like it is only for the brave but it looks like it's a lot of fun for everyone. It's coming up in September and there is a long list of great activities.



So, as you can see, there are lots of great things to do in Kentucky. I've just got you started. What's your favorite part of Kentucky?

Fun facts for Kentucky are: the state flower is the Goldenrod Giant (I thought that was a weed), the state bird is the cardinal and the state butterfly is the Viceroy Butterfly.

All Kentuckians are to report to the Bourbon Deck on THURSDAY, July 3rd to tell us what makes Kentucky the Taste of USA!

The Bean Counter Returns

Hello folks!!

I am so sorry that I have been out of pocket on this site for the past few weeks. However, for those of you reading up over at highlowaha.com you know that I have been busy in Texas with Claudia! I have been baking cookies, developing new ideas, working on the altoid table, etc. all for this site and the main HLA site! However, I'm back now and wanted to give a quick update on the scoreboard for Taste of USA!

The standings are as follows:

• New York - 2 points
• Arizona- 2 points
• Indiana- 2 points
• Illinois- 1 point

There is still plenty of time to catch up!!! Back tomorrow for more bean counting!

Katie K (The Bean Counter)

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Did you hear the echo in here?

It's been a quiet week at Taste of USA and my friend, Angie, is leaving for vacation tomorrow so I know she won't be logging in. Or, if she does, I'll be surprised. So, it's just our very own Katie moving to Virginia- the state for lovers!

Out of this weeks states, I have been skiing in Colorado, to a ranch barbecue in Oklahoma and to see a boy in Virginia but I wasn't supposed to be there so mom, I have never been to Virginia. (She'll never read that because she doesn't know how to use the computer.)

All Passengers from Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Montana & Virginia report to your appointed decks immediately to tell us what makes your state the Taste of USA!

Up next week: Kentucky, Washington, Oregon, Nebraska & Connecticut

Big Skies & Lovers

I am all of the sudden in love with Montana (one winter will cure that, I'm sure) but I've spent exactly 30 seconds looking at the pictures and reading the greeting from the Governor and it just looks so laid back and homey. A place you can put roots down, do your job and live a relaxing life.
Take a look for yourself!

My lovely and talented Aunt Cynthia so graciously sent me these photos of when they were at Yellowstone this summer... I guess I didn't realize that part of Yellowstone was in Montana.

So, where are we going to in Montana? How about Glacier National Park?

Or we could trek across the state and discover The Montana Dinosaur Trail.

There's always a Montana Dude Ranch Vacation. Yee-haw, City Slickers!

And we can hang out with tons of cowboys and horses at one of the many rodeos that are held throughout the summer.

I bet Maureen could find some purple boots in Montana!

Fun facts for Montana are

the state animal is the Grizzly Bear,

the state flower is the Bitteroot,

and the state butterfly is the Morning Cloak.

Lots to see, lots to do! Stay with me as we hop over to Virginia!

And if I fell in love with Montana, the Virginia site says,

"Live Passionately, Virginia is for Lovers!"

Virginia was the first permanent English settlement so you can imagine how steeped in history it is. If I'm not mistaken we have visited another state that claimed to be the Mother of Presidents... but Virginia is claiming it, too! Presidents from Virginia are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor and Thomas Woodrow Wilson. whew!

Let's start in Jamestown, where it all began!

Then, let's cover two of my favorite things by experiencing a Beach Music Getaway!

I took the Passionality Quiz at the Virginia site and it hit me dead on!

I'm a Small Town Hound but maybe you're an Adrenaline Junkie or an Appetizer Ninja (I may fit this category, too!) or even a Creative Cat!

The quiz results offers great suggestions featuring the things you like. Go take the quiz and discover Virginia! And if you don't like your results, pick one of the other passionalities to step out of your box and discover something new!

Fun facts for Virginia are

the state bird is the cardinal, the state flower is the dogwood and the state dog is the American foxhound.

On Friday, June 27th

All Montanans are to meet on the sky deck and

all Virginians meet on the passion deck

to tell us what makes Montana and Virginia the

Taste of USA!!!

Lord knows someone needs to tell us more than I have today!

Everything is OK in Oklahoma!

Kay, Delbert & Mom

When I think about Oklahoma, I think about Native Americans. The "Five Civilized Tribes" were resettled in Oklahoma are considered to be the Creeks, the Chickasaw, the Choctaw, the Cherokee, and the Seminoles. Oklahoma's history sounds like the epitome of Cowboys & Indians.

There are many places to go to learn about the Western Heritage of both Indians and Cowboys throughout the state. Indian City USA is an outdoor museum where you can experience reconstructed villages to learn about Indian life. Or, maybe we attend Rodeo Weekend in October which is an event affiliated with National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.

While we're in Oklahoma City we can visit the Oklahoma City National Museum and Memorial as my mom, aunts and uncles did this summer. The Chairs are made of stone and hand-crafted bronze. The nine rows represent the nine floors of the Federal Building and each of the 168 chairs represents a life that was taken. The chairs sit on a glass base with the name of the victims etched into it.

The Gates of Time Memorial- one marked 9:01 and the other marked 9:03 representative of how the memorial frames the time of the bombing at 9:02. The other part of the Memorial is the Survivors Tree. The tree survived the blast and it is now surrounded by more fruit trees planted to represent the people who rushed in to help those who needed it. I'm sure I'm not explaining that as well as I should. Maybe we should just go.

Before we leave Oklahoma City, let's stop in at Deep Deuce Jazz Cafe. We can eat some tasty Cajun food, have some yummy drinks and listen to jazz, soul and blues. It's not far from Bricktown that features restaurants, shopping and AT&T Bricktown Ballpark. Sounds like fun!

If we head over to Tulsa we can go to Cherry Street- a farmers market with organic fruits and vegetables, herbs and breads all for the purchasing. Just down the street, there are antique shops and galleries to stroll in to. Or, how about going to Linnaeus Teaching Gardens where they share their knowledge and love of gardening. Lord knows I could use their help. And, there's always the Oklahoma Aquarium and the Zoo and Living Museum.

There you have just a small samplings of things to do in Oklahoma. What's your favorite "Taste" of Oklahoma? Can anyone tell me about the place pictured below?

I have to say hello to my crazy friend from high school, Angie- she is the Red Cross Queen! Angie lives in Elmore City and is everything country! She has three kids and they go to rodeos and catch chickens and rabbits in the corral and whatever they catch, they get to keep. She's also very good at shoo-ing off those pesky raccoons! (Angie, I hope you stop by today and post a hello but be sure to come back on Friday to post you're favorite thing about OK!)

The fun facts for Oklahoma include the floral emblem is mistletoe, the state flower is the rose and the state wild flower is the . I guess they like flowers. And where would we be without the parking meter? It was invented in Oklahoma City!

All Sooners meet on the mistletoe deck on Friday, June 27th to tell us what makes Oklahoma the Taste of USA!

We're Not in Kansas Anymore, Toto.

Oh, yes we are!

Welcome to the Sunflower State!

Also known as the Jayhawk State, the Wheat State, and the Midway State. Kansas grows more wheat than any other state. Yum, I can smell the hot fresh baked bread now! Known as the Midway State because in Lebanon, Kansas in the middle of a hog field, there's a marker that marks the geographical center of the lower contiguous 48 states.

When I saw the words, "Quirky Kansas" I knew I had to check it out. And what did I find there but a couple of things that Claudia would love. Like the largest Giant Van Gogh replica! It's a replica of one of his sunflower paintings. It stands 24' x 32'! And, the world's largest ball of twine! I feel like we're in the movie Michael with John Travolta! The ball of twine has a 40' foot circumference and weighs about nine tons. Now that's big!



This September marks the 33rd Annual Huff-N-Puff Hot Air Balloon Rally on Lake Shawnee in Topeka. Topeka is the capital of Kansas. The Combat Air Museum looked like a place my boys would like to go! With 32 aircraft's dating back to WWI to present day.

Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas and they have the 12th Annual Amelia Earhart Festival coming up July 18th & 19th. They'll have all the usual festival events with aerobatic performances and a fireworks show after dark. It looks like good ole home fun!

And when we're done there, we can head over to Dodge City to celebrate Dodge City Days. It's a ten day festival with everything cowboy. Rodeos, barbecue, gunfights and the Boots, Beer and Bikini's Beach Party.... okay, not all things cowboy... well, you're supposed to wear your boots! Well, anyway, we can pretend to be Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill Hickok and shoot up the OK corral!

Of course, we can always head over to Kansas City (not on the Missouri side) and have some of their famous barbecue! I think I'm still on the Kansas side but who knows! We can go and gobble up some ribs at Oklahoma Joe's BBQ- it sounds and looks delicious! Don't let the fact that it's in a gas station scare you... uhm.... I'm a little scared.



The last stop I have for you on our Kansas tour today is Wilson Lake. My maiden name is Wilson. So, when my mom went on her trip a couple of weeks ago, she got to pose by the sign where she is obviously claiming it as her own. Wilson Lake has everything to meet our camping, boating, fishing, hiking and hunting needs. It back to nature!

There's just a little taste from me. What's your favorite part of Kansas?

Fun facts for the State of Kansas are:
The state animal is the Bison.

The state flower is the wild native sunflower.

The state bird is the multi western meadow lark.

All Jayhawkers meet on the sunflower deck on Friday, June 27th to tell us what makes Kansas the Taste of USA!