Virtual Postcard from Kentucky- Horse Park in Lexington

We continue our eight part series (four entries with a pause for two other entries within the next few days) with a Vitual Postcard from the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, which might make one want to watch "Seabiscuit" again.

It was Thanksgiving Day here in America, and social media made the day interesting for us as we got Happy Thanksgiving tweets from Kevin Spacey, Julian Castro (the Democratic mayor of San Antonio, Texas) and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska), all of whom are three people we have never met; Sen. Nelson is retiring at the end of his term this year.

The day was also special for us because our good friend Bruce Piephoff, a folk singer in Greensboro, NC, has a song called "Notes from Knoxville," which I like to listen to around Thanksgiving. I must profess that as much as I admire another folk singe Arlo Guthrie, I'm not sure I have the patience to listen to his Thanksgiving song "Alice's Restaurant Massacre"or "Alice's Restaurant," which lasts close to 19 minutes; Piephoff''s song is some 13 minutes and 30 seconds shorter (we believe).

Piephoff will be playing at Southern Bistro in Greensboro on Thurs., Nov. 29 and Tues., Dec. 4. Greensboro has a vibrant local music scene and on Sunday, at the Green Bean coffe house downtown, there will be a performance by Julian Sizemore followed by Patrick Ferguson starting at 7:00 p.m.http://www.kentuckytourism.com

http://www.horsepark.com

http://www.brucepiephoff.net

http://www.thegreenbeanblogspot.com

http://www.southernbistro.com

Saudi Arabia to Send Female Athletes to Olympics for the First Time

Saudi Arabia has answered to critics and will allow two women to compete at the 2012 London Olympics, which get underway in two weeks on July 27th.

Alas, Dalma Malhas*, 20, (pictured bottom), an Ohio resident with Saudi Arabian parents who was considered to be the most likely female athlete to break the gender barrier, is not among those two athletes because her horse was injured. Thus, she can not compete in women's equestrian events, in spite of her many international accomplishments in the sport.

However, Sarah Attar, 20 (pictured above), a California resident who attends Pepperdine University, will represent the kingdom nation in the 800-meter relay in track and field competition. Attar will compete while covering her head to comply with Saudi Arabia's orthodox Islamic conservatism. She told various media outlets that was thrilled to break the barrier.

The second going to the games for Saudi Arabia is Wadjan Shahrkhani, a competitor in women's judo.

Along with Saudi Arabia, Brunei and Qatar will be sending female athletes to the Olympics for the first time.

*Dalma Malhas' name was not spelled correctly in an earlier entry, hence we have two version of her name in our tags

Virtual Postcard from Kentucky- Churchill Downs

Today was one in which I spent much of it on the road as we traveled throughout West Viginia and Kentucky, and we will visit Ohio tomorrow.

I was actually a bit east of Louisville, but Churchill Downs, along with the Kentucky Horse Farm in nearby Lexington, as arguably the most iconic placees in the Bluegrass State.

The next Kentucky Derby, the popular horse race which takes place at Churchill Downs, will be on May 4th and 5th,, 2012.

Animal Kingdom, the current winner of the last Kentucky Derby, is a Brazilian bred stallion. The horse has so far earned 2.37 million dollars in earnings.

Currently, Animal Kingdom has just recovered from surgery and he is scheduled to compete at the 2012 Dubai World Cup.

We certainly wish Animal Kingdom well.