I don’t know what’s worse for productivity: the day before vacation or the day after. Sigh, all I know is that it was entirely too short. We managed to squeeze a lot in on our six-day trip down South: tromps through the Shaker Village and two Civil War battlefield sites, a hike in the world’s longest cave system, tours of Lexington, Ky. and Music City, a riverboat ride down the Kentucky River, swimming, antique-shopping and despite being rounded up in the hotel lobby at 2 a.m. Thursday night for a tornado watch, lots of much-needed relaxing.

A few observations from our trip:

• Where there is roadside adult bookstore, there is a “Jesus Saves” billboard
• “Blazin’ Rectum” is probably not the best of varieties with which to market barbecue sauce
• The number of churches, Wal-Marts and fried chicken establishments increase proportionately the further south you travel.
• A dinner of French toast, fried okra and French fries really doesn’t sound so odd when you’re vegetarian, extremely hungry and Cracker Barrel is the only semi-veg-friendly restaurant around for 40 miles.
• When going on a guided two-hour, two-mile cave tour 350-feet below ground and with eight flights of stairs, position yourself in line as far away from children as possible.
• Small children should be required to wear diapers in hotel swimming pools for risk of a one-day pool closure due to an “accident.”
• Stray cats find me even when I’m on vacation.

Photo highlights of our trip follow after the jump. Read more…

Working from home is great and all, but there’s one disadvantage: You can never really justify a “snow day.” Brandon called off work today; he slept until about 1 p.m. and then has been playing a steady stream of video games since. I, on the other hand, have been dutifully working. Here’s some photos from the great Ice Storm of 2009.

More photos here.

When my contractor neighbor told us that Newport’s historic East Row was comprised largely of gays and older émigrés from Indian Hill (one of the nation’s richest ZIP codes), I thought he was exaggerating or homophobic or a combination of both. But after being greeted by four gay couples in the first four homes of the eight-home Newport Garden Walk Sunday, even I had to admit the astuteness of his observation.

Despite Esquire magazine’s declaration in 1957 of Newport as “the most wicked city in America,” the city today is surprisingly conservative. The Committee of 500, a team of religious do-gooders, first set siege on the “Sin City” in the 1960s, declaring war on the city’s gambling, vice and prostitution bosses – for more on the city’s history, go here. By the time Brandon and I both moved here, much of the evidence of Newport’s illustrious past had disappeared, existing largely today in the memories of local old-timers who recalled the city’s heydays with equal parts nostalgia and censure.

The East Row Historic District sits comfortably at the foot of what is called Mansion Hill – the mansion in reference is the Wiedemann Hill Mansion, which was built for beer baron heir Charles Wiedemann in 1894. The area became a favorite of wealthy business owners and merchants in the late 1800s and its financial demographic hasn’t much changed since. Still considered one of the most prestigious and expensive areas of the city, stately Italianate and Queen Anne style homes mingle along tree-lined streets with many boasting impressive (and professionally designed) back-yard gardens. Here are a few highlights from them and our tour:

More photos are available on our online photo gallery here.