Postblog from Kentucky: Distilleries, Abe Lincoln, and Shoney’s

Instead of going to California or staying home like I usually do when I have time off work, I decided this summer to just get in the car and drive - destination unknown. I tried very hard not to plan this trip (except for a stop in Nebraska) and to be honest, it wasn't easy. But the following postblog is a written snapshot from my travels.

“The sun shines bright in my old Kentucky home
'Tis summer, the people are GAY …”

June 13, 2010 - Leave it to my friend Frank to include the second line of the state song. Actually, until 1986, that was a very racist second line and they changed it. I don’t know how that “gay” reference passed notice.

I’ve been to Louisville many times, but usually I’ve flown in and out, missing the surrounding area. There is history here, and character like crazy. For example, some of the earlier local residents were real hillbillies who supplemented their incomes by making, uh, “spirits” or “hooch,” and selling it, um, beneath the radar of the law.

Mammoth Cave is near where I’m staying in Elizabethtown, south of Louisville. The Nebraska Wesleyan choir once sang in the huge, dark cavern many years ago. Today I settled for singing in the car with the Dixie Chicks at full volume.

I think that those of us who pride ourselves on living in such a spectacular state (I’m talking to the Coloradoans now) forget that there are other amazing places in this country. Many of us ignore the “flyover” in favor of either coast. But we miss a lot that way. Driving through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana today, I saw beautiful rolling farmland, magnificent mountains, and even the awesome Hoosier National Forest. That’s right: a national forest in Indiana.

Tomorrow I will visit the National Historic Park where there is a log cabin reconstructed, as near as can be surmised, like the one in which Abraham Lincoln was born. Finally an historic home I can visit without reflecting on how small my condo is. According to the AAA book there are organized nature hikes too. Just my things: history and hiking.

My other thing, of course, is food. I spotted the first Bob Evans restaurant in Missouri today and several more after that. I think tomorrow I’ll be visiting Bob for some of his famous soft, hot rolls.

But that’s not all. Near my hotel here in E-town is a Shoney’s – a southern chain where in my Virginia days I used to savor the most wonderful strawberry pie. Guess where I’m going for dinner.

On a less enthusiastic note, I have to confess that I freaked out last night in KC about getting the last available room in the hotel. Because of that, I had a slip in my plan not to plan and, I’m a little ashamed to say, I made hotel reservations for the next few nights. It is too stressful to worry about getting a room, particularly when just breathing in this humid country works up a sweat and I really want a shower at the end of my drive. But first, pie.