Kangaroos and Rolley Hole

We saw enough of the weather forecast last night to think it might rain today. That would not be good as we had planned a trip to Kentucky Down Under--an outdoor activity. We decided to get up fairly early and play it by ear. By the time we were loading the car it was drizzling so we decided to find a place for breakfast--which might not be easy given that we were still in Cave City. We went to Cream and Sugar and it was open and looked promising. It was. We had a good meal and good service! It was still overcast but not raining so we headed to KY Down Under. There were not very many people there which was good. There were only 4 of us on the cave tour. This cave was very small and had lots of formations, unlike Mammoth Cave. It was interesting and beautiful in a cave sort of way. After our cave tour we went to several different informative stations to see animals native and not native to Australia that are for some reason in KY. We saw (and petted) a camel, kangaroos, emus, lorikeets and other assorted birds, goats, sheep, cows...a whole menagerie. It was a cool place and we learned a lot. We spent several hours there then headed to one of Kentucky's scenic byways. We went through Glasgow to get to the byway and decided to eat lunch. We picked Lil Country Diner, which was a little sketchy on the outside but the food was yummy and the staff more than pleasant and helpful. From there we took the byway to Tompkinville and the Mulkey Meeting House. This is actually a KY state park. It's an original church meeting building and cemetery. The setting was very peaceful and serene. We briefly walked around the grounds and we talked the caretaker. She said while we were in Monroe County that we should go to the Marble Dome and gave us printed directions on how to get there. We weren't sure what to expect but we did not expect what we got. Driving up, past the National Guard Amory and through what looked like a restricted area, we came upon a dilapidated building w/ open doors and a couple of vehicles out front. As soon as we pulled in, we were spotted by someone inside. Our cover blown, we parked the car and went in. There were 2 men inside and about 25 of the nastiest recliners I have ever seen, a dirt marble court (?), a giant sifter thing and some trash. We had come upon the Rolley Hole Marble Court. Lucky us! We talked to the men, inquired as to how Rolley Hole Marbles are played and asked for a demonstration. We didn't get much of a demonstration but we did get some pictures. The "Main Marble Man" pulled up after we got there but he didn't demonstrate either. After a little more chit-chat, we made our exit-barely able to contain our laughter until we got out of the parking lot. We headed down the road to Gallitan where Kevin's girlfriend, Laura, works. When we finally picked up phone service, I called her and we went by her office, got a hotel reservation (Hampton, here we come) and made plans to go to dinner with her. We followed our Garmin directions through Nashville (not on any interstate) and after an eternity, we finally made it to the Hampton. Laura picked us up and we went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. We were fortunate today that the rain held off until we got almost to the hotel. Another laughter filled travel day!

Caves and Wigwams

The plan was to get up early to be at the Jim Beam Distillery by the time it opened, go on the tour and then head to Mammoth Cave for a tour at noon. We got up early, showered, packed and were walking out the door when Jan got a text from our high school friend, Jim, wanting to know if we were still around and did we want to get together. Ok, so much for the distillery. We found our way to Jim’s, visited for a while and left thinking we would be pushing it to get to the cave on time. Not to worry, we figured out the cave is on central time and we were on eastern time---did we really need to get up so early? Why yes, of course we did. On the way to the cave we passed a barrel making factory—just happened to look in and see what was going on as we drove by—turned around for a photo op. Down the road we cam to Lincoln’s boyhood home---the workers were putting it together, apparently it sustained damage in the ice storm earlier this year. The prisoners, who were picking up litter alond the highway, had stopped here for a picnic so we took a few quick pics and moved on. We drove into Hodgenville and took pictures of Lincoln in the round about. We were going to find Lincoln’s birthplace but somehow got on the wrong road, missed it, and headed on to the cave. We got to the cave with just the right amount of time to spare. We didn’t have to wait long for our tour to start. We did the Historic Tour with a less than stellar guide. He thought he was better than he was but he did tell us about the history of the cave and answered questions so I guess that was what he was being paid to do. We are always amazed at the people we end up on tours with (for various reasons) and they people who do things that they obviously shouldn't do. Enough said. Mammoth Cave is truly awesome. After the cave, we were starving since we had skipped breakfast, so we went in search of food. Not much in the way of good eats in Cave City. We had to settle for the Watermill aka the Bel Air. Since it was mid afternoon, there were not many people there but the ones who were there were obviously locals. We ate and headed down the interstate to the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green. Had to take the interstate so we could get there before it closed at 5. The museum was really good and chock full of....Corvettes! It was interesting and we really didn't have enough time but we did make it all the way through. We took the back roads back to Cave City and our Wigwam! Ahhh, the Wigwams. Thank goodness that is the last wigwam I will get (have) to stay in!!! Now we have stayed in the ones in Holbrook, AZ and Cave City and have seen the ones in Rialto, CA---we're done!!! The Wigwams have few amenities for the 21st century. No outlets in the bathroom, no internet service, no cushy beds, pillows or towels, single ply toilet paper...you get the picture. I was able to get internet outside. While sitting on the bench in front of our "room", we got surprise attacked by a cat jumping over the back of the bench and running across my computer. So much for sitting outside! One of Jan's friends who lives nearby came and visited with us for a while. It was time to eat again and we had a hard time (once again) coming up w/ someplace to eat but Leanne remembered a place in Horse Cave, Snappy Pizza (not to be confused w/ the Snappy Diner). We called, it was open for another 45 min or so, so off we went. We both had spaghetti and Leanne sat with us for a while. Leanne had to get home and we were tired so we parted ways and headed back to the Wigwam for a good (?) night's rest.

Pictures from Sunday

Louisville Slugger factory
Barbaro outside Churchill Downs
Lynn's--Yummy

Bats and Glass

I love lazy Sunday mornings. We slept in, watched a little TV (CBS Sunday Morning-one of my favorite shows) and made lunch reservations. Thankfully, we made lunch reservations--I knew Lynn's would be crowded and it was, but we were seated immediately upon arrival--and outside. The weather was perfect, as was the food. We had a leisurely lunch, perused the gift shop and then decided to go find Col. Sanders grave site. After cruising the cemetery for a while, we finally found it--of course, we had asked for directions when we drove in but neither one of us listened to the end of the directions. Oh well, we found it in spite of ourselves. On our way back, we drove through the U of L campus--quite a stretch for a Tiger fan, and then drove by Churchill Downs for a photo op. After that, we brought the car back to the hotel and took off on foot for the Louisville Slugger factory and Glassworks. We had time before the Slugger tour, so we walked over to Glassworks so we could see that before it closed. It was very cool but I wish we could have seen them actually making something--might require another trip to Louisville! We went back to Louisville Slugger and took the tour even though they were not working. The tour was very interesting and our guide was good (used to be a middle school teacher). After the tour, we walked down to the river and walked along the walkway (under the interstate) for a few blocks and then back to the hotel. The original plan was to walk someplace for dinner but we couldn't find anything that really interested us so we got the car back out and went to Wick's for pizza. It hit the spot. The place was hoppin' too. Unfortunately, all the outside seating was taken. We decided we needed ice cream so we went to Homemade Ice Cream and Pie. Great Choice! We shared a piece of chocolate chess pie w/ cookie dough ice cream and we got outside seating! An excellent ending to another great day.

More Observations

We have visited several very successful KY businesses---all still do things like they did years and years ago and with some of the same 50-100+ year old equipment. I really like that.

The Cave Hill cemetery is a very peaceful and beautiful place.

Louisville really missed the boat w/ their riverfront.

I don't know why they make 4 lane roads and let people park in the lane---why not have a 2 lane road w/ parking on each side? It's very frustrating. And left turn lanes are really good things--too bad there aren't more of them.

It is very important to spell words correctly. I am embarrassed for my home state--the "official" green highway sign pointed us to the State Capital. I know that I learned the correct spelling of capitol in the Kentucky public schools. Maybe they don't teach that any more. Also in the Louisville Slugger museum received was spelled recieved. Don't they have proofreaders?

From Culture to Sub-culture

Today we needed to get an early start. And we did, kind of. We got up early but didn't leave the hotel until almost 9:00. We had three destinations in Frankfort before heading to Gravel Switch for the world famous Outhouse Blowout! We had found a little diner in downtown Frankfort last night that looked like a good choice for breakfast. We tried it this morning. It was good but slow and we needed good but fast! The country ham was really good though, and Dilla or is it Della with an accent (?), our waitress, did a good job considering she was the only one there and she was babysitting as well as waitressing. On our way back to the car, the bakery across the street was calling our names so we had to go in. I love the smell when you first walk into a real bakery. We bought a dozen cookies which were put in a box and tied with string. How quaint. We wanted to go to the Rebecca-Ruth Candy factory (inventors of bourbon balls) and to the state capitol before heading to the Outhouse Blowout. We did but then we were pushing it to get to the races on time. The candy factory was interesting and small but you've gotta love women who go against the odds to make ends meet for their families. The Rebecca-Ruth Candy Factory has quite a history and is still going strong. We were just blocks from the Capitol so we did make it to both. The Kentucky Capitol is very impressive. To all my Kentucky friends---if you have never been there, you need to make it a point to go. We go to every state capitol building we come across the the Kentucky Capitol Building is one of the best I've seen. It is impressive--and, we just walked right in. It was less secure than the South Dakota Capitol Building. We didn't see a trooper or any other kind of security person the whole time we were there. And to think, I made a point of taking my pocket knife out of my purse before we went in! Our self guided tour done, we headed south to find Penn's Store and the Outhouse Blowout!

We had 3 sets of instructions on how to get there, Garmin, iPhone and the website directions---all of them were different but we made it and saw the Kentucky countryside as well. Once again, we were the only ones on the road and when we got to the destination, there were at least a hundred people there. What road did they take? We thought we were late for the races but not so. They were still doing practice rounds when we got there. So, we did get to see the outhouse races! YES!!!! It was hot and the concession stand slow so we saw what we came to see--Penn's Stores, the 1992 original outhouse and the outhouse races. A successful outing. We left, headed to Danville where we walked around the Centre College campus and Constitution Square and then headed to Louisville where we are now. We contacted a high school friend on the way, Mike, and we met him for a drink when we got here. It was good to catch up! We're resting now and tomorrow we will tour the city--Louisville Slugger and Glassworks here we come!

Observations

FedEx truck at Maker's Mark.

It only takes 40 seconds to char the bourbon barrel. I found that interesting.

You can be a Maker's Mark ambassador and in 5-7 years you will get to dip your own bottle (out of a barrel w/ your name on it) in the hot red wax-the label will have your name on it too.
One in every 1000 Maker's Mark bottles has wax dripping down each corner and all the way down the neck. Slam dunk. I love that they do this just for kicks--and these bottles can be valuable. If you see one, buy it. Go to the website www.makersmark.com


We heard a lot of music today. Stephen Foster music was playing at My Old Kentucky Home--I wonder if it disturbs the golfers on the course on the grounds of MOKH. Heard lots of Classic Vinyl on the radio. At dinner tonight there was a man playing guitar and singing on the grounds of the Old KY Capitol which was across the street. He was not very good so it was ok when the train came right down the middle of the street and drowned him out.

There was a train car with mortar sand in it w/ a small bulldozer sitting on top of it. That looks very funny on a moving train. And literally, the train goes right down the middle of Broadway in Frankfort--I thought the tracks were bad in Memphis!

Frankfort, while I've only seen it at night, seems like an odd little town. Maybe I'll have a different observation tomorrow.