Search results for 'kentucky'

Let’s get off the interstate and “Go on Patrol!!” Today we are traveling on 31W, one of the original north south routes that run parallel to I-65 from Michigan to Alabama. On a car lot in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, we found Swope’s Cars of Yesteryear Museum. It is without a doubt the best free Car Museum in the U.S. Owner, Bill Swope, has collected and put on display 60 cars built between 1900 and 1970. They have been lovingly restored in every detail. I am a collector (not of cars) so I’m in total awe at what Mr. Swope has accomplished. He has found many totally original cars that are in “like new” condition. 

A visit to the Falls of the Ohio River evokes feelings of an ancient time. Three hundred and seventy-five million years ago it was a tropical sea! These falls are the only natural obstruction on the river between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and New Orleans, Louisiana. It’s one of those places that make you think in terms of geologic time. You realize how short our time on Earth really is and yet how we all are connected to a past long ago. For Louisvillians, it is the reason we are here. People had to stop and portage around the falls. Many stayed to start businesses and families. 

Imagine you are the star of your own “American Pickers” or finding treasures for “Antiques Roadshow” or selling a Flea Market find to the guys on “Pawn Stars”? All of these shows are helped by Baby Boomers buying and selling the artifacts of our childhood. We love going on Patrol for rare and valuable items. We love to find a treasure a new home. Our road trips have shifted to slowing down and getting out of the car every hour or two. This change has gotten us off the interstates and into Antique Malls, Flea Markets, Antique Stores, Goodwill’s, and yard sales. Heading South on I-65 through Kentucky, here are five of our favorite spots. 

Louisville, Kentucky has repurposed a 118-year-old railroad bridge over the Ohio River into the longest pedestrian bridge in the United States. It connects Louisville with Jeffersonville, Indiana by foot, bicycle, and mindset. Spectacular sunrises and sunsets can be viewed on a regular basis. You can marvel at the power of the river as it rolls beneath you toward New Orleans. You can see how the river widens at The Falls of the Ohio to almost a mile.

Anthony Woodson’s fields and woods were the scene of a pivotal battle that played a role in who controlled Kentucky during the Civil War. His Kentucky farmstead overlooked the 1862 Battle of Munfordville. From the front porch of  his house you could see the railroad bridge crossing the Green River. There was also a L. & N. Railroad station in the town. It is a historic site that provides a scenic place to have a meal and reflect on how we have healed from a conflict that killed so many. 

This is a special year for anything Beatle. Hundreds of events all over the world are heralding the 50^th Anniversary of their arrival in the U.S. and their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. If you need to celebrate your inner Beatle, Abbey Road on the River in Louisville, Kentucky is a must do for any fan. The 250 concerts from over 50 bands on 7 stages over 5 days will remind you and inspire you to remember all you need is love. 

On the historical marker by the replica of his cabin, it says that George Rogers Clark (1753-1818) was “A pioneer, soldier, patriot, conqueror of the Northeast territory…” His brilliant Revolutionary War campaign captured Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes and brought the states northwest of the Ohio River into the Union.  He brought 150 men and 15 families down the Ohio River in 1778 and built a fort on Corn Island to plan and implement this conquest. This fort was the beginning of Louisville, Kentucky. 

When I’m looking for a summer retreat for rest and relaxation, I head for the Wax Marina in Wax, Kentucky on Nolin Lake. The Wax Marina provides a beautiful view of a 100-foot limestone cliff and safe haven for boaters and fishermen. It is home sweet home for our pontoon boat “Buttercup”. 

We are always “On Patrol” looking for a place to take our kids and grand kids. It must be family friendly, which for us means there is something of interest for all ages. The Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History in Frankfort, Kentucky fits the bill. The permanent exhibit titled “A Kentucky Journey” is a great walk through our early history up until the present day. The exhibits are interactive and at eye level for children seven or eight years and older. It is filled with rare and authentic artifacts that reflect the strengths and talents of our ancestors. Many of the objects are in drawers so you have easy access for viewing.

Last year was the 150th Anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. If you want your understanding broadened, your senses dazzled, and your collector gene completely awed, The Civil War Museum in Bardstown, Kentucky is a must see. It has one of the largest collections of rare and authentic artifacts of any Civil War Museum in the country. Prominent Civil War magazine, The North and South, named it the 4th best in the U.S. out of 500. This is quite a surprise for this great small Central Kentucky town.

In August of 1950, two curious teenagers were hunting for Native American artifacts after they had finished their chores and noticed cold air rushing out of a tiny opening, which was causing leaves to rustle on a tree 15 feet away.  They dug their way in and discovered a magical world within, what is now Cub Run Cave.

In the heart of Old Louisville overlooking Central Park is the Conrad-Caldwell House Museum, known as Louisville’s Castle. In the 1890’s, Theophile Conrad commissioned local architect Arthur Loomis of Clarke & Loomis to design this stone masterpiece. It is one of the finest examples of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in the world.  

One of my favorite road trips is to shadow Route 66 along its way west and back again.  Our road trip started in Louisville, Kentucky and picked up Route 66 in St. Louis and ended in southwest New Mexico. Originally, Route 66 ran from Chicago, Illinois through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona before ending in Los Angeles, California. Route 66 served as a major path for those who migrated west specifically during the dustbowl in the 1930’s. They were looking for agriculture jobs in California.  Businesses along the route thrived until the interstate highways came along. Route 66 became the first highway to be completely paved in 1938. When the highway was decommissioned, sections of the road were deposed of in various ways. Route 66 in New Mexico has been made into the National Scenic Byway, being replaced by I-40.  

My wife and travel partner, Carolynn, saw The Beatles on September 3, 2023 at the Indianapolis State Fair. She was 13 years old. She sat on the 20^th row on the floor with her friends, Janice and Penny, and her sister, Sharon. “It sounded like being inside a jet engine. I knew then that something bigger than The Beatles was happening”, she told me recently. It changed her life. 

In the heart of Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville is one of the largest Gingko trees in the state of Kentucky. On a recent visit, we wandered into its presence. All the leaves were a bright yellow. It was 2:00 in the afternoon on November 8^th so the light was hitting the tree at a sharp angle. The reflections off the surface of these usual shaped leaves filtered throughout the giant tree. This tree is the volume of a two-story house with about 3000 square feet. I was told that all Gingko trees shed their leaves on the same day. The gingko is a living fossil dating back 270 million years. The word Gingko is derived from the Japanese word ginkyo meaning “silver apricot”. The realization that this tree was 150 years old reminds us to think about all the history it had witnessed and that we are standing in a sacred place.