We weren’t in a big rush this morning, since we didn’t have far to go today. On the agenda – breakfast, a visit to Graceland Too in Holly Springs (allegedly open 24/7, in the home of an eccentric Elvis-loving man), a stop at Kim’s house in Memphis, and ending up in Paducah in time to eat at Doe’s (we were already craving chocolate cobbler…) It was a little drizzly and foggy – the perfect weather for dawdling. We weren’t sure where to eat, but since Oxford is a college town, we knew there would be some great breakfast places nearby. Sure enough, a little research on the iphone took us straight to Big Bad Breakfast, which was tucked away in a little strip shopping center. I was pretty sure I would like it just from the name, but when we walked through the front door, which was clearly recycled from a college classroom and bore the label “Organic Chemistry” I knew we had come to the right place!
The menu looked great – obviously lots of dishes were prepared with locally grown and/or fresh ingredients, although you can probably guess that there weren’t many ‘heart-healthy’ items on the list. Kim chose the Big Bad Breakfast, which was scrambled eggs, bacon, home fries, and toast. I got the Secret History, which was fantastic! It was a huge omelet, made with shallots, fresh herbs, tomatoes, and Swiss cheese, and it was served with home fries and a big biscuit. Best part about the biscuit (which I couldn’t finish) was the homemade raspberry jam. Great way to start the day! Another thing we loved about it was the light fixtures over each booth. All different and all made from recycled items – see for yourself!
Holly Springs and Graceland Too are just up the road from Oxford, so off we went. Kim’s daughter, Kerry, has visited GT many times, so we had an idea what to expect. It would be a little hard to describe, and many others have tried. Sadly, there were two things that we weren’t prepared for – first, the house is not pink and second, contrary to ALL published accounts and first-hand reports, NO ONE CAME TO THE DOOR! We rang the bell, we knocked, we honked, we yelled, we circled the property, we attempted to agitate the dog, we stood around for much longer than we should have, and we DIDN’T GET IN!! Bummer. NOTE: It is permanently closed as of 2014, when the owner died.
Spurned by the host who is always home, we dejectedly got back in the car and headed for Memphis. We arrived just about the time we knew that Jim would be on his lunch break, and sure enough, we tracked him down. Since we were still stuffed from breakfast and Jim had finished lunch, we just settled for hugs in the parking lot. We stopped by Kim’s house just long enough for her to gather up some things she needed, clean out the car a little bit, off-load some things we wouldn’t need any more, and to give Kim some time to take care of a little business since she’d been gone for a couple of weeks.
In one of our less than stellar moves, we decided to take the “scenic” route to Paducah, and rather than taking the normal, albeit boring route up the parkway from Fulton, we got back on the Great River Road and toured rural (very rural) western Kentucky. There had been so much rain lately that the road itself looked like a river in places! There was not much to see, although we did see a magnificent heron taking flight.
We had some fond memories of family outings and picnics at Columbus-Belmont State Park, so we set our sights for it. To give you a little background – Columbus Belmont is right on the Mississippi River, and it’s where Confederate troops got the bright idea to stretch a giant chain across the river in an attempt to stop the advancing Union troops. You get a gold star if you figured out that the plan didn’t work. But here’s a piece of the chain and a look at the river!
Columbus was called the “Gibraltar of the West” by the Confederates, and was considered by them the key to their defense of the upper Mississippi River valley. The anchor weighs six tons…
It was dreary and raining a little bit while we were here, and it probably goes without saying that we were the only ones visiting this out of the way state park today. I’m not even sure if the rangers were there! We are impressed by the Kentucky State Park system, though. Many of the parks have gorgeous and challenging golf courses, and most of them have pretty decent lodging and camping facilities. Much better than the NC state parks I’ve seen! As we left the park, we just decided to make a beeline for Paducah (not that there is a very direct route from here to anywhere…) but we got stopped by a commotion in the middle of the road.
It was almost dark by the time we got to town, so we checked into our new home away from home (it’s really strange to stay in a hotel room in the town you grew up in) and then we went straight downtown to Doe’s. The Barbeque on the River fest was in full swing, although given the lateness of the hour and the rain that was starting to fall, we were able to get a parking place without too much trouble. The lower blocks of Broadway and Jefferson were closed to vehicles, and there were still LOTS of people downtown. Thankfully, most of them were eating barbeque, so we got a great table right in front of the Ole Miss – South Carolina football game on the big screen. Gotta love Thursday night football! Doe’s was worth the wait – man, is their food good! Kim opted for their famous tamales and chili, but I splurged on a nice big rare filet and a perfect baked potato. Good eats! But the best was yet to come – the main reason we came was for the chocolate cobbler, and we were not disappointed! Don’t miss Doe’s when you come to Paducah!
We were excited to be back in our hometown and were looking forward to reconnecting with our high school classmates over the next few days. But for now, stuffed and sated and sleepy, it was dreamtime!
Morning comes earlier every day…it was sort of sprinkling on us by the time we finally got going, but it stopped before we even got to downtown Vicksburg. Our Hampton was right across the street from the National Military Park. This particular cemetery is a loop drive of over 20 miles, and at a 20 mph speed limit, you’re gonna be there for a while… We passed, on that, although we did learn something about the Illinois memorial later on. I’ll fill you in shortly.
We decided to skip breakfast this morning and have an early lunch at Rusty’s (recommended by Kim’s friend Kristy, who grew up here – thanks!!) so our first stop was the Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum. In the summer of 1894, Vicksburg businessman Joseph Biedenharn put Coca-Cola in bottles and delivered it to rural areas near Vicksburg. This was the first time Coke was served in bottles rather than from a soda fountain. You already know the rest of the story – but the first Coca-Cola bottling franchise started right here in Mississippi! The museum provides a great timeline and description of the bottling process and how it has evolved. Best of all, it has LOTS of coke memorabilia and some really wonderful old advertisements. We loved it! It took all we had not to order a coke float at 10:30 AM, but we restrained ourselves.
From the Coke Museum, we walked down the street and decided not to go into the Doll and Toy Museum, so we headed down to the riverfront and the floodwall. The same muralist who has painted murals on the floodwall in our hometown of Paducah, Kentucky, has also painted historic scenes on the floodwall here. The above photos are both panels from the Vicksburg floodwall. I just love these murals and we always learn things while looking at them – and I love it when learning is fun! For example, I’ll bet you had no idea that 36,325 soldiers from Illinois participated in the Vicksburg campaign or that there are 1300 (!) monuments in the 1800-acre National Military Park here. The Illinois monument is considered the grandest, and it was dedicated in 1906 after being built for just under $200,000. Here are a few of my favorite murals by Robert Dafford (a native of Lafayette, LA) and his talented team:
We took our time wandering around the waterfront, and we were a little perplexed about the width of the river here – it’s not nearly as wide as we expected the Mississippi to be. Then after seeing the mural of the two bridges over the river, one of which I had crossed last year, I remembered that this section of the river is only a canal now. The river carved a new channel in 1876, leaving Vicksburg without a port until 1903 when the U. S. Army
We had finally killed enough time – it was time for our next meal!! Up the hill we went to Rusty’s Waterfront Grill, which was already starting to fill up by the time we got there, well before noon. The place was packed long before we left! I decided to eat “light” so I ordered a side salad and an appetizer portion of crawfish tails, and look what I got. YUM!! Kim had a chicken sandwich, and we both drank about a gallon of tea. Now we were ready to start our ride up the Delta on the Great River Road!
orps of Engineers diverted the Yazoo River into the old bed. The city
While we were leaving town, I read in one of our books about a little place we might want to stop, so we set the Garmin for Margaret’s Castle. Boy, were we in for a surprise. We finally got to meet Rev. Dennis, but sadly, Margaret was in the hospital and is at the end of her life. Rev. Dennis is 93 years old, but that didn’t stop him from preaching to us! He was being visited by him home health nurse when we were there (that didn’t stop him either) but he seemed glad to have company. We learned a whole new version of the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel story, and we all recited the 23rd Psalm. You’ll get a general idea of Rev. Dennis’s philosophy from looking at some of the pictures of the ‘castle’ he has built. You have to admire his single-minded devotion and persistence!
Once we got on the GRR, the scenery didn’t change much. We passed cotton fields and rode along the banks of the Mississippi. The land is flat, the soil is dark, and the weather was hot. No wonder the Blues got their start down here! We just drove on, talking and singing along with the radio, until we hit Greenville, MS, and the home of the original Doe’s Eat Place. We know about Doe’s because there’s one in Paducah, but it’s likely that many of you have never heard of it. Doe’s is famous for their tamales and chili, their spaghetti sauce, awesome steaks, and our personal favorite, chocolate cobbler. Doe’s is some mighty good eating, but if you saw the original (and still open) Eat Place you might not believe me! But remember to get there in the evening, when it’s open!! Good thing we weren’t counting on having a meal here today…
From Greenville, we turned east and took off on the Blues Highway, headed for Greenwood and the Crystal Grill. Of course, we had to stop in at the Highway 61 Blues Museum in Leland, and we were glad we did. Even though the museum is just in a storefront and the signage is straight off the copy machine, the material in the exhibits and the history in the rooms are incredible! It’s amazing how so many talented Blues musicians came from this poverty-stricken, education-poor Mississippi Delta area. We had several conversations about how and why this came about, but the proof of it all was right there in front of us, and gosh, is the music ever good! And even though Leland is also the hometown of Jim Henson (of Muppet fame), we missed the visitor’s center dedicated to him, but not for lack of trying. We drove all through the streets of Leland (there are not that many, and we have seen them all) and I narrowly escaped an attack by a Cujo-like dog (really!), and then just as we gave up and got back on the highway, we saw a giant Kermit sitting on top of a building not anywhere near where the Garmin thought it was. We didn’t go back…
It was a short, flat ride from Leland to Greenwood, whose most recent claim to fame is the arrival of the Viking Corporation (you know, upscale kitchen appliances) and the appropriately upscale Alluvian Hotel. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but what we saw wasn’t it. This classy looking boutique hotel has little in common with the Delta country we’d spent the day driving through. See what you think!
We were looking forward to our meal at the Crystal Grill, which Kim’s buddy Jim had told us not to miss. We were not steered wrong! We loved the dinner special – we got a salad, meat and two sides, pie, and iced tea for an impossibly low price. We both had fish and mac & cheese; I had green beans with mine, and the breads were yummy. Even though we’re not huge fans of meringue, the chocolate pie was delicious!
Sadly, the Crystal Grill closed for good in 2024, after 90 years!
From Greenwood, we decided we’d make it a fairly early night and just go as far as Oxford, home of Ole Miss (hotty toddy!) so that we could stop by Graceland Too in Holly Springs on our way to Memphis and Paducah tomorrow.
No rush this morning, except to get to breakfast at the inn by ten o’clock, as we thought we’d just be going to Natchez tonight. It was nice to wake up slowly! We looked around the inn now that we could see it in the daylight – I had stuck my toes in what I had hoped was the hot tub part of the pool last night, but since it felt the same as the rest of the pool…Kim watched a big ole frog hop right in the pool this morning – made me feel right at home! We eventually wandered over to the dining room for breakfast, which was a nice buffet. I had an egg roll (not the Chinese variety), a bite of sausage, some bacon, fried potatoes, some really yummy little apple treats, and cheese blintzes with blueberries. Nice way to start the day!
As you may have noticed, we’ve been indulging in some mighty good food on this trip, so we thought we might take a little walk this morning in hopes of getting rid of a fried something or two. Armed with Laurie’s map, we headed off for the visitor center/museum. Before we had even gone a few blocks, we were glowing. Seriously. Like with sweat dripping off of us – it was just a bit humid! We passed several houses with official-looking plaques and descriptions on them, but according to our map, we were not officially on the walking tour yet. Where was that visitor center??
We found it! And it was air-conditioned!! We took our time examining the exhibits, and seriously, they had done a good job giving us a taste of what life was like in antebellum St. Francisville. When we were ready to face the heat again, we started our tour. There are a lot of old homes here, most of which appear to have been restored and are being lived in today. We passed the Methodist Episcopal Church, which is now the Methodist Church, several houses with lovely gingerbread trim and wrought iron balconies, the old bank building, the courthouse, and the Episcopal Church. There was a wonderful old graveyard next to the Episcopal Church, and since it was full of huge old live oaks covered with Spanish moss, it was shady and several degrees cooler, so we took our time exploring it.
We finished our walking tour and made it back to the inn to collect our car, and we went straight to George’s for some cold tea! They weren’t quite open yet, but we must have looked really hot and thirsty, because they let us have our liquid refreshment! Now we were off to tour one of the plantation houses in this area, and we had chosen Rosedown, the home of Jefferson Davis’s mother and named for the flowers she loved. It wasn’t far away, and we got there shortly after eleven, with the sky looking fairly threatening. Bad news for us – a tour was just underway, and the next one didn’t start until noon. We decided to pass, and then the lady asked us if we didn’t want to tour the gardens between now and then. We were going to just have a short stroll through the rose gardens and then leave, until she wanted to charge us half price just for that. And mind you, it’s late September – there was not all that much in bloom! So we just said thanks, but no thanks and went on in search of a plantation that suited our schedule.
That led us to The Myrtles, which was built in 1796 by General David Bradford, who led the Whisky Rebellion. Guess he decided to come South after that worked out so well… Anyway, The Myrtles is haunted, or so the story goes. We were only allowed to take pictures in one area of the interior of the house, and that was this huge mirror in the entryway. Even though the glass in the frame has been replaced on multiple occasions, the same markings always appear back on it in the same places. We were told a story about a slave girl who supposedly haunts the house, but after reading the accounts at I have decided not to relay what we heard. Check it out and decide for yourselves! After our tour, we walked around the grounds for a while, then got some gas and took off for Angola and the Louisiana State Penitentiary.
You know how sometimes you just know you should follow your intuition rather than doing what someone or something else is telling you to do? Well, this afternoon was one of those times. Once again, Kim was led astray by her navigator, and we soon found ourselves deep in the woods, first on a road, then a gravel road, then a dirt road, and then on a one-lane dirt road, all going nowhere fast! We saw few signs of life, other than the “Posted: No Trespassing” signs, so after a while, Kim performed a lovely seven or eight point turn and we went back to the highway we never should have turned off of, and before too long we were at the prison gates.
Just outside the gates of the prison was a museum about the history of the Louisiana Penitentiary, which was known as one of the bloodiest and most awful prisons in this country. I found it interesting that the current warden was willing to share that history, although it’s hard to see how far you’ve come unless you’re willing to admit where you were. This is the prison where “Dead Man Walking” was filmed as well as the place it was written about, and many other prison movies have been filmed here.
We were the only visitors, and soon we were joined by a nice-looking man, all dressed in white. He proceeded to give us a guided tour of the museum, and it soon became evident that his knowledge was first-hand. He was the nicest guy, very gentle and soft-spoken, and he will be turning 50 soon. He’s been incarcerated for 25 years, serving 60 years for aggravated burglary. Seemed a shame to us – such a heavy sentence – don’t think they pass those out much these days. He’s coming up for parole, but he’s been turned down twice already… Anyway, his name is Edrick and we liked him! He showed us his ‘crafts’ – remember those chains we used to make out of chewing gum wrappers? He makes all kinds of things using that same technique and cigarette packages. The museum was really interesting and well worth the out-of-the-way stop. Later, when we learned there had been an escapee last week, we were glad we had found our way off of the back roads and back onto the highway…
The rain started falling about the time we got back on the road, but it just drizzled on us as we made our way back to Natchez. Our original plans were to make it there in time for lunch at Mammy’s Cupboard (it was really good!!) but we missed that, so we decided to stop for a treat at The Malt Shop. We both got chocolate malts and split a shrimp po’boy and enjoyed them on the picnic table out front. The sky was really gray and threatening, and it was very hot and humid, but at least it wasn’t raining! We went back to the Basilica, which we were able to see this time. Wow – more beautiful stained glass! There are some gorgeous photos on the website and if you make it to Natchez (we highly recommend it!) be sure to stop at see for yourself.
It started raining in earnest as we drove out of Natchez, so that put a damper on our plans to stop in at the places on the Trace that we missed in the dark on our way down. We did stop at the Emerald Indian Mound, which is huge and centuries old, but then it started pouring. Kim gamely drove on to Vicksburg through the driving rain, and we were done for the day. We ordered pizza and did laundry and called it a night. We were really sorry to have missed getting to spend more time in Natchez on the flip side – we enjoyed it a lot! FYI, they do ‘pilgrimages’ in the fall (this year it’s now – Sept 26 – Oct 10) and for four weeks in the spring where the plantation homes are on tour with guides in antebellum attire. It would be a fun time to be there!
A little soggy but overall, I can’t complain about the rain!
It was another slow-starting morning! We had lots of catching up to do, both on sleep and on blogging and Facebooking and photos after our weekend in New Orleans. We didn’t really have too much on our agenda today – we planned to learn a bit about Acadian culture, eat some good Cajun food, and visit our childhood friend Merrill in the capital city of Baton Rouge. So it was after ten when we finally found ourselves at Dwyer’s Café in downtown Lafayette, ordering our sweet potato pancakes with sugar cane syrup and some eggs. We sat outside on the patio, right on the main drag, where we could admire a beautiful mural painted on the side of a building across a parking lot from us. A local couple joined us outside and we chatted with them throughout our meal. That’s one of the most fun things about this kind of travel – we’ve met some really interesting and nice folks along the way! We had read about this restaurant in several of our books, and it did not disappoint! The pancakes were especially tasty – and healthy, too, right? Oh, and just as we were leaving, Elvis, in the flesh, came walking in the door. I couldn’t get a photo – sorry!
Love the colors in the mural. And you know how I love street art!Delicious sweet potato pancakes
After breakfast, we drove downtown, looking for the Borden Dairy store where we planned to have a frappe’ later on. We heard at breakfast that it was being renovated by its new owner, but that it was now open for business – good thing! Sure enough, when we went by, the parking lot was full of workmen. At least we knew where to find it when we were ready for ice cream! Our next stop was at the Jean Lafitte Acadian Cultural Center, which is home to a museum about the exile and relocation of the Acadian people from Nova Scotia and areas around there. We’d also heard they had a very informative movie about the exile, too. Turns out we got there in mid-cycle of the movie, and even though it appeared we were the only ones there, we would have to wait for the next show. So, we took our time in the museum section, which was really well done.
Borden’s Dairy Bar in Lafayette LA
In case you don’t know, this area of Louisiana has quite a storied history. The Acadians were French immigrants who settled in and around the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. When the French and Indian war began, the British expelled these people, who sailed around the east coast of America, only to be repulsed and denied safe harbor in any of the colonies. They continued looking for a home and eventually settled in the area that is now present-day Lafayette, Louisiana, and includes 22 parishes, which are now known as Acadiana. The word ‘Cajun’ is a derivative of the word ‘Acadian’ and descendants of these people still speak a dialect of French and observe many of the traditions of their ancestors. Many other peoples settled in this untamed, mostly unclaimed area of the Louisiana Purchase – native Americans were already here, and they were joined by Spaniards, Africans, Germans, English, and West Indians. Many of these other cultures refer to themselves as Creole, but there has been a lot of blending of cultures over time. All I know is the food is fantastic, the music unusual but fun to listen to and impossible not to move to, the language is like music to the ears, and the people are friendly. What’s not to love?
The movie started eventually – a private showing for Kim and me – and even though it was very well done and quite moving, I found myself nodding off at times. Kim said the movie was sad and she wondered why she was sitting there watching it while I slept! But I didn’t miss it all! You may be familiar with the Longfellow poem “Evangeline”, which is the story of two lovers separated by the exile of the Acadians. Lots of roads down here (and other things, like businesses) are named Evangeline, which now we understand. After the movie was over, we finished looking at the museum, and then we were off to explore Breaux Bridge and find some of the good restaurants we’d heard about there. But first – we went back to town to get our frappe’, only to be direly disappointed – CLOSED on MONDAYS!! Sadly, we were about to learn that this would be the theme for the day….
The bridge at Breaux Bridge LA
We soon found ourselves in Breaux Bridge, parking on the street, right in front of Café des Amis. That should have been our first clue…and indeed there on the door was the dreaded “Closed on Mondays” sign. See what we missed (check the menu) and you’ll know how bummed we were! Okay, on to our next place, which was Champagne’s Breaux Bridge Bakery, allegedly serving breakfast and lunch and not to be missed. Hmmm…maybe something has changed since the Road Food people rolled through, but I doubt it. Didn’t look like much had changed in thirty or forty years, but believe it or not, there is a website! One room, no tables, no drinks, no parking, no menu, lots of cookies, and a handful of meat pies. So we bought a dozen cookies for the road – two each of: the specialty of the house, a pink filled sandwich cookie, a similar looking chocolate crème filled cookie, some cookies that looked like Kim’s favorite, the Mexican wedding cookie, chocolate crinkles, macaroons, and brownies. We crossed back over the bridge (yes, there really is one, built in 1950, crossing the Bayou Teche and topped by a giant crawfish) and went to the Visitor Information Center, rather than heading down a rural highway to get the best cracklin’s in the state (according to our breakfast friends) in a place that MIGHT just be closed on Mondays.
Can’t leave a bakery without cookies for the road!Mulate’s was deserted when we arrived, but not for long.
The nice lady there thought we should go back to Mulate’s, which we had seen on the way into town, for some good Cajun food, so we did. Since it was about two thirty, the place was deserted, until we got there. As is often the case, almost immediately the place filled up – four tables came in! You’d be surprised how often that happens to us. Anyway, we weren’t really hungry, but we had no idea where we were going that night or when we might eat again, and you’ve probably noticed that if we go too long without a meal, we might require medical assistance. We split a catfish po’boy and that was just right! The restaurant was dark and cool inside, and you could see there was plenty of room for dancing in front of the stage that, sadly, was empty this afternoon. Looks like lots of famous area musical acts have played here, and we were sorry to miss that fun! Get a shot of ear and eye candy and you’ll almost feel like you were there!
We called our friend Merrill in Baton Rouge, and it turned out she was waiting for us (sorry, Merrill!!) so we hopped on I-10 and skedaddled across the Atchafalaya Swamp, arriving in Baton Rouge in front of the Old State Capitol at about four. We found Merrill, who we haven’t seen since Jr. High School (gotta love Facebook!) and went inside. I loved this old building! It looked like a big castle, and on the inside, it had the most beautiful stained glass windows and dome! We walked around a bit, noting what a pretty place it would be for a reception or party, and we didn’t find the missing statue of George Washington, either. Even though it was warmish outside, we opted to walk down to the ‘new’ capitol building, which was built in about 1935.
Crossing the swampThe old state Capitol
The brainchild and pet project of then-Governor Huey P. Long (yes, of bridge fame!), it is the tallest state capitol building in the US at 34 stories! The interior of the lobby and first floor is very ornate and looks like a capitol building that is out to impress – lots of naked women on murals on the ceiling and some pretty Art Deco features – but the tower was closed for maintenance so we didn’t get to see the view from the top. As it turns out, Governor Long, aka the Kingfish, ran for US Senate and won, so he never occupied this building as governor of the state. Even sadder, it was here in the back hall of this building that he was gunned down and killed by a mild-mannered-looking doctor when he was only 42 years old. Long was a much loved and evidently much hated figure in Louisiana politics, and pretty much of a legend around here.
The Louisiana state capitol is one of four ‘skyscraper’ capitols in the US.Naked lady mural…
I neglected to mention the outside of the capitol – it sits on a bit of a hill, looking out over a mall of sorts, complete with a huge statue of – you guessed it – Huey P. Long. The front doors of the capitol are HUGE, and there’s lots of great statuary out front. There are a lot of wide steps leading up to the doors – thirteen on the first section, each one labeled with the name of one of the thirteen original states and the date of its entrance into the Union. After a landing, more stairs of the other states, in order of statehood, ending with Arizona, which I guess was the last state at the time the building was completed. All in all, it was a lovely capitol and one more to add to our collection of capitol buildings we have seen and/or visited. This trip has been kind of fun in that we’ve been through the capitals of each state we visited – Nashville, Tennessee; Frankfort, Kentucky; Jackson, Mississippi; and now Baton Rouge. Technically, we were in Alabama for a few miles on the Natchez Trace, but we’ve both been to Montgomery before anyway.
The stairs leading up to the capitolHuey P. Long, of courseMassive doors!
As we walked back through downtown Baton Rouge, Merrill showed us some of the other great buildings there and told us how, like many other places, the downtown is finally being revitalized and people are starting to come back to their city again. We are glad to see that happening all over the country and regret that the 70’s and 80’s had the influence on city centers that they did. We still reminisce, as we did that day with Merrill, about our bus trips to bustling downtown Paducah when we were kids, getting dressed up, window shopping with our friends, and spending our allowances at the counters of Kresge or the booths of Walgreen’s. Remember that strawberry pie, y’all?? Good times! Speaking of – we sure were glad to find one coffee shop (Community Coffee – a local business) still open (just before 5, downtown!) so we could get that refreshing glass of iced tea – we were all HOT, HOT, HOT!!
We parted company with Merrill back at the Old Capitol, across the street from what used to be the Yazoo and Mississippi Railroad Depot and is now a museum, and we decided to go a little farther north since it was still pretty early. We set our sights on St. Francisville, the second oldest town in Louisiana, and we took the Great River Road to get there. This part of the GRR is often called Plantation Alley for all the lovely antebellum homes that used to line the land behind the levees of the Mississippi here in the Delta. Of course, it first took us past the “Chemical Corridor” of Baton Rouge – evidence of the oil industry that still thrives here – we get to see all the sights! Soon we were in rural Louisiana, passing fields of sugar cane that made me feel like I was back in Queensland for a minute! Somewhere along the way we ended up on the west side of the river, and since St. Francisville was on the east side, we weren’t exactly sure how we would be getting over there. Guess the navigator should have looked ahead!
Sugar cane fields aboundOn the ferry, heading to St. Francisville.
Turns out a ferry boat ride was in order, and it looked like we might have just missed the one that supposedly ran on the hour and the half hour, which was not a good thing, since we were both feeling the effects of our two glasses of tea. But we were in luck! The guidebooks were misguided, and the ferry actually runs at a quarter past and a quarter to the hour! Saved!! Kim bravely steered us on board the ferry, following the directions of the boatman that no one else seemed to need. I reckon most of the folks on this late afternoon ferry are on it twice a day, every day. So it goes without saying that they all had a big laugh when the horn sounded and we about jumped out of the sunroof! We ate some of our cookies to take our minds off the fact that there were no facilities on board, and that worked pretty well, in case you ever need a good remedy. The ride was short and uneventful, the best kind, and soon we were leaving the ferry in a cloud of dust and making our way into St. Francisville.
Our lodging for the night – St. Francisville Inn and Wine Parlor
You’ve likely guessed that St. Francisville was named for none other than THE St. Francis, he of the friend to birds and other animals. The town grew up around one of the French Catholic monasteries that dotted this area of Louisiana, and it is home to many well-preserved homes and antebellum manors. We had plans to see a few of these in the light of day, which was fading fast, but we had no plans for dinner or lodging. We had called a few places on our way into town but had not found a place to sleep yet. No worries! We pulled into a gas station to see what our options were, and when I looked up, it was to see a sign that said “St. Francisville Inn and Wine Parlor”, and we were right next door to it! So, guess where we stayed?
The proprietor, Laurie Walsh, couldn’t have been nicer, and soon we had a key to our B&B room with two beds, which is not an easy thing to find! She also gave us a map of a walking tour and told us which restaurants were still serving (after all, it was 7:30!!!) and so around the corner we went, to George’s Feliciana. Even though it was our only choice, it was a GREAT one!! I thought I’d have a light supper of a shrimp remoulade salad and some corn and shrimp soup, and Kim opted for a shrimp po’boy. Then we threw in an order of sweet potato fries, just because. Well, when our order was ready, there was enough food on our tray to feed the whole restaurant! I have to tell you, my soup was really yummy, but my salad, which was FULL of lemony shrimp and lined with huge chunks of avocado and tomatoes, was to die for!! I ate every last bite! Kim couldn’t begin to eat all of her sandwich, which must have had about a pound of fried shrimp on it and around it. Needless to say, the BUCKET of sweet potato fries went largely untouched, which was too bad, because the ones we did eat were perfect. We were not even tempted to even think about ordering pie, which looked yummy, too.
Gigantic and delicious shrimp saladAnyone hungry? We had a gracious plenty!
I forgot to say that we had attempted to eat at a little place across the street at the V3 Motor Lodge, but the Baldwin Sisters were playing and they stopped serving soup and sandwiches at 7:30. Got lucky, I guess! Sometimes it pays to be slow. We shuffled our over-stuffed selves back to our room to watch the rest of MNF (Go Colts!) and do a little blogging, even though we had no internet. Can’t have everything, but now you know how easy it is for me to get behind on these trips!
I was sound asleep before Peyton was able to work his weekly miracle, but Kim saw the demise of the Dolphins and then could rest easy. It was time to head north in earnest, but we sure have enjoyed our time in Cajun country!
Amazingly, I was clear-headed this morning but seriously wondering why on earth we agreed to a 9 AM start! I got my day going right with a large glass of iced tea from the Starbucks in the lobby of the hotel, and that turned out to be one smart move! Sunday morning in N’awlins means Café du Monde for beignets, so off we went. There was more activity than I expected at this hour, and it was hot, hot, hot already. But we didn’t have to wait long, and soon we were stuffing our faces with those hot, melt-in-your-mouth, powdered sugar-coated morsels that make me drool just writing about them. We sat and savored them for as long as we could, given the people in line waiting for their turn at nirvana.
We strolled around the shops near Jackson Square, buying some pralines and a few little lagniappes for friends back home. We got a kick out of the street performers and the buggy drivers, and Alex and Kim bought some art from the street vendors. We took our time getting back to the hotel, and when we got there, we saw Storm Troopers (from Star Wars) in the lobby. Go figure. We dropped off our purchases, and everyone got a glass of tea to go this time. It was HOT! Even though we had just eaten (a seemingly non-stop activity this weekend), we walked over to Canal Street to catch the St. Charles streetcar so that we could have lunch at the Camellia Grill.
The streetcar ride was lots of fun and something I had not done before. Kim was really getting her money’s worth for her first trip to the Big Easy! We rode past the Garden District – great houses! – and past the Audubon Zoo, and Tulane, Loyola, and Newcomb on our way to the end of the line and the treats that awaited us there. The Camellia Grill is an institution that almost met its end, but has been resurrected. You’ll want to make plans to get there as soon as you can!
Our wait wasn’t too long, and it just gave us time to digest breakfast. Soon we were at least inside, in the AC, waiting for our turn at the counter. White-coated, bow-tied waiters and cooks worked with flair and economy of movement as they grilled, fried, and soda-jerked our burgers, onion rings, fries, and shakes. And they had the most awesome crushed ice!! My all-time favorite meal – loaded cheeseburger and onion rings – stick a fork in me now ‘cause I am DONE!!! It was SO GOOD!!! We absolutely could not eat a piece of pie this time! Josh, our waiter, even filled up my giant Sonic cup with that wonderful ice, and we were ready for the ride back to the hotel.
This time, our streetcar driver wouldn’t let me on because my cup of precious ice had no lid, so I had to toss it…so sad!! So I didn’t enjoy that ride back as much as I would have!! By the time we got back, it was our late checkout time – Kim and I had miles to go and Rex had a plane to catch, but Jim and Alex weren’t leaving until Monday. I’m not sure I could have eaten or drunk any more rich New Orleans food! We said our goodbyes to the guys and headed down to the car, and it probably won’t surprise you to know that we had an interesting adventure just trying to get out of New Orleans. Never a dull moment in the car with us! But we made it, and soon we were crossing the Huey P. Long bridge (or at least an annex of the bridge!) and were on our way to Houma.
We were going to Houma to see my friends Rod and Beulah, who had befriended Rex and me and fed and housed us four years ago when we were in Houma to build a Volunteer Village to house people who were coming to aid with relief from Hurricane Katrina. The village is still being used, as relief still continues for a part of the state that was very badly damaged yet receives little notice from the rest of the world. Camp Good Earth is run by Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. It was no surprise to me that Beulah is still a force! My daughter, Kim, and I stopped in to visit Rod and Beulah last summer when we were on our way home from Austin – it is always good to be in their home.
Houma is deep in the heart of Cajun country, and Rod is a bona fide Cajun (and boy, can he cook, too!!) Back in the day, he used to host a Cajun radio show, in the native tongue, and he plays in Cajun bands. We headed even deeper into Acadian Louisiana, bound for Lafayette. We passed bayou after bayou, noting the ‘bear crossing’ signs with interest. Hmmm – we would have to find out more about that!
It was almost dark by the time we found our hotel in Lafayette, and Lee the Garmin man was hell-bent to send us through the hood to get to the restaurant we were going to. It’s not easy finding things open on Sunday night (by night, I mean after about 7:30) so we headed to Prejean’s, which was open. Good choice, once we got there! I had corn and crab chowder and crawfish enchiladas, and Kim had a huge bowl of shrimp gumbo. More good eats!
We had an easier time getting back to the hotel, and were looking forward to learning about Cajun country over the next few days.
How lovely it was to sleep in this morning!! We had a date to meet Jim and Alex in the lobby at 11:15, so we were able to take our time. No breakfast needed, as we were heading for a gastronomic experience at Galatoire’s, a New Orleans institution – and it was just down the street, so no worries! Alex is a NOLA planner extraordinaire, and we were along for the ride and loving every minute of it! Even Jim and I were on time for this fine day, so off we went. Let the good times roll!
Galatoire’s opens at 11:30 and doesn’t take reservations for the downstairs dining room, so we made sure to be there early. First stop – the upstairs bar. Bloody Marys for Jim and me, Mimosas for Rex and Kim, and a brandy milk punch for Alex, and before we had finished them, it was time to get our table. Jim and Alex are regulars here on their trips to New Orleans, and Bryant is their server of choice – we can see why! He was great! Baskets of fresh bread were waiting on us, and our drinks were quickly refilled. Garlic bread was next, followed closely by shrimp remoulade and oysters en brochette. We had a couple of salads, one with shrimp and one with crabmeat, then it was time for the main courses. Alex and I had two of our favorite things – Eggs Benedict and a filet, Jim had broiled drum, Rex had Poisson meuniere amandine, and Kim had a filet. I think. We also ordered cauliflower au gratin, onion rings, and asparagus with Hollandaise to share, and there was plenty of Bearnaise sauce for our meat. Rex, Jim, and I decided to try a Pimm’s Cup, and Kim and Alex stuck to beer.
One thing I love about New Orleans restaurants, beside the obvious, is that they are lined with mirrors so you can see everything going on around you. We had fun people watching, and were pretty sure we had spotted a celebrity. Kim recognized Laurie from Trading Spaces, and sure enough, she and her husband were there celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary. We sang Happy Birthday about half a dozen times (but not to Rex!), too. The table behind us looked like the Sopranos had come to town, complete with a little kid who looked like Eddie Munster and who kept falling asleep between courses.
You may think we’d eaten so much that we couldn’t possibly want more, but there was more! Alex had arranged for us to have some Café’ Brulot (a brandied coffee drink that Bryant flamed at our table), and I even had two cups of it. And I HATE coffee!!! Out came dessert – a couple of chocolate sundaes for Jim, Kim, and Alex and an order of banana bread pudding (not banana bread, but bread pudding with bananas) for Rex and me. Oh my. When we looked at the time, it was 3:30 – we had been there for FOUR HOURS!!!! What a special treat!! Thanks, ALEX!! When you come to New Orleans next time, make sure you save time for Galatoire’s!
We waddled back to the hotel thinking we might spend some time by the pool (don’t ask what we were thinking – I had not brought a maternity bathing suit with me and I’m sure the one I had wouldn’t hold me after that lunch!!) but there were too many young people out there, so we just put on our shorts and t-shirts and went for a walk. Somehow we ended up at a bar, one that may be the oldest continually operated bar in the country. It was Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop, which we thought was fitting, since Saturday was “Talk Like a Pirate Day”. It is home of the Voodoo, a frozen concoction that tastes like a grape Icee but is full of vodka. A most dangerous combination!! We all had to have one, of course, and since Florida was kicking Tennessee’s butt, some of us (Jim, Alex, and I) had a second one for the road.
This time we walked down to Jackson Square, watching street performers and just taking in the sights. I loved seeing all of the creative hanging signs outside the shops that lined the streets, and the balconies covered with lush green plants and laced with wrought iron were so pretty! Somehow, we ended up back at the voodoo place, where the three of us had yet another drink. What were we thinking?? By 8:30 or 9:00, we were thinking we might should eat (what?!?!) so we got a table at Mona Lisa’s pizza, where I am told we enjoyed really good garlic cheese bread and a couple of pizzas.
It was a fun, full day, but it was time to call it a night. We walked back to the hotel (wasn’t this a cool shadow we saw along the way?) and made plans for the morning, and I’m sure the rest of the gang didn’t think I’d remember enough to write this! And I know David and Kim enjoyed getting our (possible impaired) text messages from the Mona Lisa!!
It would have been the perfect Saturday if the Vols had won…
Although we had very few ideas about what we might be seeing in Natchez today, we were excited to find out what the possibilities were and we were stoked to know we’d be in New Orleans by dinner time. At least, that was the plan!! We found a little breakfast place on one of the downtown streets and tried to be a little healthier than usual. We split a yogurt, granola, and fruit cup, and Kim had a cranberry orange muffin (she said it was like eating cake!) and I had a blueberry scone that was about the size of a softball. I didn’t even eat half of it!! We asked the nice lady in the coffee shop what we shouldn’t leave Natchez without seeing, and she suggested St. Mary’s Basilica, just around the corner, and the Longwood Plantation, also not far away. We already knew we would be driving out of town past Mammy’s Cupboard, so that seemed like a good start – we could always come back through this way on the flip side.
We had noticed the basilica on our way to the hotel last night, even commenting on it, but we hadn’t known what it was. There was a lovely park just behind the church – trees festooned with Spanish moss, a gorgeous fountain, a Civil War statue, and benches set in shady spots. We walked around the corner to the TALL front doors of the building – it was quite an imposing ediface! After taking a few photos from the outside and noting that mass was at 8:30 AM (it was about 11 AM), we started to go into the sanctuary when we realized there was a service of some sort going on, so we made a note to stop back in on our trip home, because the stained glass windows are supposed to be stunning.
Off we went to Longwood, following the instructions on the Garmin, so we saw neighborhoods that most people would have missed. We passed several other plantations on the way, so we wondered what made Longwood so special. We pulled into the drive and were instantly transported to an earlier time, driving down a long drive under an arcade of trees full of Spanish moss. Our first glimpse of the house was impressive – it was very tall, and it was octagonal! We couldn’t wait to see the inside of it! We parked and found our way into the gift shop, which was darling and full of funny books about the South, lots of good sounding cookbooks, postcards, and little pretties. We did a bit of shopping as we waited for our tour to start – reading material for the road!
As is typical on many of these tours, we could not take pictures of the main floor, so I won’t be able to share a whole lot with you, but here are a few of the details I remember. The house was the dream of Dr. Haller Nutt, who wanted a different kind of plantation home, hence the shape and style of the house. To build the facade, a kiln for making bricks was built on the property and 750,000 bricks were produced here. At the time the war broke out, the facade was finished, as was the 10,000 square foot basement, consisting of nine rooms. The house was six stories and would have 30,000 square feet of finished space when it was done, but most of the builders and craftsmen were from Pennsylvania and other states in the northeast, so they left most of their tools and supplies and went home. At the time, people thought this ‘uprising’ would be settled quickly, so the workers thought they would soon be back to finish their work. As you may have guessed, this never happened.
The war lasted four years, Dr. Nutt lost his fortune and then died before the end of the war, and his wife and eight children lived in the finished basement of the house for the duration. As hard as it is for me to believe, the house NEVER got finished, yet it somehow survived. It was finally purchased by a Texas man who has stipulated that it never be completed but that it be open for the public to enjoy as it is.
One thing that adds to it’s historical value – since the facade was completed and the flooring put in for the other floors, the top five stories of the house were used for storage. That means that almost EVERYTHING – packing crates, even for the piano – was stored in the house and many of the original boxes are still there. Be sure to visit it when you come to Natchez! Our tour guide was very knowledgeable, and you can tell that the people caring for and showing this house really love it!
Although we were sure when we started out this morning that we would be on the road before Mammy’s Cupboard opened for the day, we were now going to be lucky to get there before it closed! Only open from 11-2 and closed on Mondays, we were afraid if we missed it today, we might have missed it for good. The Garmin sent us off in exactly the opposite direction than we should have gone, but common sense, a phone call, and the iphone got us to Mammy’s. And yes, Mammy’s could be considered politically incorrect, although she is now painted more of a flesh-tone than I’m sure she used to be, but who could help but want to eat lunch under the skirts of a 28 foot tall woman? Okay, that didn’t sound exactly the way I intended it, but maybe you get the picture. If not, look at our picture and then go to http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/3344 for the rest of the story.
Even though we were still stuffed from breakfast, we could not resist lunch here! Homemade bread, delicious sandwiches, and mile high pies – oh my goodness!!! My roast turkey sandwich came with avocado and blueberry chutney, and it was served with homemade vegetable soup and a side of potato salad. It was SO GOOD!!! Kim had a ham sandwich that looked equally tasty, but so that we could have some pie, we each only ate half of our sandwiches, then we shared a piece of chocolate icebox pie (we only shared it because it was the last piece…) We could not wait to come back here when we were really hungry!!
By now we were afraid Rex would arrive in New Orleans before we did, so we skedaddled off down Highway 61 (the Blues Highway) bound for Baton Rouge and New Orleans. No more stops for us (except for tea!) and we probably passed the airport about the time Rex’s plane landed!! But since we were sure we would have already been in NOLA and drinking by then, we’d had Kim’s friends Jim and Alex arrange a ride for Rex! We found our way into the city, to the hotel, and into the parking garage without incident, and soon we were joining Jim and Alex for drinks at the Old Absinthe House, just across the street from our hotel. Rex got there not long after we did, so our New Orleans party weekend could officially begin. I probably forgot to mention that we were celebrating Rex’s double-nickel birthday, which is really on the 26th, and ORIGINALLY, the rest of his family (adults, not our kids) were to be partying with us. We see how well that went over…they won’t know what fun they missed and will have to read about it here!!
We met some of Jim and Alex’s friends at the bar – thanks for the great hotel rooms, Allison!! – and then went back to the Royal Sonesta to make arrangements for dinner. Russell, the concierge, set us up with late reservations at Clancy’s, on Annunciation in Uptown New Orleans. We cleaned up a bit, then took a taxi over to St. Joe’s Bar for a drink before dinner. It was a cool bar complete with church pews and other icons. We sat out on the back porch until it was time to walk over to Clancy’s.
Clancy’s was a hopping place – packed with people (mostly local, I’d say) having a good time and enjoying great food – and it was loud! I’m sure I won’t remember what everyone else had, but I got some shrimp and crab gumbo, the Clancy’s crab salad, and an order of fried green tomatoes. With crabmeat! Rex and Kim got the gumbo, too, and I think Jim and Alex got salads. Jim and Alex got veal, Kim got the same crab salad I did, and Rex got the lobster risotto that I was thinking about ordering – saved! We had a pretty long wait for dinner (good thing the bread was good!) but it was worth it – delish!! We split some desserts – Kim, Jim, and Alex shared a big brownie with ice cream, and Rex and I had a frozen lemon pie. Oh man, we hit the mother lode! That pie was fantastic!!
Somehow, we made it back to the French Quarter and walked around a bit. Kim had never been to Nawlins, so we made the obligatory trip to Pat O’Brien’s for a nightcap. The streets were wild – it’s Friday night – so we saw all we needed to see and then went back to rest up for our big lunch date at Galatoire’s. I probably gained five pounds today – it was great!!
We got off to a fairly early start, at least for us, in Tupelo. Not finding any mention of good breakfast places in any of our books, we went looking on our own and arrived at Shockley’s, which looked pretty grim, outside and in, but had decent enough breakfast. Kim liked her hash browns and said her ham was mighty tasty. I had a cheese omelet, which was fine. Since the atmosphere was depressing (think school cafeteria, or worse), we didn’t linger. Besides, we were off to see where Elvis grew up.
We’ve learned that no matter where we travel, Elvis finds us – hunts us down and pretty much haunts us – and begs us to have something to do with him. So here we were in his birthplace, Tupelo, Mississippi. Did we have a choice? It was not difficult to find the two-room shotgun shack that Vernon Presley built for his wife and what was to have been twins, but instead was the larger-than-life Elvis. Sadly, two tour busloads of people, some from England, had beat us to the punch, so we opted not to pay money to stand in a single file line to go through the house. We got photos of the actual Assembly of God church where Elvis and his parents attended (it had been moved to the site, complete with an outhouse, which I’m not sure belonged with the church or the house) and where Elvis first discovered gospel music. We saw a modern chapel with brilliant stained glass windows that was built and dedicated to Elvis’s memory after his death, and then we stood around the Fountain of Life, which marked the years Elvis lived in Tupelo. I thought the most interesting exhibit was an outdoor wall which was lined with memories about Elvis from the now-grown children that he went to school with and played with as a boy in Tupelo. They painted a picture of a poor but proud boy who always knew he would be somebody and who had a God-given talent for music. The house looked much better than it probably ever did when Elvis lived in it, and it was encircled by a sidewalk of squares commemorating every year of Elvis’s life (but only telling things about the Tupelo years). Did you know Vernon had been imprisoned when Elvis was young? The family moved to Memphis when Elvis was entering his teen years in hopes of finding a better job for Vernon and a better life for the family.
After a quick Sonic stop for our morning tea, we were back on the Trace, headed for Natchez. The sky was not promising, and the weather reports were grim – RAIN, and lots of it, was predicted for the whole southeast. We were not sure we would be able to avoid it today. The first interesting thing we saw along the parkway was another Indian burial mound site, but we just did a drive-by and didn’t stop to see them. We did stop at French Camp, which turned out to be most enlightening. French Camp was established by Louis LeFleur as a stand (inn) in 1812, and it became a school for boys in 1822. It later had a sister school for girls that served as a finishing school, which burned down long ago. Today French Camp Academy is a private Christian boarding and day school serving area youth. There was a house that’s been restored, a blacksmith shop, an old school building that now serves as a museum, and several other outbuildings, and they make sorghum here in the fall. We spent about an hour just poking around and talking to the museum lady (don’t think she gets much business) who showed us her senior picture (class of 1947) from FCA. The sun was shining brightly, and it felt like you would expect a summer day in Mississippi to feel – a little sticky! While looking at the house, we came across a mother cat and three little kittens – that was about the extent of our excitement.
Our next stop was the town of Kosciusko, which you may have heard of since it is Oprah’s birthplace. It was named for a Polish general who served with Washington in the Revolutionary War. He was an amazing engineer who designed many forts all over the eastern US and who fortified West Point. We had a little picnic at the welcome center here, where the nice folks manning the desk allowed me to charge my laptop while we ate. We sat out on the slightly damp picnic benches and had the pimiento cheese from Glasgow on our leftover rolls from Nashville, the tomatoes we bought in Danville, and some almonds that Kim had brought. It was all good!
The crazy weather continued after we got back on the Parkway – it rained on us while the sun was shining. We were getting so frustrated because we couldn’t find the rainbow that we KNEW had to be there!! This ended up being a theme for the afternoon, as this action was repeated about six times! At one point, we pulled off at a turnoff just to try to find the rainbow, and instead we happened upon the most lovely sight – the Pearl River, covered with lily pads and with several beautiful birds wading in the water. We finally found a couple of rainbows, too!
We pulled into the parking lot of the Cypress Swamp and got out for a little nature hike just as the thunder started in earnest. We didn’t let it scare us and we had a really nice, albeit wet, walk through the swamp. Lots of fungi and other cool nature all around us! It is hard to believe that at one time, ALL of the cypress trees in Louisiana had been harvested. They are so pretty!
We made one other stop before it got too dark, and that was at the “waterfall” at Owens Creek. My oh my, worse than the other waterfall we stopped for, but at least this time we didn’t end up hiking down (and back up) 900 feet to see it! It started raining again, and this time it was getting dark, too, so no rainbows. We did see lots of deer lining the parkway, so Kim did well to avoid hitting them and to drive in the rain with no streetlights. By the time we arrived in Natchez, the rain had stopped.
On the way to our hotel, we passed Fat Mama’s Tamales, which I knew to be the home of “Fat Mama’s Knock You Naked Margaritas”, so we were thrilled to find it was within walking distance of the hotel. Like next door. No need to tell you where we ate dinner!! And boy, were those margaritas good!
It was pouring down rain when we got up, so we just didn’t get moving. We caught up on some computer time and were just avoiding the inevitable when we got a call from the place where our mom lives in Durham. They reported that mom had been found on the floor next to her bed that morning, and that while she seemed okay, could I please come take her to the doctor? Needless to say, that was a no, so they took her to the ER at Duke, where she spent the day but was released in good shape. David and Rex went to visit her last night and said she seemed none the worse for wear and that she apparently just rolled out of the bed in her sleep. We are grateful that it was nothing more!
We had thought we might go back to the Loveless Café for breakfast, but Laura had told us about another place we might want to try called Barbara’s Home Cookin’ on Old Hillsboro Road. It was almost 11:30 and still raining by the time we got over there, but boy, was it worth it. We were greeted at the door by a lovely South African woman and a sign that said “Barbara’s Home Cookin’ welcomes all families HOWEVER, unruly children Will Be DEEP FRIED (the secret is in the sauce)” – ya gotta love it! We had the CUTEST server in the world named Matt. We knew we loved him when he brought us a basket of three huge hot rolls with our iced teas. For those of you Clark School kids who remember how you never wanted to miss Thursdays because it was hot roll day in the cafeteria – these were the closest thing to those that I’ve had in years! Heaven in a yeast roll, with a huge bowl of butter, too!
NOTE: Barbara’s Home Cookin’ closed in December 2025 after being in business for almost 30 years.
Matt proceeded to help us order from the giant blackboard right above our table. Kim chose a vegetable plate with cucumber and tomato salad, broccoli cheese casserole, and fried okra, and I had a scoop of the chicken salad on top of a bed of spinach with feta cheese and fresh fruit – strawberries, grapes, and oranges – with a little yummy dressing. Right after we ordered, one of Kim’s college roommates, Debbie, called. She lives just up the road, so she came over and joined us. She got the poppyseed chicken casserole with turnip greens and zucchini and tomato casserole. Dessert proved to be impossible to resist – we were going to share the peach cobbler, until it became either blackberry or blueberry, so I went for the chocolate chip bread pudding with caramel sauce, and Kim had ice cream. Debbie abstained, and she also didn’t eat her basket of rolls, so we took them with us to go with our pimiento cheese. We wanted to take Matt with us, but we didn’t have room in the car…
It was still raining when we left Barbara’s, so Debbie led us to the terminus of the Natchez Trace, which is right next to the Loveless. It was almost two when we started off, and it’s 444 miles of 40 to 50 mph parkway. Yikes! Right away we pulled off to photograph the beautiful Birdsong Hollow bridge, and the rain even let up some. The bridge is 155 feet above the valley below, and its double-arch construction has won design awards.
We considered stopping at the historic Leiper’s Fork, but it was raining too hard to be worth it. The rain was short-lived, though, once we got going on the Trace, and we stopped off at several overlooks, historic sights, and hiking spots along the way. In fact, we stopped so much that after almost three hours, we’d only covered about 50 miles! We hiked down about 900 feet to see a waterfall that we thought would be raging, given the recent rains, but we were wrong. It was better than the Western Australia waterfall, but it was not much! We stopped at an old tobacco barn and were able to drive about a mile down an original section of the Trace, and we hiked down to a place where there was a ferryboat landing, way back in the day. We stopped at Meriwether Lewis’s grave, crossed the bridge spanning the Tennessee River, and saw several ancient Indian burial mounds. For those of you unfamiliar with the Natchez Trace, make plans to drive it someday when you are not in a hurry to get anywhere. It was originally a buffalo trail, then an Indian one, and then it was a postal route from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee. Now it’s a parkway, similar to the Blue Ridge Parkway, just without the mountains. It’s a beautiful drive!
It was almost dark when we rolled into Tupelo and found our hotel. We got the car unloaded and then went to Harvey’s, a local restaurant. Great food and friendly service! Kim and I both had Blue Moons, then she had a salad and I had the tenderloin kabobs with rice pilaf, vegetables, and a side salad. We split a delicious coconut chess pie for dessert, then headed back to the hotel. We had a long drive ahead of us tomorrow since we still had about 270 miles of Parkway to go before we got to Natchez.
As predicted, the day dawned a bit on the overcast side. We wondered why we had not saved the cave for today, but since it sounded like it was REALLY raining in the area where we would be going, we decided to spend a little more time in Kentucky. After getting clean in our little slanty wigwam shower, we headed out into a little Mother Nature shower, bound for the Cream and Sugar Cafe that we passed yesterday in Cave City. It was a lovely space, with a hardwood floor and cheery yellow walls filled with original art. Our server was a little ray of sunshine on this cloudy day, and our breakfast arrived in a jiffy on darling little cherry plates. Kim had country (not city) ham and eggs with a biscuit, and I got the Highlander omelet – ham, onions, peppers, tomatoes, and cheese – with a biscuit. The perfect way to start the day!
Here’s how nice they are at Cream and Sugar – my friend Anne liked the dishes in this picture so much that she emailed the cafe, and they wrote her right back with info about where to purchase them!
[NOTE: Cream & Sugar Cafe is permanently closed. So sad.]
Our morning’s destination was Kentucky Down Under, an attraction in nearby Horse Cave that boasted a collection of Australian animals, a cave, and several other items of interest. Since I’ve just returned from Australia, I thought it would be funny to have pictures of kangaroos taken in Kentucky! We got there just in time for the 10 AM cave tour, which we weren’t necessarily planning to take, but when we heard it was a short tour and that the cave had lots of formations, we changed our minds. Our tour guide, Shannon, was a local girl whose grandfather had led tours of this same cave. The only other cavers with us were a mom and her four-year-old son, so we got personal attention. This cave is called Mammoth Onyx Cave, as the owners of this land tried to catch tourists before they got to Mammoth Cave (back in the day).
The cave was allegedly discovered by a young girl in 1799, who stumbled upon the entrance (a 30 foot deep sinkhole) while she was playing in the woods. When the owners first began exploiting the cave as a tourist attraction, visitors climbed down (and back up) a wooden ladder through this hole. Imagine the clothes women wore back in the early 19th century and picture that! Since this small cave is open to the surface and is not protected by a sandstone layer like Mammoth Cave is, it is a wet cave and therefore has lots of wonderful formations. It was slippery going in the cave, and some of the passages were quite narrow, but the formations were pretty cool. My favorite one looked like a chocolate fountain! The colors ranged from a light brownish yellow to deep red-orange to chocolate brown. Early visitors to the cave were allowed to break off pieces of stalactites to take home as souvenirs, but today more care is taken to protect the cave.
There was a small pond in the cave that used to be a home to eyeless fish and crawfish, but they are no longer living due to the number of pennies that were thrown into the pond by sightseers (over $20,000 worth!) One of the fun things they always do in caves is turn out all of the lights so that you can experience utter darkness – it is always a surprise to me how very BLACK it is with no light, and how even one little light can illuminate so much! On the way back up the stairs and out of the cave we spotted several small (two or three inch long) salamanders, which is a good sign for the health of the cave. Thankfully, even though it had been overcast and much rain was predicted for the day, we didn’t get flooded down in the cave. Shannon told us she had given tours ankle deep in water!
Back out in the heat and the light (did I mention the humidity?), we went to our first Down Under exhibit, which was about bringing non-native plants and animals to the continent of Australia. I found it interesting that there was no mention of bringing non-native animals (like kangaroos) to the US, but maybe that’s just me. The presenter of this exhibit, Jesse, did a great job. He talked about seemingly non-threatening animals that the British introduced that have since caused much harm, chief among them being rabbits. The Australians had even built a LONG ‘vermin-proof’ fence in Western Australia just to keep rabbits out of the many sheep stations there. Of course, the rabbits just burrowed under it. Other animals he talked about were dogs, sheep, goats, and camels. The camel turned out to be a good thing, as it was good for traversing the desert which occupies so much of the interior of Australia. We met Camelia (original name, huh?) and then we were on to our next stop – the kangaroos!
The exhibit here had three kinds of kangaroos – the reds, the Eastern grays, and the smaller wallabies. We were able to pet a couple of them, but most of the kangas were just lying around being lazy. They were cute, though, and it sure was funny to see them in Kentucky! Also in the enclosure were black swans and emus. We got to pet an emu, too, and feel how thick its feathers are. No wonder it can’t fly – they were heavy! From the kangaroo pen, we walked over to the lorikeets. These birds were by far my favorite Australian birds – they are so colorful! Green, blue, red, and yellow – just like a rainbow of birds. These guys knew it was feeding time, and they could hardly wait until we got in the pen. One landed on Kim’s shoulder and stayed there the whole time! Another stopped on her head for a little while, but it was really funny to see the birds on the heads of the bald men!
We had missed the border collie shepherding event, but we got to feed some lambs and see several different kinds of rams. I didn’t realize that some rams do not have horns, and I surely didn’t know that one variety of ram can have up to twenty horns!! The little boy who had been on our cave tour also got to milk this GIANT cow. From here, we went through the exhibit that had lots of different bird cages. The birds are so exotic and pretty! We had missed the morning digeridoo recital, and we chose not to wait for the 3:00 show, so after a quick stop at the dingo pen, we were on our way. This was a nice little park and one I would recommend if you find yourself in the area for a few hours.
Since we were trying to let the southern torrential rains work their way east before we went south, we decided to take the Cordell Hull Scenic Byway down to Tompkinsville, KY instead of going straight to Nashville. This route took us through the metropolis of Glasgow, where we got hungry for some lunch. Even though we had our Road Food book with us, it was of no use in this part of the state. As much as I’ve liked most of the places I’ve eaten on the Sterns’ recommendation, my biggest gripe about their books is that often, you need to stay in one area for many meals, and then you might go hungry before you find your next good place to eat! You’ve probably realized that our trips are as much about food as anything, and we’ve learned to sniff out the local eateries pretty well. Now with Garmins and iphones, in addition to AAA and books like Road Food, it’s even easier. And so we found ourselves navigating the streets of Glasgow, circling the town square and landing in the parking lot of the Li’l Country Diner, a very non-descript looking building with a large, mostly empty, gravel parking lot. Given that it was about 2:00, this didn’t dissuade us. Good thing, ‘cause there were some good eats inside! We got the meat and two, for which both of us chose roast beef and gravy, mashed potatoes (and gravy), and green beans. I also succumbed to the pull of a freshly made deviled egg, and of course we each had a roll and a huge glass of iced tea with lemon. The pie of the day was butterscotch, but for once we were able to control ourselves. We did have the foresight to take a half-pint of homemade pimiento cheese with us, and you can’t beat the prices here – both of our lunches, plus the cheese, cost under $15…
[NOTE: I think this place is closed, too.]
Off we went, stopping at the Sonic for our road tea, headed for Tompkinsville, where we didn’t know what we might find. The road was pretty and before too long we were there. We saw signs for the Old Mulkey Meeting House, so we went to see what that was. It was a lovely old log church meeting house, set in the woods next to some old cemeteries. In the afternoon mist it made a great picture. Several of Daniel Boone’s relatives, including his sister, were buried there. Sheila, the lady at the visitor center told us that back in town, Tompkinsville was famous for its Rolley Hole Marble players. She suggested that we stop in at the Monroe County Marble Club Super Dome and watch some marbles being played. She gave us a map and a description of Rolley Hole marbles, so off we went.
Well, I’m not exactly sure what I expected, but this was NOT it!! I’m afraid a written description won’t do it justice, and neither will my photos – you sort of had to be there! To get to the Dome, we hung a left at the IGA and went past the Armory and its many warnings and no trespassing signs, and then we came upon a sort of Quonset hut-like structure, if Quonset huts were made of wood and looked like they could fall down any time. Since we were looking for a dome, we were a little surprised, but since the road ended in the parking lot (I use the term loosely), we figured this was the place. Then we saw the ‘marquee’ that said Monroe County Rolley Hole Marble Dome and we were sure we were in the right place. We were soon greeted by three men who somehow knew we were not regulars there! We were just hoping we weren’t about to become permanent residents. But we needn’t have worried – they were very hospitable and invited us into the inner sanctum.
The arena consisted of a large dirt (special dirt) floor marked off by a wooden wall about 8-10 inches high. The court (?) rink (?) was surrounded by chairs and recliners in all stages of disrepair. Sort of like a LaZBoy hospice. Or cemetery. In the middle of the court were three shallow holes, apparently where you want the marbles to end up. The shooters that the men use are made of flint or granite and can be different sizes. They can make you one, if you forgot yours. The place was even air-conditioned, if you count fans and large open doors as air conditioning. I’m thinking it could get cold in there in the winter!
HERE is a great article about the Rolley Hole Super Dome and the men who play there. Spoiler alert, they are WORLD CHAMPION Rolley Hole players! And if you have a dead recliner, send it to Tompkinsville, KY. They can use it at the Marble Dome!
These were our hosts at the Rolley Hole Super Dome.
On the way out of town, we stopped at the IGA to get supplies for the road – saltines for our pimiento cheese, cold brew tea bags, and ice. We were good to go! We had thought we might take scenic route KY 100 over to Scottsville before heading south to Nashville, but after our recent Close Encounter of the Deliverance Kind, we just went south!
Right past the Tennessee state line, we came face-to-face with a grazing buffalo, and then we started seeing some large horse farms. Soon we were nearing Gallatin and surely we were passing some homes of country music stars – big spreads! Kim’s son’s girlfriend, Laura, works in Gallatin, so we gave her a call and stopped in to see her. We invited her to dinner with us and made arrangements for our room for the night, and then we took off for Franklin via downtown Nashville. Even at 6 PM and leaving about 15 minutes after we did, Laura had time to go to the grocery before Lee (our Garmin mate) had gotten us through the center of town. We did get a good look at the Titans stadium, the Cumberland River, the old Union Station, and the state Capitol though! We drove right through Vanderbilt’s campus and eventually got to our hotel in Brentwood. Laura met us there and we enjoyed being in civilization by getting sushi at Peter’s Sushi in Cool Springs. I got Spicy Catfish (a Thai entrée) and Kim and Laura got sushi rolls. We didn’t see anyone famous except In the photos on the walls.
We were grateful to have made it to Tennessee and to have missed most of the rain, although it was POURING when we got home from dinner. Tomorrow, it’s Natchez Trace time!
This morning we were up before the sun – a rare occurrence – because we had lots to see and do. Just as we were leaving the hotel, we got a message from Jim, another of our high school friends who lives in Louisville. We decided to take a short detour by his house to say hello on our way out of town. It was great to see him and his home studio – he’s gone from lawyer to artist, so that’s a good thing in my book! I ate part of my caramel Dutch apple pie (no, Kim didn’t want any) on the way there and we didn’t ever really stop for a proper breakfast, so Kim scarfed down a granola bar for sustenance.
Today’s destination was Mammoth Cave National Park, which is in south central Kentucky. I think we took Hwy 31 E down there – whatever road it was went through some pretty green rolling hills and some not too thriving looking little towns. We decided this part of Kentucky is nice where there is no population center but looks pretty shabby where there are people. Not sure exactly what that says… We passed very little industry – a small cooperage, likely making bourbon barrels, was about the extent of it.
Our route took us through Hodgenville, which is the birthplace of Kentucky’s favorite son, Abraham Lincoln. Just north of there we passed Abe’s birthplace, which was being reconstructed (?) by state workers and cleaned up by state detainees. We didn’t linger. The town square of Hodgenville is dominated by a large statue of Abe, and banners were flying that noted it was the 200th anniversary of his birth. We sort of took a wrong turn (I know, hard to imagine) on our way out of town, so we missed the shrine to the cabin where he actually entered the world. We had seen it before in our formative years, so we didn’t turn around. We were on a bit of a schedule, never a good thing with us, since we had a cave tour at noon.
We knew we were getting close when we passed Wigwam Village #2, which was where we would be spending the night. We drove on through Cave City and as soon as we neared the interstate interchange, we found fast food joints lining one side of the highway and really cheesy looking ‘attractions’ lining the other (cave side). This couldn’t even qualify for one of our “Gatlinburg of the ____________” designations – too depressing! We saw Dinosaur World, a couple of closed and/or abandoned mini golf courses, Big Mike’s Rock Shop, an almost reasonable facsimile of a water slide, and a few campgrounds and playgrounds. You could tell there is a recession here!
The drive to the cave is lovely – tree-lined and peaceful, at least for today. One of the many benefits of traveling in the off-season! We arrived at the visitors’ center (also under construction, so at least someone is working) in plenty of time for our tour. As we sat through the requisite warnings about the dangers of city spelunking, we wondered about the people in our group to whom the ranger seemed to be talking, but who did not seem to think they were the targeted audience. I’m thinking it would be a great idea to have something akin to the height requirement sticks like they use at Disney, except for girth here! No lie, sitting near us was a large man so square that he looked like Sponge Bob, and he didn’t even look at his wife (also on the large side, but in a completely different way) when the ranger talked about traversing Fat Man’s Misery and walking up 400+ stairs in the dark, gloomy, cold, remote, deep cave. Go figure.
We had chosen to do the two hour Historic Tour of the cave, which meant we just walked down the hill to the original entrance to the cave. Before we even got down the stairs to the entrance, the temperature dropped about 20 degrees. The cave stays about 54 – 60 degrees F year-round, so most of us were putting on jackets at the entrance. Mammoth Cave is VERY aptly named – it is HUGE!!! To date, about 367 miles of passageways have been mapped, and some people estimate there could be as many as 1000 miles of caveways!!! Our first stop was the enormous Rotunda, where there is still evidence of the salt peter mining that took place here in the early 1800’s. An essential ingredient for gunpowder, the cave was a major supplier of ammo for the War of 1812.
Deeper into the cave we walked, wondering what it must have been like to have been one of the early explorers of such a giant underground labyrinth. Because this cave is covered by a layer of sandstone (the cave itself is limestone), it is largely protected from the elements and is a dry cave. That means a couple of things – it’s not slippery and wet like some caves, and it doesn’t have the same kind of cool formations like stalactites and stalagmites that most of us associate with caves. That did make the walking part a bit easier, but we still squeezed through the serpentine Fat Man’s Misery and duck-walked through Tall Man’s Misery. We sort of stayed at the end of the pack, not wanting to witness anyone getting stuck…Thankfully, no one did that we saw!
We passed the Giant’s Coffin and the Bottomless Pit, the Methodist Church and the Cathedral, and then it was time to start back up and out. We didn’t find the stairs to be too bad, but we were in the minority. Lots of whining and huffing and puffing going on! One man kept asking if anyone had ever had a heart attack down here – who needs to know that??? Turns out our ranger, William, was from near Paducah, but he never would say exactly where. Out we went from the coolness of the cave into the heat and humidity we’ve long been accustomed to. It was 2:00 on the nose (I don’t know how they do that) so we headed back to Cave City in search of food.
But wait – a detour – we stopped in at Big Mike’s, where we somehow refrained from buying more glass rocks (even though they had some nice ones!) and went straight for the main attraction – Big Mike’s Mystery House. At only $1 per head, how could we resist seeing gravity defied??? Clearly devised in the late 60’s or early 70’s by someone stoned, we loved it! Black light posters that we used to have lined the hallways, and we stood up on a slanty table, watched water flow uphill, and got damn near dizzy with the optical illusions there. David, our guide, cracked us up, too. As he reminded us – it’s only a dollar!!
By now, we were really hungry, so we stopped in at the Watermill Restaurant because it was open. They had a great buffet, but since it was almost three, we didn’t want to spoil our dinner. I had the vegetable plate with green beans, corn, mashed potatoes and gravy.. pinto beans, and cornbread. Kim (of the no-breakfast) had a cheeseburger and fries. We were ready to face the rest of the day!
We had just enough time to run down to Bowling Green and see the National Corvette Museum, so off we went. WOW!! It’s a huge complex, just across the street from where ‘Vettes are manufactured. They’ve done a wonderful job with the displays and dioramas, and you just wouldn’t believe how many people have donated or loaned their cars to the museum. Of course, we loved the Route 66 display! There’s also a Hall of Fame section (which is housed in the cool part of the museum that you see from the outside). One of the cars there is the only 1983 Corvette still in existence.
After the museum closed at five, we headed back to Cave City and our Wigwam, and then we called my friend Leanne, who lives nearby. These wigwams weren’t quite as nice as the ones we stayed in while in Holbrook, AZ, on Route 66, but they were very similar! Not much extra space, and no internet connection (unless we sat outside on the bench in front of our teepee). Leanne came over for a wigwam visit and then she went with us to eat dinner at Snappy’s Pizza [NOTE: Permanently closed] in Horse Cave. Kim and I had spaghetti that was just fine, but we were closing the place down at about 8:30. Sidewalks roll up early here!
Back at the wigwam, we sat outside on our computers until a cat jumped up on the back of the bench, leapt over me, and walked across Kim’s keyboard. That put me inside, where I had to take care of a giant green grasshopper in our shower. It’s such an exciting life! The TV was attached to a cable, but reception was awful, so that was it for me.
Having a bad day in Louisville? Just head on over to Lynn’s Paradise Cafe and World of Swirl and everything will be all better! And did you know they take reservations there – definitely the way to go!! We had made reservations for 11:30 Sunday morning and even though the place was packed and the line was long, we got seated on the patio right away! It was a gloriously beautiful day, and being surrounded by all the pink, purple, yellow, and red silk flowers just made it perfect. And then we saw the menu. OMG!!! I almost got what would have amounted to dessert for breakfast – thick slices of cinnamon swirl bread, griddled in vanilla nutmeg batter, smothered with chocolate sauce, strawberries, and whipped cream, disguised as French Toast – but sanity prevailed. Instead, I had the Kentucky Farmhouse Scramble – three eggs, scrambled with roasted red peppers and country ham, topped with local cheese and tobacco onions, served with fried green tomatoes, bread with honey butter, and a side of cheese grits like you’ve never tasted! I guess that could be a heart attack disguised as breakfast, but it was SO GOOD!!!! Kim had the fried green tomato BLT with a side of fruit. She is so good…
[NOTE: Sadly, Lynn’s is no longer open, as of January 2013. A pity.]
We loved the people watching there and had fun after breakfast looking through the gift shop (the World of Swirl) and checking out some of the fun displays out in the parking lot. Peppy had fun posing as a spoon. From here, we drove over to the lovely Cave Hill Cemetery, which is the final resting place of Colonel Sanders and George Rogers Clark, among others. The cemetery is HUGE, and even though we got directions to the Colonel’s grave, we got a little lost. Imagine that. But we found it, many other interesting monuments (we loved the magician’s), AND we got out.
Our next stop was Churchill Downs, where the famous twin spires have pretty much been overshadowed by the sky boxes, museum, and other signs of progress… The museum was closed due to flood damage, so we just took some photos out in the parking lot. The monument to Barbaro was stunning – he looked like he was in full gallop, riding through the air.
We drove through the UofL campus and found our way back to the Hyatt, where we parked the car and started off walking. On the way to the Louisville Slugger plant, we passed lots of the Gallopalooza horses on display throughout town, and then we went past the 21c Museum Hotel, which was decorated with red penguins and had a pomegranate stretch limousine parked out front.
Perhaps we should have stayed here – check it out:
“21c Museum Hotel in Louisville, KY is the first of its kind—a 90-room hotel dedicated to accessible luxuries, Southern-style hospitality and contemporary art from living artists, exhibited throughout its galleries and public space. Among the many upscale offerings: iPods with a wide variety of music for guests’ listening pleasure, award winning design and décor, poster art, 42″ HDTV flat screen televisions, WiFi, 500 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets imported from Italy crowning the exquisite bedding, silver mint julep cups, gourmet coffee makers, mini-bar refrigerators, Malin + Goetz bath amenities, and nightly turn down and Concierge services. The hotel also offers a full exercise facility with a steam room, sauna and spa services. And, of course, red penguins.”
Around the corner, we passed a strange sculpture of Daniel Boone, and then we arrived at the Louisville Slugger factory and museum. You can’t miss it – the world’s largest baseball bat is propped up on the building. It’s 120 feet high and weighs 68.000 pounds!! It’s hollow, and could hold 30,000 gallons of water…. We had to laugh, because right next door is the Kentucky Mirror and Plate Glass Company, complete with a mural of a baseball breaking a window. We popped in long enough to get our tour ticket, even though supposedly they don’t do tours on Sunday, and then we walked around the corner to GlassWorks. One of the cool things about Louisville is that lots of the museums are all situated near each other – the Science Museum was just across the street from Louisville Slugger. Makes it easy to see a lot in a little bit of time!
Glassworks was worth a look – we wanted to see the gallery there. Kim is a fused glass artist (she has done some great stuff!!!) so even though there was a lot more blown glass than fused, it was still fun to see all the creativity and talent on display. Back we went to the Slugger, where we joined about 20 other people for a really interesting tour of the factory. Great interactive displays and very knowledgeable guides made this a fun activity. It was hard to believe that all Louisville Slugger bats are made here, and that most of the wooden bats in use are Sluggers. Yet another example of a family-owned, small, very successful Kentucky companies – they may be onto something! Make sure to stop by next time you’re in Louisville!
On the way back to the hotel, we walked down by the river (the mighty Ohio, for those a little geography challenged) and we agreed that Louisville has really not capitalized on the riverfront like it could have. The Ohio also flows past our hometown of Paducah, where it is a focal point of the city. No wonder riverboat riders are pleasantly surprised when they stop over in Paducah! We re-entered the city on 4th Street at the Galt House and took our souvenir bats back to our hotel room. When we got hungry (did you notice we didn’t have lunch???) we walked down 4th Street Live in hopes of finding something good, but we found nothing that suited us. Back to the car!
We found our way down Bardstown Road and stopped in at Wick’s Pizza, which was hopping with football fans. It reminded me of Mellow Mushroom, so you know it was good! We chilled over our Blue Moons and pizza and watched a little football, then we went looking for Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen. Aaahh, sweet reward! This is my kind of place! We shared a piece of chocolate chess pie with cookie dough ice cream, and I got a piece of caramel Dutch apple to go (for a healthy breakfast). We sat outside – perfect weather – and enjoyed our slice!
Since we didn’t have a wheelbarrow, we had to waddle back to the car and to the hotel, where I was too stuffed to blog. What a satisfying day!!
We were up early for the exciting festivities of the day, but it was still later than we wanted it to be by the time we got going. We went back to the area where we were last night, since we had seen a little diner that we were hoping would be open. Sure enough, the “Open” light was glowing in the window of the Backstretch Diner, so we found a booth and settled in. We were glad to see country ham on the menu, so we both ordered it – that is some good eatin’! The diner was not full, but was doing a brisk business – well, not too brisk – we had to wait a pretty long time for our food, but it was tasty.
After breakfast, we stopped at a little bakery across the street and got some cookies for the road – you never know when you might find yourself out in the middle of nowhere… We were so impressed that the young girl behind the counter at the bakery tied our box with string, although it was clear she had grown up there. Her pictures, from birth to present, were covering the walls of this family-owned shop. Any place that you can get freshly baked cookies at 9 AM is all right with me!
From cookies to candy we went – straight to the Rebecca Ruth candy factory, which is housed in a house! There’s a wonderful story here but all you really need to know is that they make the BEST bourbon balls, as they should, since they invented them! It’s hard to believe that all this delicious candy is made in this little factory inside a house on a regular street in Frankfort, Kentucky.
Around the corner we went, and soon we were standing on the front steps of Kentucky’s state capitol. We found it to be one of the most beautiful capitol buildings we’ve seen, and we make it a habit to stop in any capitols we happen on as we travel. We had to laugh though, to realize that even though we spent our first 18 years living in Kentucky, we had never been to our own state capitol. Guess that’s what happens when your parents are from Tennessee! I was most surprised to see that Kentucky honors Jefferson Davis in its rotunda – not that I think they shouldn’t, I was just surprised they did. It has always been interesting to me that both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis were from Kentucky, a border state that never went one way or the other during the War Between the States. Of course, we’re still a bit backwards here in Kentucky, since smack in the middle of the First Lady Inaugural Ball Dress exhibit was Martha Layne Collins, and she was the GOVERNOR, not a first lady!!!!! What gives there?
Capitol buildings intrigue me, too – some are in small towns like Frankfort, in the middle of a very normal, middle-class neighborhood, while some are in the center of huge cities. Some are surrounded by security and official looking cars and signs, and some you just walk right in without seeing anyone around, but ALL of them are such works of art, built at a time when building was not easy, and I always wonder if buildings like this could even be built today. They are a testament to the power of our government, too – democracy in action, buildings that house the people who we elected to make the laws of our states. Check out your own capitol someday!
We stepped out the back door of the capitol in search of the Floral Clock that Kentucky is famous for. Never heard about it? Here’s what the website says: There are other flower clocks in the world — one in Canada at Niagara Falls, some in Europe, and smaller ones in the United States. Kentucky’s is unique because it keeps time over a pool of water instead of resting on a bank of earth. The face of the giant clock is 34 feet across. The planter that holds it weighs 100 tons. Dedicated in 1961, the floral clock was a project of the Commonwealth and the Garden Club of Kentucky. We had a little trouble finding it, but it’s hard to hide a 34 foot clock made of flowers!
From the stately halls of the capitol, we went in search of a truly Kentucky Saturday afternoon event – the Great Outhouse Blowout, which would be held on the grounds of Penn’s Store in the bustling metropolis of Gravel Switch, Kentucky. I know you think we are making this up, but we’re not. We had hoped to have time to stop in at a few distilleries along the way, but we didn’t want to miss the Privy Parade, so we chose to believe that if you’ve seen one bourbon distillery, you’ve seen them all. I know that’s not true, and we’ll probably stop in at least one more, but we have our priorities.
We had gotten directions from the website, from AAA, and we had the Garmin (Lee did NOT want us to go the way we wanted to go), but it was the Maps app on my iphone that got us there. We were afraid that we would have missed all of the outhouse action since we were running late, but not to worry, so were they!
Once again, we had the experience of driving to some remote location, not seeing any other vehicles headed our way (or even going the other way), and arriving at our destination only to find HUNDREDS of people there!! Where do they come from, and how did they get here? It’s enough to make you believe in Close Encounters of the Third Kind… We paid our entrance fee (for door prizes!) of $3, well under our $5 limit, and parked our car in the huge pasture available for parking. We could see the rolling outhouses across the meadow, so off we went. There is one paved road leading to Penn’s Store, and it was serving as the racetrack. It was turning out to be a really hot day – I was glad we didn’t have an entry into this race! We watched a few heats and talked to a couple whose daughter was running in one. They told us we had missed the near-collision of an outhouse and a loose dog on the track – no injuries, but the privy was damaged when it turned over. Hate that we missed that!
When we’d had enough, we strolled over to the store for a look see. Penn’s Store is the oldest country store in America being run continuously by the same family. It’s been in the Penn family since 1850!! You may have seen it on the Today show. There were about 20 people crammed in the shade of the store, and since that was about 18 too many, we didn’t stay to browse. We paid homage to Penn’s Privy, the outhouse that started it all (reminded us of Girl Scout Camp!) and then got in line at one of the ‘caterers’ outside, hoping for a cold drink, but waiting way too long with nothing happening. Time to get back to real life! We gave up any chance of winning a door prize and headed for the car.
With no particular plan in mind, we decided to wander over to Danville, Kentucky, home of Centre College, and another place we’d never been. It’s a pretty little town and we strolled around an almost deserted campus for a while, then drove down to Constitution Square. Danville was the capital of the Kentucky Territory of Virginia, and the constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky was written here. We stopped at a street vendor’s market along the way and bought some grape tomatoes, which were juicy and tasty. We wandered around the old buildings in Constitution Square – the first post office, a church meeting place, the jail, a tavern, and a schoolhouse – and then we took off for Louisville. You may have wondered what happened to lunch – we did, too! We broke out the cookies to sustain us for the long ride ahead. Yum.
We got to Louisville a little before five, after passing some beautiful horse farms in this lovely bluegrass section of Kentucky. The rolling hills and green (didn’t look blue to me!) grass reminded us of Amish country – it was the perfect day for a ride through the country. Once in Louisville, we checked in to our hotel and then met our friend Mike Dalton for a beer and some reminiscing. And some football! Note to Jonathan Crompton, Tennessee quarterback: The object is to throw the ball TO the guys in the bright orange uniforms. It is not like hunting, when you try NOT to hit the men in orange. I hate UCLA.
We didn’t really eat dinner either, unless you count chips as dinner, which we did. Thanks, Mike – great to see you and we appreciate the hospitality! Back to the hotel we went, where I promptly crashed and Kim watched football. It was a great day, except for Tennessee football. But go, Duke!
Our first thoughts this morning were of this date eight years ago and the lives that were lost in America that day. How much things have changed in America since then! We honor the memories of those who died and we are grateful for the men and women in the armed forces who continue to defend our borders and protect our freedoms.
Even after all of our chances to learn the “don’t start the day without eating breakfast” rule last year, we left without eating, which we would soon regret. But, we had lots we wanted to see and do today and time was a wastin’! Our first stop this morning was the Old Talbott Tavern in Bardstown, KY, which Kim’s friend Jim told us about. One of his good friends from college is married to the owner, so of course, we dropped by to say hello. Kathy wasn’t in, but we loved the old (1779) place.
The Old Talbott Inn is the oldest inn in Kentucky
Next door was what used to be the old jail and is now another bed and breakfast, complete with stocks our front. We took a few photos and got ready to leave, when a man in a UK cap stopped to talk about John Calipari when he saw Kim’s Memphis Tigers license plate. He ended up telling us about lots to see and do in the area and pointed us in the direction of My Old Kentucky Home. On the way to the Home, we passed the Stephen Foster Story, so we had to stop there first. It’s an open air amphitheater that’s only open during the summer, so we wouldn’t get to see the performance. We were able to look around and go down to the stage, all the while listening to a medley of Stephen Foster songs. We were in the middle of one of Kentucky’s many state parks, most of which have really beautiful golf courses. This one is no exception, and given the nice day, the links were busy!
Just down the road was My Old Kentucky Home, originally known as Federal Hill, which was the private home of the Rowan family. Now there is a lovely visitors’ center, gift shop, meeting facility, and large outdoor rotunda and they give guided tours of the home. History tells us that Stephen Foster was related to the Rowan family and had visited them here, where he was inspired to write “My Old Kentucky Home, Good Night.” The house was HUGE – the three stories were each 13 feet tall and the rooms were big. Renovated just a couple of years ago, the house is decorated in a style befitting a family of such wealth in the 1840’s. The colors were bright and bold, and the look was really quite modern.
We couldn’t take photos inside, but here’s the exterior of My Old Kentucky Home.
The day was heating up and we felt sorry for the women dressed in period costume (well, except for the tennis shoes) who led the tours, but we were getting pretty hungry and were a little afraid we might be having a touch of low blood! Of course, the people in our little tour group kept asking questions that Tammy, our guide, didn’t know the answers to. Like, what did they use for toilet paper on the cushioned chamberpot seat? Seriously. Now we can say we daughters of Kentucky have finally been to the mecca. Weep no more, my ladies!
We couldn’t get back into town soon enough – we were so hungry! We decided to go back to the tavern, and just as we got there, Kathy called and said she’d come over to say hello. Business was booming, and Kathy arrived just as we were being seated, so she joined us at the table and then proceeded to treat us to a most delicious lunch! Thanks, Kathy!! Kim yet again showed remarkable restraint and ordered a salad, while I was lured into trying the Hot Brown. And the fried green tomatoes! Kim and I shared the tomatoes, which were beyond good. My Hot Brown was mighty fine as well. For those of you who don’t know, a Hot Brown consists of a piece of toast topped with ham, turkey, tomatoes, a supremely yummy cheese sauce, and bacon. It’s served hot and in a casserole dish – it’s a Kentucky favorite that was invented at the Brown Hotel in Louisville. Try one if you get a chance.
Cheesy perfection – a Kentucky Hot Brown
After lunch, Kathy showed us around the property – we saw the tavern, which is a hopping and lively place at night, the old pub, and some of the guest rooms at the inn. We decided to walk over to the Tom Moore Distillery to see the world’s largest bourbon barrel, so Kathy came with us. On the way, we passed the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral, which used to be the archdiocese of Kentucky until it moved to Louisville. This particular distillery used to be Barton’s, then it was Constellation Spirits, and it is in the process of becoming the Tom Moore Distillery now. We were too late for a tour, and it turns out you can only see the giant barrel on a tour. Oh well, maybe we walked off half of a fried green tomato!
On the walk back to the Tavern, we passed some fun yard art, old businesses, and great homes, and then we found ourselves at an old cemetery just behind the old jail. Turns out the tavern is supposed to be haunted, so it’s no wonder – with this ancient burial ground just next door, the ghosts don’t have far to go. We told Kathy goodbye and started down the road to Heaven Hill and Maker’s Mark, more stops on the Bourbon Trail.
We really wanted to see Maker’s Mark, where the last tour started at 3:30, so we waved as we passed Heaven Hill and took off for the tiny village of Loretto. Maker’s Mark puts on quite a show! The campus is gorgeous and I recommend taking the tour there. Did you know that if you go to their website you can become an Ambassador? Ask me how I know… That means your name will be put on a plaque (along with 29 others) which is put on a barrel of your very own bourbon. You’ll get updates about the status of your mash (it takes 5 to 7 years to make this liquid gold!) and when it’s ready, you are invited to come fill two bottles and dip them in Maker’s Mark signature red wax. Sign up today!
Our tour guide, Mike, was great and once more we were surprised when we arrived for the tour. We had been driving on back roads in Kentucky all alone – no other vehicles on the road – and we arrive to a full parking lot and about 50 people on our tour. How did they get there and where did they come from??? Shades of Oatman on our Route 66 adventure!
Big vats of mash at Maker’s Mark
After the tour, we were ushered into the gift shop for a bourbon tasting. First, we were taught how to smell it (not with your nose – inhale through your open mouth over the glass) and then how to sip it (letting the liquid roll over your whole tongue before swallowing it). Before we sampled the finished product, we tasted “white dog”, which is the uncured pure grain alcohol – pretty raw stuff! Then we got the sweeter amber concoction – so smooth! Kim hated it and thought she was going to die – it took her breath away! I loved it, so I finished hers, too. Nothing I wouldn’t do for my sista!
We had considered going to Louisville this evening and watching a ballgame – the Louisville Bats were playing the Durham Bulls!! – but instead we opted for the capital city, Frankfort. We were beat and just chilled in our hotel room for a while, then we went to a nice little Italian restaurant down next to the old state Capitol building.
The restaurant was Serafini’s – good food! We ate outside right next to the street, where we were surprised to see that a train track ran down the center of Broadway in front of the old Capitol. I had one of my favorite salads – apple, goat cheese, candied pecans, greens, and the risotto of the day, which came with a fish I’ve never heard of and can’t spell and therefore cannot google. The risotto was portabello and leek with a pink peppercorn sauce and asparagus – very nice! Kim had Penne Santini, which had shrimp and a spicy tomato cream sauce with vegetables. We were strong though, and didn’t have dessert, even though they sounded wonderful!
During dinner, we were “serenaded” (although not nearly as nice as the Stephen Foster music) by an amateur guitar player/singer who unfortunately had access to a microphone & PA system across the street at the old Capitol. There had been a 5K run earlier and lots of kids were still milling around and listening. About the time we finished up, so did our troubador…. We took a walk around this area of Frankfort after dinner – lots of small bars and bistros with an eclectic crowd – interesting place! We found a diner we may check out for breakfast, and we look forward to seeing our home state’s Capitol in the light of day.
So that was our day, and you won’t believe your eyes when you see what’s in store for you tomorrow!! Here’s a hint: it involves a parade, but one we bet you’ve NEVER seen or even heard of! Talk to you later!
Welcome aboard! We’re glad you decided to ride along with us this year – Peppy is always happy to have some company, and it should be an exciting trip, since we haven’t planned it in advance. We’re just taking a page out of Daddy’s book and making it up as we go along, so fasten your seat belts!
Here’s what we do know: we are going to hit the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky, then we are taking the Natchez Trace from Nashville to Natchez MS, the we are meeting Rex and friends Jim and Alex in NOLA, and we are ending up in Paducah for our combined 35th and 36th high school reunions on the weekend of BBQ on the River. For that reason, we’ve named this adventure Bourbon, Blues, and BBQ.
Everything is inside out and upside down this trip – I flew over to Nashville where Kim and Peppy picked me up, and Kim is driving and I’m navigating. This has already proved to be a great example of us not working to our strengths – we had done at least two (maybe three) U-ies before we got out of Nashville, and we came mighty close to running out of gas. Could be interesting!
Kim had never eaten at the Loveless Cafe before, so that was as far as I’d gotten by way of planning for today. What a treat!! Check it out for yourself at www.lovelesscafe.com and check out our pix! It’s been a Nashville institution since 1951, and is famous for its homemade biscuits and jam, fried chicken, breakfast all day, and just FINE country cookin’! It was almost dark when we arrived, which was great because the neon was looking good and the sky was gorgeous.
There was no line tonight, so we got right down to the business at hand – devouring the hot biscuits set down before us, complete with butter, homemade jam (strawberry and blackberry) and honey. They were calling to us so loudly we had almost finished them before we remembered to take a picture for you!
And check out those giant glasses of refreshing iced tea with lemon. I’m in heaven, since I’m just back from a month in Australia, which I loved, but where it was almost impossible to find iced tea. Or ice, period!
Choosing what to eat was no easy task, either. I’m trying to undo some of the damage I did Down Under, but I had to defer any stab at healthy eating while at Loveless! When someplace is famous for fried chicken, you order fried chicken! Or at least I did. Kim got grilled catfish, which looked great. We had both toyed with getting veggie plates – the list was so good! I settled on slow-cooked green beans and hashbrown casserole and Kim got fried okra and mac & cheese. We both exhibited a little restraint and didn’t clean our plates. Of course, that was because you know when you walk into a place like this that dessert will find its way to your table. We split a bowl of peach/blackberry cobbler (with ice cream) and didn’t eat all of it either! We had fun chatting with Tammy, our server. She was intrigued that we could spend this much time together in a car. We are so lucky that we like each other and we get along!! Miles of smiles!
It helps to laugh, especially when your navigator (that would be me, today!) is too ADD to pay attention to the road signs. But we found our way from the airport to Loveless AND back to the highway. It was dark thirty by the time we left, so onto the interstate we hopped, bound for Our Old Kentucky Home. Really! We’ll show you pictures tomorrow! I was no help at all, as my very early (3 AM) morning had caught up with me, piling onto my already jet-lagged self, and I was soon snoozing while Kim drove. I woke up in time to help her find the hardly-traveled-on Bluegrass Parkway, but I didn’t notice that the gas tank was on empty. Or beyond. Neither did Kim, until we passed the last gas station…
So, for my gratitude journal today, I’m thankful for airplanes that land safely, country cooking, my sister, a car that says it can only go 323 miles but really goes 405, and a 24 hour gas station in a town where nothing is open 24 hours!! And my iphone, that got us where we were going!
We even found a place to stay, so we’re ready to crash tonight and hit the trail – the Bourbon Trail – tomorrow!
We were excited to be back in our hometown and were looking forward to reconnecting with our high school classmates over the next few days. But for now, stuffed and sated and sleepy, it was dreamtime!
