Rob's Last Day in Kentucky

After seeing some of the Louisville sights, we headed north up through the "chimney" of Kentucky. We had to make a stop at Big Bone Lick State Park because of its crazy name. Apparently they found a lot of fossils here. We were looking forward to seeing some bison; we walked on the path in the heat and humidity to the bison viewing area, but unfortunately all we saw was grass and mosquitoes.

Cincinnati is directly across the Ohio River from Kentucky, so we were able to take in a Reds game on our way back east. Below is a shot of the field at Great American Ball Park.

Several nuns attended the game as well.

Since the Reds play in the National League, I'm not too familiar with a lot of the players. However, I recognized their pitcher, Bronson Arroyo, from his Red Sox days. Now that he plays for the Reds, I was happy for him as he pitched a complete game shutout.

It was a good game for the Reds. They beat the Nationals 7-0, helped in part by Jonny Gomes' 3 home runs.

There were a lot of baseball-related things on this trip: two baseball games (Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals / Cincinnati Reds vs. Washington Nationals) and a tour of the Louisville Slugger factory. Yes, it's true that we saw 3 of the worst teams in baseball... but it was fun taking in new stadiums and seeing live major league baseball. So until the prices at the new Yankee Stadium come down from the stratosphere, maybe it could be fun to see some of the smaller stadiums for some of the smaller-market teams.

Louisville is pronounced "Lluvil"

While we were in Louisville we stopped by the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory. If you look very closely, you'll see Rob and I at the base of the bat.

The view from the base of the bat.

Karen hugs the bat, but her arms don't quite make it all the way around.

We were not allowed to take pictures on the actual tour, but here we are post-tour, squeezing Ken Griffey Jr.'s butt. I also got to take a swing with Mickey Mantle's bat.

I'm not actually touching the statue... but it looks like I am, right?

In front of Churchill Downs, where they hold the Kentucky Derby. They had just sustained a bunch of water damage and flooding, so we couldn't actually go inside.

Louisville is also home to the World's Largest Bottle of Booze, in the form of a water tower.

Rob and his Coke Habits

Elizabethtown, KY: Home of the Schmidt Museum of Coca-Cola Memorabilia

Old fashioned delivery trucks.

The Thinker, fashioned out of cans of soda.

Go Coke!

Rob and Randomness

Rob and I outside of Dinosaur World in Cave City.

Karen really liked this one!

Rob wanted to get up close and personal with the t-rex.

Outside of the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green.

Karen and Rob outside of the Lost River Cave in Bowling Green.

At the entrance to the cave. It's the only underground boat tour in Kentucky. The cave actually has an underground river running through it.

There used to be a night club in the entrance to the cave in the '30s and '40s. When air conditioning became more common in the '50s, the night club lost its draw (the temperature in the cave is always nice and cool). The bandstand and chandelier still remain.

The scary, tiny, rocky boat we took through the cave. At one point in the boat ride, our guide had us all duck to avoid getting conked in the head by the low cave ceiling. At times the ride was a little scary but it was interesting to see.

Who said Stonehenge was in England? It's right here in Munfordville, KY. Best part about it? It's free to see!

Rob gets a confusing history lesson

In 2003, while driving to Arizona with Heather, we saw some signs off of the Indiana interstate drawing our attention to the Abraham Lincoln Historical Log Cabin Site. We thought it would be a good distraction from the miles and miles of endless corn, so we got off of the interstate to check it out. We drove through 17 miles of tiny towns and (more) cornfields and finally arrived at the Abraham Lincoln Historical Log Cabin Site. See how happy Rob and I look below?

Unfortunately, the site was closed the day we happened to be there, and we never got to go in. We were a little upset, on two different levels -- one, we were denied the chance to see this historical log cabin; and two, we had driven 34 miles out of our way for no reason.

So why the time travel back to 2003? Here's why. As Karen and I were driving from Lexington to Cave City, we apparently passed through some pretty historical places. We first happened upon the boyhood home of Abraham Lincoln in Knob Creek. We pulled off of the road, since it was a mere 17-FOOT detour instead of a 17-MILE detour, and saw the log cabin where Lincoln spent some of his early boyhood years.

But then I got confused.... how could Lincoln have a historical site in Indiana AND in Kentucky? How could Lincoln grow up simultaneously in two log cabins in neighboring states? And to add to the confusion, most people associate Lincoln with Springfield, Illinois. WHAT IS GOING ON!!!!!

Lincoln, why do you leave me with so many questions?

To increase the confusion, we drove a little further down the road to Hodgenville and happened upon this... the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace. Oh great, how are we ever going to sort this out?!

Someone went through a lot of time and energy to build this. You walk up the steps, enter the memorial building, and inside it, you find...

...an enshrined log cabin! There is a log cabin INSIDE of the fancy-looking memorial.

Now here's quite possibly the funniest thing about this enshrined log cabin birthplace of the 16th president... the people who built the memorial around this log cabin are not even sure that Lincoln was born here, or that he even ever lived here!

So let's recap. This is a log cabin site in Lincoln City, Indiana (closed Mondays and Tuesdays) that claims Lincoln grew up there and developed his sense of honesty and integrity there. There is a log cabin site in Knob Creek, Kentucky that claims that Lincoln grew up there. There is an enshrined log cabin site in Hodgenville, Kentucky that claims... well, they don't claim much, do they?

Once I got home I did many Google searches on Lincoln to find out how he could have grown up in 3 separate log cabins. It turns out that he was born in Kentucky (maybe inside the enshrined cabin, maybe not), spent his early childhood years in Knob Creek, Kentucky, came of age in Indiana, moved on to Illinois, and from there I think we all have a pretty good handle on what Abraham Lincoln did.

Mystery solved.

But seriously... why build an elaborate memorial around a log cabin if no one knows if Lincoln was actually born there?

Rob Experiences Lexington's Finest

We decided to experience the fine city of Lexington on the cheap. This consisted of driving around scenic byways looking for blue grass and looking for some of the wacky attractions described on Roadside America.

As it turns out, the grass here is actually green. A lot of it gets eaten by horses, like the one seen above.

Some more of the scenic pastures and the green Kentucky bluegrass.

Rob and I at Bondurant's Pharmacy in Lexington. It was the first drive-through anything in Lexington, and it's shaped like a giant mortar and pestle. Best of all? It's free to see!

Here's another free oddity we found on Roadside America -- the world's largest Dixie Cup water tower. Who thinks of these things?


Below, Karen waves hello from Noah's Ark. You see, Lexington is home to the world's largest Bible-themed mini-golf course! We didn't know what to expect, but fans of bible-themed mini-golf will not be disappointed by this course. There were THREE separate courses we could have done -- the Old Testament, the New Testament, and Miracles. We decided to go in order and just tackle the Old Testament for today.

Each hole was accompanied by a corresponding bible verse that golfers can read as they putt on through.

The dreaded Mount Sinai, which took each of us about 12 strokes before we gave up and went onto the next hole.


We took many more pictures that won't be posted for space reasons... like the God Created Light hole, the Wall of Jericho hole, Jonah and the Whale hole, and my personal favorite -- the And On The 7th Day God Rested Hole. Only in the Bible Belt could you find a golf course like this!


Speaking of the Bible Belt, check out the Wilmore water tower. I know it's an overcast day and the tower is white, but you should be able to see a giant white cross perched on top of the tower.

Karen and Rob wait in the car while I got out to snap a scenic picture.

Cumberland Falls, Kentucky

From Charleston, WV our next stop was Cumberland Falls State Park in Kentucky. We passed through the town of Corbin, KY which just happened to be where Harland Sanders first started serving fried chicken...

Colonel Sanders, Rob, and I

The Colonel, Karen, and Rob rest for a bit.

And here we are at Cumberland Falls. Supposedly if you view the waterfalls at the full moon you can see a "moonbow." However, we had missed the full moon. AND... we were there in the daytime. Still a great view, though.

After the falls we drove up to Lexington, KY. Tomorrow we go exploring to see if the grass really is blue here.