On the Road Again...Hello Kentucky and Ohio!

Hi Family and Friends!

As we set out for another extended RV road trip, it was hard to leave our family again this year, but also a little easier in a way, being more familiar with how things will work at home and on the road. We learned a lot in 2020 about planning, the RV, and how to best fit in everything we wanted to do. We both enjoy basically the same things, but Craig's favorites are hiking, the local food and drink fare, and all the natural landforms. My favorites are the museums, historic towns and homes, gift shops, and an occasional fudge shop. However, no matter where we go, we seem to cover a lot of ground quickly; we have been on the road for about three weeks and have already well-covered all of our favorite things!

This trip has been enjoyable because we are traveling through places that we've never thought much about going to and didn't have an idea they'd be particularly spectacular. Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana—not places that immediately come to mind on the lists of riveting vacation spots—at least not until now. Nearly everywhere we've been, we say, "I'd live here!" We have been amazed at the lush greenery, the quaint, small towns, beautiful farms, charming homes, and large ranches and estates. There are hundreds of lovely towns and communities, each with its unique character and feel. 

We spent our first night on the road in Corbin, Kentucky. Corbin is the home of some fantastic state park hiking trails and where Colonel Sanders started selling chicken out of a gas station before opening his first restaurant. Also, the world's most extensive known cave system (pictured above) is in Kentucky and protected as Mammoth Cave National Park. In Louisville, we lost a few dollars at the horse races at Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby. We toured the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory and strolled around a most unusual cemetery where many wealthy and famous are buried. The Creation Museum in Petersburg was very elaborate and well done, and on the same day, we traveled to Williamstown to see the actual-size replica of Noah's Ark. (It's BIG!) 

In Ohio, we found more cave segments and lovely waterfalls to explore at the state's most popular and beautiful park, Hocking Hills. In the Hocking Hills State Park, we had breakfast in a quaint 120+-year-old log cabin for Craig's birthday before heading to the Cleveland area. We fell in love with the elegant little town of Hudson, outside of Cleveland, with its stately old and new homes and perfectly detailed and manicured lawns. Once in Cleveland, we toured the Christmas Story House and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We also explored Ohio's only National Park, Cuyahoga Valley. 

Next, we will travel to several places in Michigan in the Upper and Lower Peninsulas and include a visit to see Glenda's sister and niece in the Detroit area that we haven't seen in years. From there, we will head to Wisconsin and continue west in the next several weeks. 🤠 As always, we hope you enjoy the pictures and are reminded of somewhere you've enjoyed before, or learn a little about somewhere you may like to visit one day!  

Much Love- Craig, Glenda, and Clay 🤸🏻‍♀️🤸🏻‍♂️🐕‍🦺

Beautiful Cumberland Falls Resort Park in Corbin, Kentucky, has a rich and colorful history. Since it's first owner in 1750, the area has been used as a healing facility for Civil War soldiers because of the "healing springs,” it has been a place of mystery and scandal because of a secret silver mine that was rumored to be here and con artists that sold thousands of shares of the hoax mine to people as far away as France. It almost became a hydroelectric dam power plant before it was purchased in 1927 by an individual to preserve its natural state. In the 30s and 40s, Cumberland Falls was home to a large, upscale vacation resort. Although fires destroyed the resort as it was it the past, it is still recognized as one of the must-see parks in the state and is an beautiful and serene place for vacationers.

Cumberland Falls is one of the few places in the world that regularly produces a moonbow. A moonbow is a nighttime version of a rainbow. The moon's position during certain lunar phases and Cumberland’s waterfall position causes moonbows to be seen here multiple times a month on clear nights. This is not the moonbow waterfall, but another waterfall we came to at Cumberland after a 4-mile hike into the woods. We were amazed that virtually no one was in this park!

Taking a break under an overhanging rock at Cumberland Falls.

Reunited! We were so happy to see Steven after 16 years! Steven is a high-school friend of Curtis’, who has always been like a fourth son to us. He lived with us for about a year after his father took a job in another city during Curtis and Steven’s senior year of high school. How great it was to see him again, and we sure hope he comes to see us in Atlanta soon!

It all started in Corbin! Colonel Sanders’s gas station across the street from this property was one of the first to offer “Free Air!” Harland Sanders used to serve food to the truckers that came to the station for gas. Later he opened his first restaurant on this property. There is a museum here too, but they were still observing COVID and hadn’t reopened yet. That was disappointing. 🐔🍗

Mammoth Cave National Park has been one of the highlights so far! Who knew the largest cave system in the WORLD is right here in Kentucky? The Mammoth Cave network consists of over 400 miles of caves, and they are still discovering more. This main sinkhole and entrance to the cave system was found in the late 1700s when a man was bear hunting on family land and ran into the cave to escape the wrath of a wounded bear.

This is a model of the Mammoth cave system and many of the tributaries that are currently known. Some cave areas are quite large, while other areas can only be entered by crawling or squeezing through narrow openings in the rocks. The form of the cave system is best described as a shallow bowl of spaghetti, with many strands overlapping on top of each other. Some parts of the cave system have three or more levels of tunnels.

Some chambers in the cave system are enormous, with the tallest room reaching 192 feet tall.

In late 1842, physician Dr. Croghan invited 16 of his TB patients to take up residence inside Mammoth Cave. Within the cave, patients initially seemed to improve, and Dr. Croghan began plans for a hotel there to house the masses that would seek treatment. But as winter progressed, it became clear that the damp, dark conditions worsened the patients' symptoms. Smoke and ash from lard oil lanterns and fires used continuously to light the cave filled the chambers and further damaged the patient's lungs. One patient convinced Dr. Croghan to allow him to leave the cave to seek other treatment, but Dr. Croghan successfully convinced the remaining 15 to stay and participate in his cave treatment experiment. All 15 remaining patients died here shortly thereafter.

In Louisville, Kentucky, we found Cave Hill Cemetery to be most unusual. Many notable people are interred in this upscale cemetery where the ordinary headstone is all but…well, dead. This is a cemetery of rich stories to be told and five-star tributes to the dearly departed. This particular headstone does not depict the deceased, but rather the surviving widow.

This man was 33 years old and before passing, sculpted his own grave memorial.

Saundra Curry Twist’s family had this monument built in her honor and the stone on the ground tells a curiously detailed story of her life beginning with, “Sandy was born prematurely…was laid aside by the doctor as stillborn…her father refused to give up and…nurtured her for several days and saved her.” The story continues with her career, achievements and even her “financial success through wise investments in real estate, and oil,” and concludes with, “We laid her to rest on a beautiful, cold, clear, crisp winter morning here in this peaceful place where she used to come with us to feed the ducks and geese and swans on Sundays.”

The sculpture overlooking Colonel Harland Sanders’ grave was sculpted by Colonel Sanders’ daughter, Margaret. Margaret and her son, also named Harland, are buried beside her father. Harland’s gravestone beside his grandfather reads, “I sure had fun!”

Mohammed Ali’s grave reads, He took a few cups of love, he took one tablespoon of patience, one teaspoon of generosity, one pint of kindness. He took one quart of laughter. One pinch of concern. And then, he mixed willingness with happiness. He added lots of faith and he stirred it up well. Then he spread it over a span of a lifetime and he served to each and every person he met.” Mohammed Ali died in June of 2016—32 years after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

Okay, last one…but I wanted you to see this elaborate memorial for “Sam.” Also buried here is a renowned pioneer of hand and micro surgery, and the composer of the Happy Birthday song, Mildred J. Hill.

If you're not familiar, Churchill Downs is the horse racing complex in Louisville, Kentucky, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. The Kentucky Derby is known as The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports and is the oldest continuously held major sporting event in the United States. According to KentuckyDerby.com, Churchill Downs has hosted the Run for the Roses uninterrupted for 146 years…even when coinciding with profound events like The Great Depression and World Wars I & II. The first Kentucky Derby was in 1875!

Almost at the finish line! All our money was on Horse 5. He came in third place. Good thing we only invested five dollars. Oh well, the Mint Julep was tasty. 🥃

Louisville Slugger Factory & Museum-Before making Louisville Slugger bats, the Frederick Hillerich family made wood butter churns. Frederick believed his side-swinging churns would carry the company into the future. He resisted his son Bud's move into the baseball bat business. Company legend holds that 17-year old Bud skipped work one day to go to a major league baseball game, where megastar Peter Browning aka "The Louisville Slugger," played. Bud saw Browning break a bat and offered to make him a new one at his workshop. According to the story, Browning got three hits with the bat Bud made. In 1894, the name Louisville Slugger became their registered trademark, and the rest is history. ⚾

The Louisville Slugger business took another leap in 1905 when Pittsburg Pirates’ shortstop Honus Wagner, signed a contract as the first player to endorse a bat. His autograph was the first to be used on a bat, and the first time a professional athlete endorsed an athletic product. Today, 80% of the hitters in the National Baseball Hall of Fame have or had contracts with Louisville Slugger, including Ken Griffey, Jr.

Each Louisville Slugger is made according to a professional player’s specifications for handle size, weight, length, and other details, and a professional player orders 100-120 bats per season. While many players may have used a Louisville Slugger, they might also experiment with other brands of bats. That was not the case with Derek Jeter—all 12,602 times he was at bat during his two-decade career, he held a Louisville Slugger.

Barns, barns and more barns…we enjoyed beautiful scenes like this one all throughout Kentucky and Ohio.

No details were spared on the elaborate exhibits at the Creation Museum.

So you always thought it was…an apple? 🍎 Or a squid? 😂 The Bible says it was a fruit. There are many things we assume we know about the Bible that we have only heard from others, and that are simply not there.

The Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky, was quite a sight! This ark is described as a modern engineering marvel at 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high. The ark was built as literally as the Bible specifies, with artistic liberties taken on the inside to show how things may have worked. Robotic, lifelike characters comment on what they think of the ark, including complainers who think the project is lunacy. The mechanical Noah can be interviewed by pressing buttons to ask specific questions. Noah says, "Why did I build the ark? Because…simply put…God told me to."

Old Man’s Cave within Hocking Hills State Park is a natural formation carved into a gorge by the flow of the Salt Creek and melting glaciers. This cave gets its name from a hermit who lived under the rock shelter in the early 1800s. He lived out his life in the area, and legend says he is buried beneath the ledge of the main recess cave.

Hocking Hills south of Columbus, Ohio has miles of hiking trails and caves to explore.

Hudson, Ohio seemed to be a most proper town with endless charming homes and landscapes. We were surprised to see even the McDonalds in Hudson appeared to be dressed to impress. 🍔🍟

If A Christmas Story is one of your favorite movies, you may recognize this Cleveland, Ohio house. Filmmakers fell in love with the outside of this house and decided this was the perfect setting for A Christmas Story. Unfortunately, the creators were so excited that they secured use without seeing the inside. The house was too small for filming indoor scenes, so outdoor scenes were filmed here, but most indoor scenes used another home in Canada. Today the entire home is a replica of the film’s set and is used for tours and as an Airbnb. Yes, for around $4,000 a night (with a two-night minimum) your family can pretend to be the Parkers, and wake up on Christmas morning here. 😲🎄

Set in the 1940s, all Ralphie Parker wants in the world is a "Red Ryder air rifle" for Christmas, but his mother is convinced he'll "shoot his eye out." 🥺

Outside the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. This place was hopping on the day of our visit. A young group of students from the School of Rock in Cleveland were performing and across the lawn, the bubbles were a-flyin’.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was one of the places on Craig’s bucket list…taking him back to his old guitar playing days. 🎸😎

Tons of interesting history and artifacts from the past. I especially enjoyed the stage wear section. Here are the dresses the Supremes wore in a 1969 show. 👗👗👗

A peaceful evening in the Midwest.

That’s all for now! Drop us a line and say hello or recommend a place we should visit while in the Midwest! We’d love to hear from you! 🧡