four states. one day.

indiana

bright and early this morning my mum and i left the home of our wonderful cousins. heading out of lexington we stopped at keeneland, the horse racetrack for the city, located just a little west of town. while it was empty, seeing as how the races only run there in april and october, they still train horses on the track in the early morning. we hung around long enough to see a few horses go around the track, the jockeys wearing jeans--and although the horses were certainly not going fast enough to set any new records, it was still pretty neat to see.

from lexington we headed northwest to indianapolis for a (very) brief side-trip. after driving for a few hours in countryside which looked like the picture up top, we finally arrived. it was a bigger city than either of us thought! we drove around for a few minutes trying to find the elusive war monument downtown, which is supposedly a big obelisk in the middle of town, but our search proved futile. not to be discouraged, we headed out to the racetrack, for cars this time, to see it and go to the indianapolis hall of fame. for a small museum, and for the five dollars we paid between us (with a triple a discount), it was definitely worth it. we got to see all sorts of old-fashioned cars, including the one pictured, which is a really, really old car that dates back to 1886. i'm not even sure it counts as a car--imagine driving in that. we saw everything from that to the car that danica patrick drove in her first race up here at indy, in which she placed fourth. i also got to sit in a model car, which was cool. they're really small, and hard to get in and out of: i felt like i barely fit. they also had the trophy that they give out to indy 500 winners, along with a whole bunch of other trophys, medals, and everthing else you can win in racing.
when we were done with the racetrack we headed west towards springfield, illinois. it took a few hours of driving, and it rained on us pretty hard, but we got there eventually. on our way, we stopped in montezuma, indiana at davey's restaurant for a bite to eat at one of those places where there is one waitress and one cook (it was his birthday, too). really good onion rings--we both had enough friend foods for a while. we got to springfield, the capital of illinois just barely before 5, so we had enough time to dash in the visitor's center and grab a map. we walked around town, angling toward the house that lincoln lived in before he headed to the white house. they have done a great job preserving the block he lived on, so you can really get a feel for what it was like in 1860. lincoln's house is pictued to the right, from the angle it is most frequently photographed. and the rest of springfield has been lovingly restored in this recent era of appreciating the past. even the old train depot he gave his farewell address from and the old capital building are almost prestine. i really enjoyed it--we grabbed lemonade (for me) and double chocolate mint gelato (for mum), and then hit the road again.

we rolled out of springfield about 6.30, heading for hannibal, missouri--we did gain an hour crossing into illinois, so don't be too shocked by the time we made. but first we had a couple of hours driving through the 'prairie state,' pictured below. i came to the conclusion that rural/small town indiana was nicer than its illinois counterpart, but that illinois does cities better.
by the time we crossed the mississippi into missouri, the sun was setting, creating the beautiful scene below. hannibal is north of st. louis, nestled on the hills bordering the great american river, and was called home by that of american authors, mark twain. we only decided to come to hannibal--or stop in springfield or indianapolis, for that matter--today while we were driving, and i really couldn't be happier that we did. we rolled into hannibal to the sounds of a local band playing oldies as well as new music on a street in the middle of town. since there was still enough daylight, i walked around town a little, enjoying the music and the old town. they sure are proud of their most famous son here. half the town revolves around twain--restaurants, stores, tour boats, hotels. it really is great small town, nice and quaint without being kitschy. now we are checked into our hotel, and have wandered back into town to a local wine bar with wifi. the concert just finished, so the bar is flooded with patrons over the age of 50, all of them enjoying the company of friends and family before they call it a night. what a way for my mum and i to finish our first day on the road together. tomorrow: missouri, iowa and wisconsin, and of course more driving.

the sun shines bright

the abbey of gethsemani

tuesday, the first of june, was my second full day in the bluegrass state, so-called because the kind of grass that grows here is...blue-ish. in the morning i went to the abbey of gethsemani, a trappist monastery a little over an hour outside of lexington just past bardstown. gethsemani is a trappist monastery, and is the oldest monastery in the united states still in operation: it was founded in 1848, and is still considered the 'mother house' for all trappist monasteries in the usa. its other claim to fame is that it was home to catholic thinker and writer thomas merton. like much else, it was set in the beautiful kentucky countryside. i went into the church to pray and then sat outside and read for a couple of hours. nothing like a little time in a monastery in the countryside to make one feel at peace.

after driving back to kexington, blair and i went to eat at a fantastic middle eastern restaurant for lunch. a full plate of hummus, babaganoush and falafel later, we left to go to the headly-whitney museum, again in the countryside around lexington. it is set on the former farm of george w. headley iii, who was a famous jewelry designer in the 1940s out in hollywood. he had a boutique in a big hotel in l.a., so he would put a diamond encrusted collar on his little dog, named ernie, and send it out to the pool area to mingle with rich people. apparently he got a lot of clients using this method. the museum itself was a neat collection of odds and ends (or bibelots in french) and a seashell grotto, which is building entirely decorated with seashells on the inside and looked both artistic and quite bizarre. blair and i walked around a little, enjoying the day, and then headed back home.

not that my day was over yet. once home, jack and i left to go the neighborhood pool, which was way better than my own back home. this one went to ten feet deep and had a diving board, as well as lifeguards. after two hours of water gun wars, in which i fought jack and two other little boys, i was tuckered out and we headed home to a dinner of spaghetti.
today i slept in in preparation for hitting the road tomorrow. i picked my mum up at the airport at one, and we headed directly to the woodford reserve distillery. for those of you not in the know, woodford reserve is a high-end kentucky bourbon. also, bourbon simply denotes a specific type of whiskey--it does not have to be from ky, although the water here makes it good for bourbon making. we had lunch on the porch and went on a tour of the distillery. woodford reserve is made of 68% corn, as well as a couple other things. they have to cook the ingredients for 6 hours and then ferment it for 6 days. after that it is triple-distilled in large copper contraptions, which is what sets it apart from other kentucky bourbons--i guess most are not distilled as much. it is also the official bourbon of the kentucky derby, and is used in the $1000 mint julep at the derby. at the end we got to try a little sample and bourbon balls. it was a really neat experience, and i learned a lot about how things are distilled. i wanted to buy a bottle, but i didn't have $50 to lay down on one liter of woodford perserve. now it's dinner at a mexican restaurant, visiting and sleep. here's to seeing how far we can make it tomorrow! next planned stop: the field of dreams in iowa.

my new(found) kentucky home

kentucky really does look like this

greetings from kentucky! i have really enjoyed my few days staying with cousins in the state with 'unbridled spirit,' in lexington specifically. i arrived late sunday afternoon with not too much trouble, with the exception of witnessing a mildly horrific accident in downtown lexington. monday was not only memorial day, but my birthday as well, so i woke up determined to have a fantastic day. in the morning i went a little south and west of lexington to the largest restored shaker village in the united states. now run by a non-profit organization, it was set in the beautiful kentucky countryside. it was operational as late as the 1920s, though it was at its height in the mid-19th century. today you can tour the village, have lunch on the grounds (which i did), have a meal, or even spend the night. during the civil war, the shakers were afraid that the southerners would raid the village due to their abolitionist leanings. instead, the southern commander instructed his men to leave the shakers alone. in return, the shakers fed the confederates for a few days while they stayed in the area. why can't people be that nice today?

not that i have anything to complain about here in kentucky. everyone is friendly in the southern tradition, but it is also quite different from much of the south. true to stereotype, kentucky actually is all about horses and bourbon. monday afternoon i drove into downtown lexington, where the historic translyvania university is located. it is the oldest university west of the mountains in what used to really be the west during the 18th century. founded in 1780 by the commonwealth of virginia (which va still is today, by the way). it was a pretty campus set in the midst of a beautiful neighborhood of old victorian houses and only a few blocks from 'downtown.' there really isn't much to downtown lexington--if you come to visit, i would stick to the countryside, which is mind-numbingly beautiful.

since it was my birthday, some of my family took me out to dinner at a local dive called ramsey's. it was fantastic! i had a traditional kentucky open-faced sandwich called a hot brown, though i had the veggie version. smothered in cheese, it was almost as good as my very first friend green tomatoes. i was so excited to finally try this particular dish--it is sooo southern. they're fried in cornmeal and delicious. i suggest you find someplace to try them if you haven't already (that's them to the right). to top things off, the restaurant gave me a free slice of pie for dessert. i got what is kind of the house special, what they call a 'may day pie,' so called for the may horse races here in ky. it had chocolate chips and pecans in it--i had it served warm with vanilla ice cream. scrumptious. all in all, i had a great birthday. thanks to lee, blair, caroline, emma, and jack for making my day special.

musings on west virginia

for anyone who is interested, to get from purcellville, va to lexington, ky i took the following route: va-7 s to i-81 s, then over to va-55 w. 55 merged into us-33 w, which took me over to i-79 s. from there i got on i-64 w, which took me all the way to lexington (map).

taking this route meant that i was only on big roads for the second half of the trip, which i was really excited about. i greatly prefer taking back roads to interstates because it gives you a much better idea of what the area is actually like. of course, this means that you have to stay more alert, particularly in the mountains. 55, however, wasn't all that twisty, and i really enjoyed the trip. it wasn't even any longer than taking the interstate, which was important for me since it was already an 8+ hour long drive. it really didn't feel that long, though--i suppose the excellent company of the beatles, beach boys, and rolling stones helped.

west virginia is breathtakingly beautiful. not that virginia wasn't, but west virginia, which was part of virginia proper until 1863, is the more raw and less gentrified version of its parent state. everywhere you looked there were amazing views of the mountains. the towns in west virginia are less frequent and are clearly less wealthy than many of the virginian towns, but no less charming. i stopped for lunch in the small town of sutton, wv at a restaurant where everyone knew each other and everyone looked at me funny. this is main street to the right.

i also came to the conclusion that everyone in west virginia was at one or more of the following places on this sunday morning: church, a yard sale, or out fishing. i passed countless churches, which i expected; what i was not prepared for were the innumerable yard sales and garage sales, some of them benefiting such things as the mt. zion volunteer fire department. the number of men fishing i simply found amusing and understandable, considering the beautiful morning.

the mountains petered out as i passed from west virginia into kentucky and gradually became rolling hills. i'm now at the home of some wonderful cousins, and looking forward to exploring this previously unknown state (at least to me). here's to the old kentucky home!