Random Thoughts On Friday

I was told that Joseph-Beth is opening up a NEW location in the northern part of the state! They are taking over the former Borders location at Crestview Hills Town Center.

This is a great shopping area that is growing on me all the time. I have stopped there on my way to Newport several times. They have a ton of great restaurants, and my wife loves some of the shops (Charming Charlie is a real stand out with her).

PLUS, they now have a Joseph-Beth Book Sellers!

I have always loved JBs attitude, and how they do business. It looks like they will be hiring several of the staff who previously worked at the Borders there.

Classy Joseph-Beth, VERY classy!

Go to Kentucky.com and read more about it.... search for Scott Sloan's article.

Trenton and Guthrie Kentucky

Parkette Drive In- Lexington

Here are a few photos I took of the Parkette Drive in sign one rainy night.

I love the sign, and I love the food.

This is the perfect place to get a burger and tots.

Random Thoughts On Friday

There is a ton of cool stuff going on right now!

Check out the Scare Fest in downtown Lexington this weekend! I have been to this event a couple of times, and I have had a great time.

London is having their huge Chicken Festival! I have been told that this is a very nice event, but I have not been able to make it in previous years.

Lebanon is having their Ham Days Festival. I have been to this one and like it a lot.

Just a bit north of Cincinnati in Lebanon Ohio they are having their Apple Festival on Saturday. This is a great event too. I love the Golden Lamb and the other businesses in the area, and this is a great festival.

A couple of other seasonal notes.....

I asked Kevin Steele if he would be doing his downtown Lexington ghost walk again this year, and he is!!! This is a lot of fun way to spend a couple of hours. Kevin is a GREAT story teller who has dug up some of the strangest stories. This is one of my favorite ghost walks, and it is easily worth the price. Kevin says that he will start doing the walks on October 6th, going every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at least.

Thanks to Bob for emailing me about a Halloween related play! Jenny Wiley Theatre will be doing "Dracula In Tombstone"! This one looks really interesting. It looks like this one has our favorite vampire squaring off against our favorite lawman, Wyatt Earp!!! I don't know who to cheer for! Seriously, this looks like a lot of fun, but it only runs for about a seven day stretch.

Grand Stand at Churchill Downs, Louisville, Ky.

Great old linen postcard of Churchill Downs, postmarked 1947!

Keeneland Association Running Track, Lexington. KY.

I know Keenland well, and this older postcard shows a great view. I recognize it, but it still looks different.

Book: Vanished Smile by RA Scotti

"Vanished Smile" came out in 2009, and I wish more of a fuss was made about it. This is a great read about an event that many are unaware of.

This is another book begging for the movie treatment.

Not to give to much away (because you should go out and read this book yourself) but someone literally walked in to the Louvre and walked of with the Mona Lisa.

I was surprised to read about how casual security was in 1911. Artist could come in and work right there, and photographers could just take a work of art off the wall to go photograph it somewhere else.

Picasso was one suspect!

Obviously, the painting was eventually found, and the thief tried to justify his actions as political.

Just as fascinating, is the plan one criminal proposed to take the painting, and then to pass off several other copies to other collectors as the real thing.

Amelia Earhart: The Mystery Solved

I picked up the book, "Amelia Earhart: The Mystery Solved by Elgen and Marie Long the other day.

It was a quick and interesting read. However, to be honest, I really wasn't too familiar with Amelia before. I knew the basics but not the entire story.

This was a good account of her plans, and her colleagues at various times.

I am not sure how to view Amelia after this book. The romanticized version of her as the brave explorer is nice, but...

Amelia comes off as a bit reckless at times. Not in her flying, but in her preparation. She really doesn't take the time to learn how to use some of her radio equipment, and she removes other radio devices from the Electra to help with weight issues.

There are some other questionable decisions too.

I was talking to a buddy recently who knows a little about the history of flying. I mentioned this book to him, and my perception that Earhart made some bad mistakes. He said that a lot of aviation at that time was a bit of a "make it up as you go along" type situation. The rules were very undefined at the time.

Towards the end, the Longs offer some formulas for trying to figure out where Earhart's plane went down. In many ways, the facts do point to her being very close to her destination.

I enjoyed this book, and it makes me want to read up a bit more on Amelia Earhart!

Lincoln National Memorial, Kentucky

Newport, KY

Newport has grown on me. I love the area near the Aquarium. Even going out a bit, there are some nice shops. I have eaten at several nice non-chain restaurants here.

Here are a couple of photos I took recently showing the vibrancy of the area. I am sure I will talk more about Newport soon!

"The Good-Bye Door" by Diana Britt Franklin

You know, I have read some strange fiction in my time, and I have read some strange real life tales.

After reading Franklin's book about Anna Marie Hahn, I kept thinking about how truth is stranger than fiction.

First off, Diana Britt Franklin is a great writer. Her book is well researched, and she notes her sources. Still, "The Good-Bye Door" reads like a very well written fiction story. You will read it in a short period of time.

Anna Marie Hahn is one of the first well documented female serial killers around. She pretty much hunted down elderly men, poisoned them, and then tried to get there money.

Hahn comes up with many stories after confronted, but none of her stories add up. The entire time she tries to come across as just a nice person concerned about the health of her friends.

In 1938, she becomes the first female executed in Ohio's electric chair.

Author Diana Britt Franklin does a great job of describing Hahn and the other characters in the book. She includes a follow up section in the back telling what became of the judge, lawyers, Hahn's husband, and her son.

Oddly, Hahn's husband lived a very long life, living until 1989! According to Franklin, he does not bring up his late wife ever again after the execution.

Hahn's young son disappears from the pages of history. There are a few rumours, but nothing else.

Franklin covers Hahn's life, the trial, and towards the end of the book, she covers the execution. It is dark.

There is a strange twist at the end, as Hahn leaves a letter for her lawyer after her death!

Horseshoe Falls from Below, Niagara Falls

Random Thoughts on Friday

This is one of my favorite times of the year! I know that in my area, we went from summer to autumn in a matter of about 24 hours.

I am itching to drive somewhere on a Kentucky backboard (the destination isn't that important) and drink something with an apple taste.

There is a lot to do in Kentucky right now! Elizabethtown has a street painting festival going on this weekend. I am not sure about that one, but here is a link:
kyviacolori.com

There is a stamp and postcard show in Lexington. I love looking through old postcards. It will be at the Ramada on 2143 North Broadway.

I just found out that the Indoor Football team formerly known as the Northern Kentucky River Monsters has moved to Muncie Indiana. They will be playing in a different league too.
Their former league, the Ultimate Indoor Football League WILL have a team at the Bank of America Center for this upcoming season, but that team has not yet been named. The popular Eastern Kentucky Drillers out of Pikeville will again be in the league!

Anyone know of any Halloween related stage productions going on? I will go see anything! Seriously, if you know of even a mediocre middle school drama club doing Dracula, let me know.

Also, if there are any cool ghost walks or seasonal historical tours in your area, tell me about it! I know my buddy David Wolfe is doing one in Owensboro that I have been told is great! The one in Lexington is a lot of fun too.

Oh, I was chatting with a friend the other day who has been going on road trips longer than I have been around! he recently converted some old slides and he has given me copies!!!! I have several CDS full of older photos from some great tourists stops. I should be getting some posts on those up soon!

Newport Kentucky Ghost Walk

Northern Kentucky has so much going on! I don't think that a lot of people realize that it is just as happening as some of the other major areas in the state. It can easily compete with Louisville.

There is a group in the area now that is doing some really cool walking tours in the Newport and downtown Cincinnati area.

We went with some friends last year on the "Newport is Haunted" tour. We had a lot of fun. Our guide was a great story teller. Check out their site:

americanlegacytours.com

I will have more on their underground Cincinnati tour soon!

Downtown Cincy

Cincinnati has a very attractive downtown area. A friend took me there recently... it had been some time since I was there last.

There are some great murals, and other places. We walked through a small farmers market too!

My pal told me that the door to one of the buildings was the one used in the opening credit sequence of WKRP in Cincinnati!

We did an "Underground" tour in the Over the Rhine area close to here too... More on that in the next few days....

Hopkinsville Mall and Area

Here are a few photos taken near the Hopkinsville Mall. I have included the picture of the train because.... well, trains are cool.

I remember going to this mall once in the mid 90s and thinking it was great! Now, there is not much here. Hopefully better days are still ahead.

I love the helicopter mounted near it too.

Book: The Last Days Of Cleveland

Carrying on with the theme for the season, I do want to mention that John Stark Bellamy II put out a SIXTH volume in his series of books about crime and disaster in Cleveland some time ago. These books are very strange reads for anyone from northern Ohio. As I have mentioned, I spent a decade in the area, and it is just weird reading these stories, and thinking about the areas where they happened. It is surreal reading about true crimes and disturbing events that happened in an place you have been.

I keep thinking about the quote concerning truth being stranger than fiction, and Bellamy again does a great job of finding stories that prove that. This is not a work of fiction, nor is it a book about ghosts. These are true tales that are dark.

Pick up this volume, or any of the other books by Bellamy. I can't say enough about how interesting these books are.