St. Louis MO.

Growing up in small town Kentucky, a place like St. Louis, in my mind, was about as foreign as any place not in our solar system. I had no concept of a place like it.

I went there twice at different times growing up. I went there once with a friend's family to watch 4th of July fireworks. It was exciting to see them with the Arch in the background.

Another time I went with some friends to a concert.

Other than seeing the Arch the first time, I don't remember a lot of site seeing. In fact, especially when I went up with my high school friends for the concert, I remember feeling a bit intimidated by the place. I had nothing in my mind that I could compare it to.

Years (OK, decades) and more experiences later, the city doesn't seem so tough.

It is still big and there is a lot going on, but it felt pleasant to me this time.

We didn't have a lot of time, and we had a couple of very specific things we wanted to do. We were downtown next to the Arch the entire time. We parked at our hotel, walked to the Arch and walked to Busch Stadium.

See the photo of the Arch that looks boxed in? I took that one out of my hotel room window!We left our blinds open all night with that view. There is another photo with the Arch and the road next to it. That one was also taken out of my window. I stayed up one night just admiring the view. The stadium was also in view, to the left.

We went to the Arch and took the ride to the top! It is $10 a person to ride one of the egg shaped pods to the top and back down. It is something that must be done in a lifetime. The visitor center is under the Arch. They do have airport like security when you go in but it was quick. It was not that big of an issue.

The visitor center is busy and full. They have a couple of gift shops that were very nice. I got my National Park stamps and postcards at one. The other gift shop was pretty much a candy shop. I did find a cute replica Frozen Charlotte doll there. I also found some cool modern linen postcards here too.

The grounds under the Arch are maintained perfectly. We walked over the morning before we left to get some more pictures, and there were only a few other people walking around casually. It was relaxing.

We walked from the Arch area to the Stadium for a game. We had lunch at Joe Bucks which was great. The area has a lively but not rough game day atmosphere.

There was a great band playing at a bar (I did not catch the band's name but they sounded better than most bar bands. They were in tune!).

Savannah, GA.

We tried to think of another town similar to Savannah.

I think, when you travel, you try to match an area in your mind with somewhere else you have been before.

We simply could not do it with Savannah.

The water, the bridge and the fog reminded us of San Francisco. Savannah is more manageable though.

It does have a bit of a mysterious feel, comparable to Salem. That comparison really doesn't work either. The town is bigger, and the history is more established. It feels more current.
Savannah is unique. I cannot think of another place that is similar.

We only had a couple of days in the area, and we wanted to make the most of it. There were a ton of things we wanted to do and see. A co-worker friend used to live here and made many suggestions.

The main suggestion was to eat a lot of local food. No problem. To be honest though, I am not one to travel for food. I know a lot of people who put dining at the top of their list for reasons to travel.

I look at eating on vacation as a pleasant necessity. I would rather spend half an hour eating at a local sandwich shop and 2 hours site seeing than 2 and a half hours at a notable restaurant. My time on vacation is more valuable to me than that.

Still, we made time to hit a couple of nice places.

At the suggestion of some locals, we spent $11 each at Windows, the restaurant at the downtown Hyatt. For 11 bucks, you can have their buffet. This included an amazing sweet tea.

For the record, ALL sweet tea in Savannah is amazing. I think there must me a law in Savannah that restaurants must have perfect, fresh sweet tea. I would go back here for the sweet tea alone.

Windows was a nice place all around. I had some great crab soup, chicken, and salad. PLUS, they have an entire wall that is a window looking out. The bridge photo posted was taken from my seat inside of Windows.

The other great restaurant we ate at (again, a nice affordable buffet with sweet tea!) was the Pirate House. The meal was great. Oddly, they had some BBQ on the buffet that rivals any. They had some greens and pie that was perfect too, but they did their BBQ right.

Savannah Jim (one of our trolley drivers) told us that there were two pits in the Pirate House that pirates used for kidnapping! Savannah Jim was right, there were two pits inside! There is a pirate at the Pirate House that gives tours of the place too! I am glad we went to the Pirate House.

We went by the Mercer house, famous for its associations with Johnny Mercer and also for a murder later that inspired the film and book, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil."

Johnny Mercer is mentioned everywhere! There is a cool statue, and our trolley drives sang and played "Moon River" more than once. It was actually very pleasant!

We stopped by the small shop that is entirely devoted to "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." I think is is so exciting that an entire store is devoted to a book! One book!

There are many other houses here to check out. The former homes of Flannery O'Connor and Juliette Gordon Low (founder of the girl scouts) are here.

We spent a lot of time on a trolley tour this time around. We spent more time on the trolley this time around for a couple of reasons.

We arrived in Savannah on a very rainy and cloudy day. We planned on doing a haunted/ghost type tour that evening. We changed our mind at the last minute, because of the weather.

The concierge at the Hyatt recommended a trolley ghost tour. Not only that, but he helped us get a great deal on a historic trolley tour the next day!

I think this was our 1st ghost trolley tour ever. We usually do the lantern thing. I do prefer walking on the side walks and taking late tours like this on foot. It feels more authentic and creepy. The trolley felt like a safe bet, considering the weather..

That's a personal preference though. The trolley tour was still very fun. This tour was a bit more theatrical than tours we have taken in other towns, which was an enjoyable change. Our tour guide was witty and comically creepy (she was almost a female version of the Crypt Keeper). There was a stop on the tour when we went into a small pirate themed theater for a short presentation from a period dressed actor. This was effective and fun.

The next day, we took the historic trolley tour around town. This was well worth the ticket price. There were 15 trolley stops and pick up areas around town. The drivers talked non stop about the sites and places of interest. It was very informative. Plus, with the on/off privileges thing going on, you could hear about the sites and get off for a closer look. We took the tour around once, and then took it around again getting on and off several times. Savannah Jim was one of the many drivers we really liked. If you are going to Savannah, check out the orange and green trolley tour guys.

http://www.trolleytours.com/savannah/

The river front shopping area is a lot of fun here in town. In addition to finding a bunch of t-shirt and postcard type shops, there are some amazing candy shops around. They all were very attractive with fun to watch furnishings (one candy shop had a conveyor belt transporting pieces of candy to a display from the back of the shop to the front). Most were giving away samples as you walked in.

This is a great town for statues and monuments too. In addition to historic cemeteries, there are some nice war monuments, and some great statues. Check out my photo of the Johnny Mercer statue and my photo of the torch monument from the Olympics.

All of the locals and our tour guides gave a lot of praise to local Paula Deen and the Savannah College of Art and Design. It seems the College has restored a lot of historic buildings and really made some places look better than they did previously. I heard nothing but praise for those guys. I think Paula Deen is just popular everywhere. I love her.

The town feels very historic, but also very happening. There is the history and the past. There is also the now. You feel the history here, but you also feel like more is going to come out of the area. There are names of legends from the past who have lived here- and you also hear the names of legends in the making.

And, as the area moves forward, there is a deep respect for the past. I think that is what I enjoyed most about the place. Walking down the streets you see well preserved homes and park areas left and right- all well maintained.

This is a very attractive town.

Asheville, NC Muffler Man

Muffler Men, in my books, are one of the coolest and most underrated attractions around. I love them. I think they are stunning.

Check out the map of known muffler men and the history of them at one of my favorite sites: roadsideamerica.com

You don't see many of them these days. In fact, they were really pretty rare to begin with. On our recent trip through North Carolina, we missed an exit near Asheville and found this one a bit by accident.

I took a photo of him up close at night and I saw him again the next day near the road. They really get your attention!

Random Thoughts on Friday

I have done a lot of travelling outside of the state lately. I get goose bumps sometimes thinking about how easy it is to travel around this great country and the area and to see so much.

I was reading a book recently about settlers in the 1850s travelling West. They were covering about 10 miles a day on a good day.

It is nothing for me to get in my car on any given day and just drive. 120 miles is an easy day trip. I can drive several hundred miles and go somewhere on a weekend trip. Give me a week, and I can cover half of the US in my car.

We just got back from seeing St. Louis and Kansas City within 5 days, leaving from Cincinnati. We probably put 1,500 miles on the car and made the trip to St. Louis, then to Kansas City, and back home very casually. The drive was easy. We stayed in comfortable hotels and we had no worries of weather. We had cell phones if needed for an emergency.

I thought about the same trip, if made 150 years ago. The same travelling may have taken 6 months or more.

Plus, with the Internet, it is so easy to google, or look at wikipedia for quick information about a tourist destination.

It is funny, I remember when mapquest became so popular. You could type an address in and instantly, you could print out a map and specific directions! Life became even easier!

Now, with a GPS, it is even simpler.

I still consult with mapquest to get a rough idea of where a new business in my area is located. On longer trips, I might check googlemaps for an idea of what the landscape might look like for a destination.

It is hard for me to think of a way to make travel any more simple. Life, and travelling, is good!

Old Fort Harrod Settlement Raid, KY.

Hey, one of my favorite historic sites (in one of my favorite places) has a big weekend planned. Check it out!

http://www.oldfortharrod.org/html/the_raid.html

South of the Border, South Carolina

I can not stress just how excited I was about going to South of the Border.


I had read about it at the Roadside America site and at other places. I still was not sure of what to expect. I didn't know if I should expect a crowd or not. I also did know what exactly South of the Border was.

I read a couple of descriptions that made me think that it was a theme park type of place.

It was actually very calm and uncrowded when we stopped by recently. In fact, I was wondering how the place stays in business if so few people stop by.

I asked one worker there about the crowds. She assured me that my time there (early on a weekday) was not normal, and that there are some summer days that the place gets very crowded.

I would almost describe South of the Border as small themed town. There are several gift shops and restaurants with a South of the Border theme. It is not one big building, or a gated theme park.

I talked to one lady who gave me a bit of a history lesson on the place, and she seemed to take pride in working there. I could have talked to her for hours!

I went inside of one gift shop (the main one connected to the big sign) and found some deals. Most of the stuff they sell is novelty items. They had plenty of items with the destinations name on them. They had cheap fun toys too. I love a place that has cheap postcards too, and S.O.B. has postcards 12 for $1!

Another bargain is their sombrero tower, which is similar to a space needle type attraction. It is a buck to go up on it!! A dollar! You get a fun view from the entire area at the top too! I don't know how they make a profit!

There are a ton of funny billboards on the interstate on the way there too.

If you are travelling through the Carolinas, I would really try to stop here because it is so much fun AND things are cheap!

"King of Kings" Jesus destroyed in Cincy

I have some nice photos of him somewhere, but I can't find them right now.

I was very saddened today to hear that, last night, lightning struck the famous Jesus statue in Cincinnati and he was destroyed.

AKA Touchdown Jesus and Butter Jesus, this young piece of art has made a name for himself (he has even been immortalized in a song by Heywood Banks!).

I think even those who are not religious had to stop and admire the big statue. He was really something. He was a great monument for the area, and brought it some attention.

I really feel for my friends at the Solid Rock Church today.

I know that in one of the church areas at Berea, a painting of Jesus was vandalized. The painting was restored and was put back on display.

I am not trying to be prophetic here, but..... I don't think this is the last we have seen this Jesus either.

Postcard: Cleveland Ohio Public Square

Cleveland is in a neighboring state, but it is on the very other end of that state. I am personally very familiar with it. I found this stunning postcard recently, and thought it was worthy of mention here.

"Cleveland's Public Square, 4.4 acres in the heart of the business section. It was laid out in the original plan of the city conceived by its founder, General Moses Cleveland in 1796. This view shows the new Union Terminal Group on the southwest corner. The Soldiers and Sailors Monument, a Civil War memorial, occupies the center of the south-east section."

Postcard: The Old Kentucky Home, Bardstown

"While visiting here, Stephen Collins Foster, author of many popular negro melodies, wrote "My Old Kentucky Home." The house was the former home of Judge Rowan. It is now a state shrine."

A "grandma" sent this to a granddaughter in Independence, MO. on May 11th, 1939! I brought it back to Kentucky in June of 2010.

Colt Trolley in Lexington

http://www.colttrolley.com/

Hey, check out the Colt Trolley link. I think the new free trolley looks great, and I see them everywhere downtown!

The friendly driver stopped and encouraged us to hop on near Joe B's the other day! Our friend from out of town jumped on real quick for a photo!

They are easy to access, they are affordable, and they look nice. This is another huge PLUS for the great town of Lexington!

Postcards: Old Fort Harrod

The replica of Old Fort Harrod in Harrodsburg is becoming one of my favorite historic hang outs. Here are some great old post cards I found of the location lately.

The back of the top one pictured (Mansion Museum) reads:

Property acquired in 1830.. house erected by Major James Taylor, whose grandfather, Samuel Taylor, was one of the first town trustees of Harrodsburg, also a member of the convention that formed the first constitution of Kentucky in 1792. Direct descendants of Major Taylor have owned and occupied this home until June 16, 1925, when the Kentucky Pioneer Memorial Association acquired it as a historic shrine.

The next card showing the entire fort, says:

The desire to preserve tangible symbols of life which made their freedom possible has brought about a reproduction of the log stockade "Fort Harrod", which was built from an original drawing by Sen. W. W. Stephenson. It was founded by James Harrod and a company of Virginians in 1774 and is located at Harrodsburg.

The bottom postcard has this description:

At Harrodsburg, KY., an authentic replica of Old Fort Harrod does honor to the pioneers who settled there in 1774. Within the enclosure are replicas of the settlers' log cabins, the first school house in Kentucky and a spring.

Carter Caves Kentucky

If you are in Kentucky and you want to see a cave, obviously, you are going to go to Mammoth Cave, that is a given.

I really like Carter Caves too. It does have a very different feel. Plus, it is towards the eastern part of the state so it really doesn't compete with Mammoth the way some of the other caves in Kentucky (inside of the Mammoth Cave region) do.

Carter Caves seems a bit more secluded. I love the curvy mountain drive getting to the area. In my books, it is very relaxing.

We took the Cascade Cave tour on a recent Saturday morning. Our tour group was maybe around 20 people, which made it a nice, casual tour. Our tour guide was casual too, pointing out the formations and all, but not going on and on. To his credit and my relief, this may have been my first trip inside of a show cave where all of the lights were NOT turned off to show total darkness. It is fun the first time or two.

A huge bonus on our tour was bats! They were right in front of us! They were just hanging around, sleeping. We saw several close up. Check out my photo!

This tour starts out in one cave area. You go inside, and walk towards a pond room that is very attractive. There is water coming in from right outside of the cave. Above the water are some big finger like formations coming from the ceiling area.

You walk past the pond area and go outside of the cave. You walk past the outside part of the pond, so you can see where the pond water goes inside the cave. From here, you walk into another cave area. After checking out some more formations, you backtrack, and get another chance to see everything.

After leaving that cave, you are taken to yet another one, and at the end of a short trail inside of the cave, you find a small water fall. It is something, but it is in a small, tight area. You will appreciate it though.

I did read that the area has 30 miles of hiking trails. I might make it a personal goal to cover all of them. The area is just amazing. I did walk a little on one trail. It had that great, green, outdoor smell.

I mentioned bats earlier, and I should take a moment to mention that the park has closed off some of it's cave tours. They are trying to be cautious because of White-Nose Syndrome. Here is a link to some information:

http://www.fws.gov/northeast/white_nose.html



Reading about White-Nose Syndrome really scares me. It seems that many bats are not surviving because of this mysterious disease. In fact, the more I read about this subject, the grimmer it looks for bat populations. This is heart breaking stuff, and I hope people are aware of this crisis.

Carter Caves seems to be doing their part in keeping an eye on the little guys, while still keeping a couple of tours going.

Finding Frankfort

Hey, my buddy Jeremy has set up a really fun blog about Frankfort. I know he loves the town and enjoys the area. I am certain that this will be another fun blog he is putting together.

Check it out NOW!

http://findingfrankfort.blogspot.com/

Random Thoughts On Friday

I took a road trip to Kansas City recently. I will get some posts up about that soon enough (I am still sorting out my photos from my Carolinas trip) but I had a really nice time.

I found a great antique shop in Independence Missouri that had a real nice selection of old postcards! I love looking through boxes of old postcards, I almost feel like they are becoming forgotten historical relics. I really appreciate them, as you can tell from this blog.

I found some great postcards from Mammoth Cave, My Old Kentucky Home, and others.

Some of the used ones were postmarked in the 30s and 40s, bought in Kentucky and sent to a friend near Kansas.

It struck me that they started out in some Kentucky gift shop after they were printed. They were made to celebrate a landmark in Kentucky. They were quickly sent by a visitor to a friend up north.

They have likely remained in a closet or attic in the Kansas area for decades, pretty much undisturbed. I would hate to speculate much on how they were liberated from that closet or other storage area (I am guessing an estate sale was involved) but somehow they found their way to this antique store in Indepence.

Then I enter the picture. On a brief road trip from the Bluegrass State, I buy the postcards, and bring them back to their defining state- after decades of storage.

Kentucky Christian University

I recently had a "what if" moment. We were driving through the eastern Kentucky area, and we took a quick swing through Grayson Kentucky, home of Kentucky Christian University. I applied to this school, and really liked it. At the time it was called Kentucky Christian College.

However, I liked Berea College better. I liked Berea better on every level. AND, when you think about the whole financial thing (and sadly, MANY kids aren't thinking about that these days) Berea was the obvious choice for me. Financially, I would have been in a lot of trouble if I had went anywhere but Berea.

This was a nice little school though for anyone looking for a Christian College. It is pretty secluded, with few distractions. I still have a lot of respect for the place.

I spent a few minutes driving around the campus on my way to Huntington. I took some pictures and thought I would put them up.

Postcard: Grant Park, Chicago IL.

I have been skimpy on mentioning anything in this neighboring state, so here is a very attractive card I found. It is used, and postmarked 1947.

"The southern expanse of Grant Park presents this vision of loveliness to visitors. The twin drives lead into the park from Michigan Boulevard at Van Buren and Harrison Streets and half encircle the plaza. Directly across the twin bridges plays Buckingham Foutain"

Postcard: Lookout Moutain, Chattanooga, Tenn.

"From the splendid outlook the visitor commands magnificent views of the surrounding region. From here one sees the Tennessee Valley laid out before him, with the City of Chattanooga directly below and the Chickamauga Dam and Lake in the distance. Also from this point one can study the battles of the Civil War fought around Chattanooga. There are bronze plaques describing the battles and markers pointing out the places of interest."

Postcard: Natural Bridge State Park, Kentucky

I was very happy about finding this old postcard recently. I have many modern postcards of Natural Bridge, but the old linen cards are so attractive.

"A gigantic bridge-shaped formation of rock gives its name to one of Kentucky's most interesting parks. The great bridge stands one hundred feet in the clear and is 30 feet wide at the top. It is located near Slade, Ky.

Berea College.... again

Yes, I am being a bit indulgent at the moment with my love of Berea. If you are sick of me writing about Berea, then skip this post. Or, you can be like everyone else in the world, and just not read my blog- MOM!

I guess this is sort of like the "if a tree falls in the woods, but no one is there to hear it...." line. "If Jimerado writes a blog, but no one reads it..."

OK, back on topic. Here are some pictures from the Berea campus I took recently. Some are the same buildings seen in my Berea postcard entry for comparison.

One building is the science building. I only had a couple of classes here, and honestly, I don't remember a lot about them. I did take "Astronomy" here. I enjoyed the class, but my grade was BAD.. with an emphasis on the last letter of bad. I do think it is funny that I have become MUCH more interested in space and the universe since leaving college.

I do not know why that tree is leaning so much in front of the science building.

I do remember being so excited about the library. It was massive. You could get lost in there. I spend many hours looking through obscure books about every topic, and I used to love reading the new magazines on a weekend morning. Libraries- especially large ones like this, make me feel powerful. Kind of like that guy in that episode of Twilight Zone... but before he breaks his glasses.

Bingham Dorm is pictured. I had a great time there. It was considered a study dorm. We raised money to help kids at Christmas with some charity stuff. We had a nice Christmas party for them. One year, we bought all of the little boys GI Joe dolls, and all of the little girls Barbie dolls (and don't get on to me about political correctness on this one- ALL little boys want a GI Joe, and all little girls want Barbies- its a fact!). Well, we bought the toy store at the Richmond Mall out of GI Joe dolls. We were about 3 short of what we needed, so we bought 3 Spider Man dolls for the little boys who would not get a GI Joe. As we had our Christmas party and handed out wrapped gifts, one little boy told Santa that he REALLY wanted a Spider-Man doll! Me and a couple of my buddies were Santa's elves, and we quickly looked for one of the more square shaped boxes, as we knew that box would not be a GI Joe. It was so nice seeing the child when he realized he got a Spider-Man!

I really feel privileged that Berea College let me come and hang out there for 4 years, doing the college thing.

I talked to a friend the other day who currently has an association with another private college. He was telling me about the financial burden many of the kids he sees are putting on themselves. Since Berea is tuition free, we came out pretty much owing nothing. We got a 4 year degree in the process, had a good time, and we met our future wives there.

I was talking to another friend recently who has a daughter a short drive away going to a state school. Her daughter is dealing with home sickness.

I went through some of that at Berea. My family was nearly four hours away in Owensboro.

I didn't have a car on campus for the first couple of years or so, so I felt a bit stranded at times. I loved the school and the town, but you do miss friends and family.

These days, I kind of feel like Berea is another home town. I do sometimes describe myself as Berean.

Random Thoughts On Friday

I have been here and there recently. I have a lot of info to get up on this site. I am reading a lot of books, and visiting a lot of places. I know I have said it before, but I feel very privileged to live in such a great state, and such a great country with so many opportunities to travel and to find information!

One town that is growing on me is right now is Columbus. I was there the other day and saw some nice progress. I don't want to start comparing it to Pittsburgh, but it sort of has that excitement to it.

The town has a good rhythm. It feels right. It is happening and moving, but it still has a safe and clean feel. I love Easton, I love their artsy area (North Shore) and I love the German area.

I took a lot of photos. There are some great looking places and buildings.

I remember going to Pittsburgh a lot in the late 90s and early 00s. It seemed each time I went over to PA, something new and cool was going on. Pittsburgh seemed to say, "We are tired of being the punchline of a joke. We are better than that!"

I sort of feel like Columbus is developing that attitude.

Oh, and I have some great photos of Savannah to post too. What a town! Savannah reminded me of some other towns I have visited, but it still has a very unique style. The food was good everywhere!

Papalino's Pizza- Berea

Paplino's rivals Berea Coffee and Tea as one of my all time favorite Berea hang outs. Like BC&T, it is right on the square in the middle of everything.

While a student at Berea, this was a great meeting place because everyone on campus could walk there within a few minutes at most.

They have good food. I personally like their pizza and subs, but I know of people going there specifically for their spaghetti. It always tastes fresh and unique.

I have had lunch at Papalino's on weekends lately. You see lots of different groups here. Obviously there are college students, families, tourists, etc.

We used to get the pizza bread a lot, because it was cheap and filling. I am not sure what the kids get there these days, but they have a nice big menu with a lot of variety. The brick interior adds a lot of character too!

Berea Coffee and Tea- Berea

http://www.bereacoffeeandtea.com/

While I am writing about Berea, I thought now might be a good time to mention my personal all time favorite Berea hang out, Berea Coffee and Tea.

There was a small group of us that would go here on Friday nights and hang out. We had a blast here. At first, 4 or 5 of us would go. After a few months, there were about 20 or more friends showing up.


I still enjoy stopping by here whenever I can. It is a great place to just hang out, read, relax, and take in the coolness of Berea.

They have made some improvements to it since my college, days, but they haven't made an excessive amount of changes. It still has its small scale charm. The coffee always tastes fresh and unique. Oh, and go ahead and buy a slice of cheesecake. You know how sometimes you get cheesecake, and it tastes mass produced? Sometimes cheesecake doesn't taste right. Well, it always tastes right at Berea Coffee and Tea.

Berea Visitor Center

The Berea Visitor Center was not there when I was a student at Berea. In fact, I think there was just a field there.

Please let me stress that the entire town of Berea is worth, at the very least, a day trip if you are not familiar with the area. There are many great, small independent artist shops to check out, but this is a great starting point.

I do like browsing through one of the bigger selections of local interest books in the area. In fact, I can't think of a book store with a better selection.

I like their postcards, and local product selection too. I haven't tried their cafe yet, but it looks nice.

Oh, and they have every brochure available on Kentucky tourism. If you need any information on tourism in the state, it is here.