Berea KY during the Coronavirus Shut Down

You know I have talked AT LENGTH about how much I love Berea Kentucky.  It is easily one of my favorite places around.  I went to college there, met my wife there, and I just love going there whenever I can.  Its a nice little town.

So, with all of the restrictions going on right now, we thought it might be nice to go to Berea and just walk around.

The college seems to stay the same a lot, but there is also a lot of change too.  Buildings are getting remodeled and rebuilt....  BUT, the overall vibe of the campus never changes.

During my time at Berea, I lived in three different men's dorms- Blue Ridge, Bingham and Danforth.  Blue Ridge was a freshmen dorm when I was there.  It was pretty much the dorm farthest away from all of the class buildings.  It was kind of the one dorm no one wanted to live in.  I have heard rumors, for years, that it was going to be taken down at some point.  Well, over the last several years, Blue Ridge has remained standing.  The other two dorms I lived in have been totally redone.  Technically they are still there, but they are not the same places I once lived in.


My wife spent most of her college years in Kettering Residence Hall.  Well....  see the photo of the empty area with the crane in the background?  Well, that is where Kettering used to be.  It was kind of sad seeing this.

The campus was dead.  All of the students were sent home, I think in March, so there weren't a lot of people around.  The landscape looked great though ,we were glad to see things are still being kept up.

We did see a lot of signs posted in campus buildings and at local businesses showing that places were closed for now.  The local church had a large sign out front talking about their Sunday services being online.

Oh, we did see some cool campus bikes around!  Not sure what the whole story is on that, but we saw a lot of these blue bikes everywhere!  I know when I was going to Berea, bikes got stolen a lot.  Hopefully these bikes are sticking around.

We did notice something else that was sad.  Warren A. May's dulcimer shop is gone!  That place had been there forever, and it was just sad seeing the store vacant!  There was a sign that Warren will still be making and selling his dulcimers online.

We were glad to see a sign up that said Papaleno's Pizza was doing carry out.  If you live in Lexington, or if you have never been to Berea, you should visit, because its a great town.  BUT, coming down to just get some pizza at Papaleno's justifies a trip.

I know Robie Books is closed right now, but they are doing some mail order.  They are great people, I am sure if you are looking for something special you can call or email them still.  I am looking forward to the day that I can go back in and browse though.  I always have great finds there.

Oh, as we drove to Berea, we did stop by one of my all time favorite coffee shops- Richmond's Purdy's.  Purdy's has great coffee, and the place is owned and ran by great people.  Their drive through at their newer location was open, so I got a great cup to sip on as we walked around Berea!

Mary's Mountain Cookies- Rapid City, South Dakota

There is a very small chain of cookie shops out west, and one of their shops is right by the Hotel Alex Johnson in Rapid City.

We bought a few cookies from Mary's Mountain Cookie's before hitting the road.

As we snacked on them after leaving, we realized that we made a mistake in not buying more.  Seriously, these cookies were all that.

Obama Statue- Rapid City, South Dakota

Just a few weeks before our visit, Rapid City unveiled their President Obama Statue.  This is kind of a big deal, as there aren't a lot of opportunities for the town to add to their COMPLETE collection of life sized US President statues.

This statue shows President Obama holding daughter Sasha's hand.

Root-A-Bakers Restaurant in Morehead Kentucky

While in Morehead, several people told us we had to have lunch at Root-A-Bakers.

We went by this comfy little restaurant and absolutely loved it.  We were welcomed at the door.  Our orders were placed, and we were asked if it was our first time there.  We would find out later that, since it was, we got a FREE sugar cookie!

We ordered and then found a seat.  We noticed a Bible on each table.  Nice beach inspired art was on the walls.  The decor at Root-Bakers-Bakers reminded me of some of the nice little cafes I have been to in New England, and around Lake Michigan.  Though the restaurant is not near water, I had that calm feeling I might have near a pond or lake in a small town.

They actually brought out a couple of other extras before our meal, including a nice cheddar biscuit!

We both had potato soup and sandwiches.  Check out the photos.  The meal was tasty and filling.  The soup was creamy and the sandwich was just nice and flavorful.  Everything had a unique taste.

They sell their bags of sugar cookies for $15 for a dozen.  We were told that they go through a lot of these each day.  In fact, my pal Jimmy grabbed a bag, knowing he would need some even before we received our free "first visit" ones.

Also, this is a nice, clean place.  We saw staff wipe tables down pretty immediately and they seemed to keep on top of things.  You can tell that Root-A-Bakers cares about their reputation, and they care about making a good product.

I think sandwich side and drink came out to around $15...  so, I feel like this is a nice value too.

Morehead really has something special in Root-A-Bakers.  It gets my highest recommendation.

Armadillos Ice Cream Shoppe - Rapid City South Dakota

Some locals HIGHLY recomended that we visit Armadillo's Ice Cream and Food  in Rapid City.  It was maybe a 10 minute walk from the Hotel Alex Johnson.

If you do find yourself in Rapid City, make sure you hit this great little spot!

They had a young, friendly, and enthusiastic staff!  Inside was clean and comfy.

I also noticed a sign asking that you report to management any issues with panhanding.  I like that!

AND, check out that sundae!  It was as good as it looked!

Rowan County Veterans Museum in Morehead Kentucky

Morehead is a nice little town with more to do there than you might think.  So, on a recent Saturday we went down there just to explore a bit.

As we walked towards the campus in town, we noticed a small building with a sign up that said the Rowan County Veterans Museum was open.  AND it was free!  So, we went inside.

The museum is fit snugly into a historic 1937 WPA building.  It houses a video and book library locals can use too.

This was a totally unplanned side trip to a spot that wasn't on our radar, but we were so glad that we stopped by.

AND, what we thought might be a quick, "lets stick our head inside just to see whats going on" quickly turned in to a great couple of hours learning about this area's contributions to the military.

Korean War Veteran Danny Knipp was running the place.  He politely introduced himself and told us to yell if we had any questions.

He also told us that the museum was very hands on.  He invited us to pick up the various relics and take a look at them!  This was easily the most open and "hands on" military museum I have ever seen!

The museum in crammed with nice table and wall displays throughout.  Signs and labels tell you about the equipment, uniforms, and various other relics.

There is a small Civil War area, then a larger WW1 area moving on from there.  There are manikins throughout the building too, displayed wearing uniforms donated by locals.

As we looked around, Danny came by and was putting up a new framed display on a local who was at Pearl Harbor.  We started chatting and he ended up telling us the stories of many from the area who served in various conflicts.

The collection is mammoth, and could fill a building many times larger and still look packed.

I saw a lot of impressive relics too.  Purple Hearts, weapons, a piece of a scud missile, and a set of rations from Vietnam all impressed me.

Other than a few hats for sale, there wasn't really a gift shop.  There was a small, almost hidden donation box by the door.  You can tell that the guys running the museum are more concerned about telling the story of veterans in Rowan County than money.  I am sure that they appreciate any support they get though.

Like I said, this is a great, little known museum that is only open on Saturday from 10-2 (which is a convenient time for most people).  It is an obvious labor of love that is amazing.  It gets my highest recommendation.

Dinosaur Park- Rapid City, South Dakota

We made it to Dinosaur Park in Rapid City South Dakota!

The dinosaurs are kinda primitive concrete....  but, at one time, this was a pretty impressive tourist attraction!

Decades ago, this was probably the SECOND main attraction people would go see in the area.

They are big and fun to look at though.  You do have to hike up a steep set of stairs to get to them, but they are worth it.  AND, there is a great view of Rapid City from the top.

Oh, and we really liked the gift shop right beside it.  Good selection, and good prices.

Morehead State University, Kentucky

I walked around the Morehead Campus the other day!  Here are a few photos!

"Images of America: Rapid City, America's Playground" by Bev Pechan and Bill Groethe

I found a NICE, signed copy of Bev Pechan and Bill Groethe's book, "Rapid City:  America's Playground" from the Images of America series when we stopped by Again Books and Bazaar in Rapid City.

This was another fun and easy to read book about local attractions in the Rapid City area.  As with most of the Images of America books, there are lots of pictures of things to see in the area, with a nice, short description.  This particular book covers Rapid City from the early 1900s through to about the 80s.  There are some great photos of legendary local attractions and people.

I really love this area, and this book was a perfect souvenir to take home with me.

Kentucky Folk Art Center in Morehead Kentucky

Have you been to the Kentucky Folk Art Center in Morehead?  I went for the first time myself the other day!

I remember seeing a Kentucky Life that mentioned the somewhat obscure museum.  We checked it out recently.

I guess my expectations were low.  I mean, folk art is art by untrained artists.

We were absolutely blown away by the art though.  There were some truly inspired pieces.

Plus, there were cards beside the work with information about the artists.  That obviously adds to the story of the art.

There were two floors packed full of art.  Admission is the super low price of FREE too!

I really enjoyed some work by an artist who is color blind.  Some works were really slick- I would have assumed that the artists were well trained.

In the gift shop you could buy some art pieces from some of the featured artists.  I also saw stuffed animals based on some of the works.  There were nice books showing the art too.  I was glad to pick up a few postcards showing the folk art.