Mt Zion Church Civil War Hospital Richmond Kentucky 2023

Here is a nice look inside of Mt Zion Christian Church in Richmond Kentucky, which served as a Civil War Hospital!

Richmond Kentucky Train November 2022

 AND, just because I like trains....  here is a train that I filmed briefly while in Richmond Kentucky.

Buc-ees Richmond Kentucky April 2022

 Buc-ees in Richmond Kentucky just opened!  It is already a very popular stop.

Fort Boonesborough Kentucky May 2021

 We stopped by one of my favorite spots in the state of Kentucky recently, Fort Boonesborough!  We talked to a lot of the pioneers there, and had a great time!

Battle of Richmond Kentucky January 2021

 

Check out the video I posted on youtube recently covering the Battle of Richmond Kentucky!  I used a very well written issue of the old magazine "Blue and Gray" as a reference.  

The tour is a lot of fun, and its near one of my all time favorite towns- Berea!

So, grab some Purdy's coffee, and stop at Papaleno's for lunch as you enjoy seeing some hidden historic sites!

Random thoughts on Friday

 So, we have gotten in to a habit, as the whole coronavirus thing has limited our socialization.  Our habit involves driving to Richmond once a week.  We stop and get Purdy's Coffee in Richmond.  They have 2 locations and the one with a drive through has kept that part of the business up and running through all of this.

I have said it before...  I love their coffee.  They are doing it right and you can tell!  They know how to make and serve good, fresh coffee!

Their downtown coffee shop is about the most cozy place to set and enjoy coffee around.  It is probably my favorite coffee shop, and I have been to a lot of coffee shops!

Its been nice getting their coffee at their drive through at this time.  It is a real treat right now.  We have been getting our coffee, then driving to Berea and walking around the town and campus.  It is a very pleasant ritual for us.

Oh, and the friendly staff at Purdy's has been writing kind and appreciated messages on our cups lately!  How sweet is that?

So, skip the chain places and support this great little local independent shop!

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!

New Purdy's Coffee Shop in Richmond KY

Hey!  We FINALLY got around to checking out the NEW 2nd location of Purdy's Coffee Shop in Richmond!

Its not exactly as cozy as the original downtown location (few coffee shops are as nice at the downtown Richmond Purdy's) but we still like it a lot!  Where the original is in a beautiful old building the newer one is, well, a bit more open and modern.  They still have all of the great menu items, and the friendly staff.

Here are some photos!

President Trump in Richmond Kentucky

So, we made plans a while back to spend some time in Somerset this past weekend.  We then heard about President Trump's visit to Richmond.  We briefly thought about rescheduling our trip, and avoiding the Richmond area for the weekend.  Nothing against Trump, it's just that a presidential visit can really screw up traffic.  We were in Austin Texas a few years ago and actually totally changed our plans when we found out that President Obama would be coming through.  You just don't want to be on the roads when a president and their entourage are going to be around.

I had hear that doors would be opened for the Richmond event at 4, and Trump's appearance would be at 7.  So, we were in Somerset finishing things up maybe around 4.  We had planned to take 27 all the way back to Lexington, but then we thought that any traffic issues near Richmond should be cleared up by the time we drove through....  so we decided to drive back home on I-75.

So we drove north on 75.  We did start to notice that there was no traffic going south.  None.  AND, as we passed the Richmond exits, we saw where cops were holding up traffic there too.

There really wasn't a lot of traffic going north either...  and, other than a few other cars here and there, we felt like we had the road to ourselves.  We did notice a few clusters of people here and there standing in business parking lots watching the road.

We did see a couple of cop cars speeding south at one point...  and then maybe five minutes later we noticed a HUGE cluster of vehicles, moving fast and with emergency lights all around.  A cluster of motorcycles was followed closely by black SUVs, with an obvious PRESIDENTIAL LIMO in the mix, followed by a couple of ambulances!

The vehicles were moving fast, but there was no doubt about it!  We had just watched President Trump go by us!

We did exit in Lexington, and you could see where traffic had been held up for the President.  We very well could have been held up in traffic ourselves under different circumstances, but we ended up having a nice drive home...  and seeing the Presidential limo as we made our way north.

Also, I have added a couple of photos a friend took of President Trump actually at the Richmond event.

Battle of Richmond Visitor Center- Richmond, Kentucky

Its funny how you can stumble upon great places in your own back yard!

Well....  I have driven by the Battle of Richmond Visitor Center literally hundreds of times, but finally stopped there the other day!

As you know, I have been on a bit of a Civil War kick for some time now.  I had heard of the visitor center, plugged the address in to my Garman, and went searching.  I felt a little silly when I realized where it was.

This classy visitor center/museum really impressed me.  First off, it is FREE!  Seriously- there is no admission AND they have a ton of freebies!  I had a great time, learning about the Civil War Battle that occurred here, AND I left with a handful of free brochures and magazines!  There is a donation box near the front, but our very kind guide didn't even mention that.  I hope that any visitors do make a small donation, and sign their guestbook.

So....  one of the many cool things about the visitor center here is that it was a part of the battle with a direct connection!  Also, the Mt. Zion Church is a short drive from it.  It was standing at the time of the battle.  Wounded soldiers spent time on the pews inside of the church!

Inside of the visitor center, one can see three very well done films about the Civil War in the area.  One film is shown near a map model of the battle.  Laser lights help show the formations and progress of the fighting.  This is a very unique and fun display.

There are a few nicely done replica outfits and uniforms here, but there are MANY authentic relics from the battle displayed.

One item that really impressed me was a photo of Union General Mahlon Manson.  Our host at the museum told us a great story about how the photo was acquired.  He then let us know that the sword on display is the ACTUAL one in the photo!  If that doesn't give you goose bumps.... 


Another item from 1862 that made my jaw drop was a Confederate belt buckle with a bullet in it!

Part of one room was filled with arrow heads and other Native American relics found nearby.  The arrow heads, and most of the Civil War items were found locally.

This is a really nice museum.  As I mentioned, there are other sites relating to the Battle of Richmond nearby, including a trail.  We were told that there is also a reenactment coming up!


Check this place out!  I know I will be back!

Richmond Kentucky

I know I am a little late, but I realized that I had a few pictures on my camera from downtown Richmond, taken around Christmas.

Richmond, for some reason, seems nicer to me than it used to.  It looked nice for Christmas.  I have been spending more time down there these days thanks to Purdy's Coffee.

Halls on the River in Winchester

Hall's on the River is QUICKLY becoming one of my favorite restaurants around.  It is a short, scenic drive from Lexington and Richmond and they have some of the best beer cheese anywhere!

Plus, there is some history connected to their location.  Actually, a lot of history.

In 1776, Daniel Boone's daughter was in a canoe with Elizabeth and Fanny Callaway.  They were captured by a Cherokee-Shawnee group.  A few days later the girls were rescued. 

One of the rescuers, John Holder, married one of the Callaway sisters.  Later (in 1783), Holder opened a Tavern on the spot where Hall's is at now.

More recent history in the restaurant involves the River itself.  There is a display inside of  Hall's UNDER the river during flooding!

I had some of their beer cheese soup the other day.  It had a nice kick to it, and it was filling.  In fact, I had to take some of it home.

On another recent visit, I had their beer cheese burger.  They were generous with the cheese, and the burger was huge.  A fried banana pepper on it really put this one over the top.  And, like the soup, I had to take half of it home for a meal later... it was huge!

http://www.hallsontheriver.com/

Purdy's Coffee Richmond

It has been some time since I found myself in Richmond, but I made it down there the other day.  Luckily, I found Purdy's Coffee Shop!

Oh man, I might be giving away my age on this one, but the last time I "hung out" at a coffee shop in Richmond, it was at a place called the Mad Hatter!  Anyone remember that spot?  I remember cool vampire and Alice in Wonderland paintings on the walls.  It was always dark, and Tori Amos or REM were played on the speakers!  We went one night though and it was closed.  There was a note on the door explaining that it had been shut down.

Purdy's is more traditional, and has a clean and cozy feel.  In fact, this is one of those coffee shops that is, in every way, EXACTLY what a coffee shop should be.

On their website, they explain that the shop was opened in a very old historic building downtown.  They fixed the place up, again, maintaining a vintage look and feel.  I love the wood floors, and there is a beautiful old panoramic photo of downtown Richmond on one wall.

I have stopped by for lunch, and Purdy's has GREAT lunches made fresh.  AND their coffee is perfect.  These guys care about their product and they don't let their brewed stuff sit around.

Purdy's is very roomy inside, and there are 2 floors.  On Thursday nights, it seems they have live music.  We enjoyed a very pleasant young original band called "Wicked Peace" the first night we were there.

If, however, you wanted to be somewhere a bit less melodic, you can go upstairs!

I really like everything about these guys.  The staff is friendly and the prices are reasonable.

Check out their site-

http://www.purdyscoffee.com/



Or stop by some time!