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.

Explorium of Lexington Kentucky

Here are a few pictures from my recent trip to the Exploratorium in Lexington. This place is, without a doubt, made for kids. I did see couples and adults here on their own.

We went with some friends and their children. I do think having kids with us enhanced our experience there!

I think it was around $6 for adults to go through, and it was a bargain at that price. It had a more educational tilt than many other kiddie type places, but it was still fun- not the mindless fun a kid might have in a ball pit.

I really appreciated some of their dinosaur items on display. Here is their web site:

http://www.explorium.com/

Old Postcards: Downtown Lexington

Obviously, the black and white photo card of downtown Lexington was an exciting find for me recently. It is a gorgeous photo on its own. Notice the streetcars and the horse and carriage.

Additionally, it is postmarked 1908. It is in great shape for a picture that is over a century old. I might try to find the area and take a photo from the same angle.

The "Main Street" card is postmarked 1943, as is the County Court House one.

The newer postcard, the color photo one of downtown, reads- The main business section of the modern city, is the trading center for 500,000 people. Founded in 1774, Lexington is the Home of the University of Kentucky, Transylvania College, World's largest loose-leaf tobacco market, Keeneland Race Track, Lexington Trotting Track, Historic Homes of Henry Clay, Gen. John Hunt Morgan, Mary Todd Lincoln. In and around Lexington, are the World's foremost Horse Farms and thousands of tourists enjoy their visit to Scenic and Historic Lexington.

Old Postcard: The Springs Motel, Lexington

This postcard makes me a bit sad. The motel was taken down not too long ago. It was sort of across the street from another uncertain building, Turfland Mall.

Old Postcard: Spindletop Stock Farm, Lexington

No info on the back of this one. It is labeled "Stock Farm". I do know that the place was once a horse farm, but it is now called "Spindletop Hall".

In 1959, the owner of the horse farm sold it to the University of Kentucky.

It is now the UK faculty, staff, and alumni club.

Old Postcards: Berea College

I am still on a Berea kick.

The back of the Presser Music Hall postcard reads: The Department of Music is housed in Presser Hall. Beautiful gray Auditorium, which boasts a seating capacity of 500 people and the Howard E. Taylor Memorial Organ, is located in the central portion of the building. Under trained leadership, instructions in voice, piano, organ and instrumental music, also chorus and glee club work is given.

The Lincoln Hall photo card is postmarked 1950, as is the Fairchild Hall card. The Draper postcard is postmarked 1946.

The black and white Lincoln Hall card is very nice. When I was a student at Berea, I would have to go here to register for classes, and to cash my paycheck. Everyone worked for the school, and they did actually pay you a little. If you owed the school money for books or anything, they would deduct it from your check. Still, they would leave you $15 no matter what. So, on payday, everyone was walking around with $15. I would imagine it is still the same today, but we could really stretch $15. I tell people today that $15 at Berea then was worth about $100 to me now.

I did not spend much time at the Music Hall. I did have a lot of music major friends. Most of them changed their majors though.

I had many classes in the Draper Building. It is modeled after Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

A few years ago, my wife and I passed through Philadelphia late at night. We stopped to see the Liberty Bell, and we saw Independence Hall across the street. We were both amazed at the resemblance. I figured it would be a larger version of Draper, but it seemed pretty much exact.

The Draper building was very centrally located, and generally convenient. My dorm through most of my time there was right behind Draper. I could wake up 5-10 minutes before my first class of the day in Draper, and get to class on time.

Fairchild Hall was a girls dorm when I was there. The college post office was located on the left side of the building.

BOOK: Images of America- Berea

Yes, this is another Berea post. I am proud of my personal connection, and I always get excited when a cool book like this one Berea comes out.

I might as well start subscribing to the books put out by Arcadia Publishing (does such a service exist?). I really like their products.

As with the other Arcadia books, this one is a very quick read, but it is loaded with great pictures. This book covers pretty much the entire history of the school- I even saw pictures from my time there in the 90s!

If you are not familiar with Berea College, you should be. This would be a great starting point. See any of my various other entries for more information on this great school.

Old Postcards: Boone Tavern Berea, Ky.

"Owned and operated by Berea College. Berea has given eighty years of service to the young men and women of the mountains of our Southern Appalachian States. Approximately two thousand students are welcomed each year to the Berea campus. The college receives no support from the state or from any denomination. It is largely dependent upon the gifts of men and women who believe in the mountain people and in the purpose and methods of the college."

That is from the back of the top postcard shown, it is used, and it is postmarked 1936!

The one under that card reads:
"Boone Tavern is at the center of the campus on the Dixie Highway, where the Cumberland Foothills meet the Blue Grass. Of the 2,000 students enrolled this year, 90% have come from the mountain counties of the Southern Appalachian States. To meet current expenses, the College must depend largely upon the donation of friends."

The postcards at the bottom of this entry are a bit more modern, but they are still, well, retro.

The very bottom postcard shown (night shot) is one I think I picked up at the Tavern when I worked there.

On a personal note, I am a Berea Alumni, and I love this place. I worked at the Tavern for a semester and I still stop by there.

I love the college, the tavern, and the shopping area.

I met my future wife at the Tavern!

The very bottom picture is not from a postcard, but it is a picture I took of the renovated area last time I was in town. The other photo is one I took from the corner a month ago.

Old Postcard: Old Talbott Tavern, Bardstown, Ky.

"The coffee Shop in the historic Old Stone Inn, now the Talbott Tavern, built about 1779- Bardstown, Ky. Old Kentucky Hickory Smoked Hams are shown hanging from the ceiling."

I used to stop here while driving back and forth between the two sides of Kentucky. It was cozy and nice. It looked like a movie set almost. It had that stereotypically perfect tavern feel. Set designers in Hollywood could not have created a more perfect looking tavern.

Old Postcard: Kentucky Dam, Western Kentucky

"TVA'S Great Kentucky Dam- across the Tennessee River in Western Kentucky- was built from 1938-1944 at a cost of $115,000,000.
The Gigantic dam, 206 feet high and 8,412 feet long creates the Kentucky Lake, which is 184 miles long and has a shoreline of 2,4000 miles- the largest man made lake in the world."

Random Thoughts on Friday

Yes, I know I have been on a postcard kick for some time, but they just look so nice!

I will try to get some posts up about my recent trip through the Carolinas and Georgia. It was a very baseball focused trip though, so check out my other blog for entries on several parks, and on the Ty Cobb Museum. I did spend some quality time in Savannah and I am still processing that beautiful city in my mind.

Not much else going on. I have been reading a lot, though I didn't have much time to read on my trip.

What is up with coffee shops trying to charge a cover? I ran across one recently (not in the area) harassing patrons to give a $1 on their open mic night. I had personally just spent $15 on a dinner and coffee there, and I thought it was classless that they were trying to get another $1 out of their patrons. Sure, its for charity, but I am pretty selective these days about my charities. Put on your open mic night and do a good job. If its a nice night, I will put a $5 in your cup afterwards. Trying to push your patrons to donate $1 is not a good move. I will not be by that shop for a cup of coffee, or a sandwich ever again. I hope that $1 goes a long way.

There used to be a coffee shop in Lexington that is no longer there. I went in with 3 friends one night. No one else at all was in the shop. 3 of us ordered large, expensive drinks. I am sure we were spending $4 each. The guy asked our fourth friend what she wanted, and she said nothing, she just came with us. The guy taking our order said that they had a "cover charge" policy, and if you didn't order anything, they still charged you for a small coffee.

I can totally understand this if you are near a campus, and kids are hanging out there all the time. Being that we had ordered 3 pricey drinks in our party, I thought they would appreciate the patronage of our party. They did not. We cancelled our other drink orders and left. I see why that coffee shop is no longer there.

I was in a coffee shop in Ohio several years ago (again, another one that is not there any longer). I was with 2 friends and we had been there for some time. 2 other people were in the shop with us.

A musical duo started to set up. someone working the bar came over and asked us each for a $3 cover.

Again, if things go well, I will put some money in the tip jar. If the music is above average, I am probably going to buy a CD from the performer. My friends that night were the same way. However, on this night, we did not stick around to see the performer. The three of us (over half of the crowd there on this night) left.

I do like to support the independent musician when I can, but trying to collect a cover from patrons is a lose lose for everyone.

Not much else going on (which is why I am rambling about cover charges at coffee shops).

Hey, did you go to goggle today? They have a really cool pac-man game on their main page right now, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the game!

Old Postcard: Lincoln Birthplace in Lincoln Memorial

I like this postcard a lot, because I think some of the modern postcards use the same picture for the cabin, but they aren't on textured linen.

This one is postmarked 1950, and gives the "fact" about this being Lincoln's birthplace.

"The Lincoln Cabin, where Abraham Lincoln was born, February 12, 1809, near Hodgenville, Ky.

Berea Kentucky

I don't know if anyone cares, but I thought I would put some pictures up of Berea to go along with the postcard pictures I am putting up on this blog.

I am going to have to get down to Berea again soon, and take some pictures of the buildings in the postcards and do a side by side comparison.

In these photos:

The newly renovated Boone Tavern. I would call this the backside of Boone Tavern, but I guess that depends on how you are looking at it. To me, this is the exterior area that looks the most different. It looks a lot nicer than it did while I was working there.

Mario's Pizza. When I was going to Berea, the good people at Mario's would DELIVER a Grizzly to you WITH a two liter for $10! Let me explain "The Grizzly." It was bigger than their large. It was BIG. It was thin, but it was big. 5 guys could pitch in $2 each and pig out. God bless Mario's. I still crave their pizza, and I make it down for their buffet every few months. I will have to get an honest review up of the place soon.

The big brick building is Blue Ridge. It was my freshmen dorm. I had a lot of fun there. It was a hike from all of the other buildings on campus.

There is also a picture of my buddy (and fellow Berea grad) Rick in Main Street Cafe. This was Fast Eddie's place when I was a student. I know Sune who worked with the Berea College Country dancers got this place going and he did a great job. I had a Reuben here last time I was in town, and I want one of those Reuben's right now! I have been stopped here pretty much each of the last few times I have been to Berea and I left happy.

Old Postcard: "Ashland" Home of Henry Clay

I don't have a date on this one, and there is no description on the back.

This is a bit of a personal favorite Lexington landmark. Old or new pictures all look amazing. It is very photogenic, and the last couple of times I have been there I have noticed photographers taking portraits, using Henry Clay's home as a perfect background.