Holl's Candies- Parkersburg, West Virginia

Holl's Chocolates in Vienna West Virginia (the Parkersburg area) has been in business since 1986.  It's origins go back informally to the 1950's when the company's founder, Fritz Holl, was trained in Zurich to make Swiss Chocolates.  Fritz and his wife started the business in 1986, after Fritz had spent well over 20 years in the area making candies for others.

Today, Fritz's son Dominique and Dominique's wife run things.

I first heard about this business from "Way Out in West Virginia".  Anyway, Holl's has been on my list of places to visit for some time, along with the rest of Parkersburg.

We walked in not knowing exactly what to expect.  Check it out though- this candy shop is set up like a jewelry show room, or maybe even a museum with it's display cases, and signs telling about the candies.

W bought a couple of boxes for some friends to take home.  We were given a sample piece as we made our purchases, and I selected one of their bourbon balls.  it had a different flavor from what I am used to here in Kentucky.  I will NEVER say that a West Virginia bourbon ball is better than one from Kentucky.....  but after we drove away down the road....  we decided to go back to buy a box of Holl's bourbon balls to take home for ourselves.

Blennerhassett Hotel- Parkersburg, West Virginia

You know that I always love having an opportunity to stay at a nice old historic hotel.  We were very lucky to be able to spend a couple of nights at the Blennerhassett Hotel in Parkersburg West Virginia during our last trip through the area.

Opened in the late 1880s, it has been a major landmark in the area for close to a century and a half.  The place has been kept up, but it still has it's old vibe going for it.

We stayed on the fifth and top floor, and we had a nice view of town.  We were close to the elevator though, and we could hear people as the hotel was packed on Saturday night.  It wasn't too bad.  We stayed Sunday night too, and the crowds thinned out, so we enjoyed almost perfect silence that evening.

We liked the area where the hotel is located... there is lots to do but you know you are in a small town.  One block over from the hotel, we found the very cool shop, Classic Plastics Toy Store.  They had a lot of old toys that I remember from my childhood, and they had great prices on them.  Plus, they had a very cool arcade area, with the classic 80s and 90s games.

The hotel is a very short drive from many of the other things nearby we wanted to see too.  More on those places later. 

We did buy a package deal that included a $20 gift card each day for the hotel's restaurant, and 2 small drinks at the Coffee Bar (which served Starbucks coffee) inside the hotel.  We liked this deal a lot, as the hotel is nice, and worth hanging out in.

Both evenings that we were at the Blennerhassett, we hung out and read in their library.  It is a small, cozy area stocked with books, and decorated with paintings and art that had a dog and fox hunt theme.  There were several tables, and local newspapers were available. 

Right outside of the library in the lobby area, was the previously mentioned coffee shop.  We had good service from them each night.

In the same area (ran by the same staff running the coffee shop) was a cute and unique gift shop.  Several items made by local artists were available.  They also sold regional books and postcards.

We ended up spending a good amount of time in the hotel's restaurant, Spats Restaurant and Lounge.  We had dinner there one day, and breakfast another.


The wait staff was excellent, and we never needed a refill or anything.  They were totally on top of it.

The food was great too.  For dinner, I had a bowl of carrot soup which could have been my entire meal.  I was pretty satisfied after that.

I had ordered a flatbread pizza though, and, even though I was full, I planned on taking that out too.


The pizza was an unusual creation that had a lot of flavor.  Check out the photo.  Unfortunately, I was simply unable to finish it after that soup.  I did take the unfinished half back to the room for a late night snack.

My wife had a hamburger and fries.  She said that they tasted great too, and she would definitely get them again whenever we return to Spats Restaurant.

For breakfast, I had a GREAT buffet that included everything.  Check out my photo.  I got some biscuits and gravy that had a very different gravy (I was a bit skeptical at first) but man was it good.  It was generally thinner than what I am used too, but they put more stuff in it, giving it a very nice, spicy flavor.  Oh, the buffet was under $11 and included a drink, which I think is a great value for a place like this.

My wife went the healthier route, and had oatmeal and a parfait and she said they were both great.

Everything had a good, fresh taste and the entire experience was top notch.  Nothing felt rushed... no short cuts taken.  We really enjoyed the restaurant here.

My wife actually grew up some in this area (more on that later) and we enjoyed just hanging out here...  So I am sure we will be back to the hotel soon.  I am excited about staying at the Blennerhassett Hotel again!

Parkersburg West Virginia

We were just in the Parkersburg West Virginia area!  West Virginia is a state that has totally grown on me, and I think that a lot of the time, it doesn't get the cool cred it deserves.  I also think that the state is a bit misunderstood.

Many years ago, we made our first real trip to the state to visit it for more than just a few "passing through" hours.  Everything seemed to be going wrong for us.  The roads were twisty and hilly.  The hotel we were booked at had overbooked.  We went to a restaurant that was closed.

Other issues came up.  Our trip was weird and uncomfortable.  Our first real impression of the state was strange... and off a bit.

As we kept checking the place out, however, we kind of got it.  There is a lot of well preserved history all over West Virginia.  The landscape is unique.  Its a great place to slow down a bit and absorb all of the past.  Enjoy the mellow ride as you drive casually up and down those uniquely West Virginian hills.

I keep going back whenever I can, and, as you know, there are some places I get excited about revisiting over and over.  We love Point Pleasant, Huntington, and Charleston.

So, we finally got to visit the Parkersburg area.  We were able to stay at an affordable historic hotel.  We visited a famous island with a mansion on it.  We tasted some great chocolates, and did some other cool thing.  More on all of that later.

I've Been Seen by the Great White... in Owensboro.... A long time ago.

Here's a weird one......  I am hoping someone else might remember more details about this....

I have this memory from my childhood.  When I was very young- I am thinking this was in the very early 80s.

I remember going to the K-Mart in Owensboro with my family.  It was the K-Mart on Frederica, I don't think that the other K-Mart, the one on Parrish, was open yet.  Oddly, we have always referred to the one on Parrish as the "NEW" K-Mart.  That one just very recently closed, so Owensboro is back down to just one K-Mart...  the original one in town.

Anyway- on this particular morning, we went to K-mart and there was a truck there with a shark in it!  I forget a lot of the specifics.  I think it was a buck or two a person for admission to see the shark.  The shark was not alive, and it was behind glass in a large case if I remember correctly.  I THINK it was some sort of refrigerated case, but again....  I was a little kid, and my memory is hazy on this one.

I do remember feeling a bit terrified by seeing it.  For a small child in the sheltered town of Owensboro, this was quit a thing to see.

I am thinking that the story on this one is that it was one of the biggest sharks caught at one time.  It seems that there was something special about the shark- something that made it special enough to exhibit in K-Mart's parking lots.

I did get the sticker that I have scanned in at that time.  I don't recall if I got the sticker as part of my admission, or if my mom had to pay a little extra for it.  I think I put this sticker on my shirt that day though, and then it went with the rest of my sticker collection- on my bedroom door.

Again- I would love to hear from anyone else who remembers seeing this shark in Owensboro... or anywhere else!

Random Thoughts On Friday

I was thinking the other day....  I have not done a road trip through southern Illinois in some time.  I like that area a lot, and my dad and I have had fun exploring that part of the state.  Lots of cool (and strange) history.

And I thought about one of our favorite coffee/lunch places....  not just in Illinois, but anywhere.  I am talking about Annex Coffee and Deli in Herrin.

We stopped by this tasty little spot inside of an old movie theater several times and we loved it.

Well, I was thinking that another visit sometime soon might be in order.  I went to check on our old pals at the Annex and found that they had to shut down several months ago!

This really made me sad.  As an infrequent visitor through the area, to me, Annex was a huge part of the community.  This was simply a great place to visit, and Herrin has lost an extremely upscale, nice place for a small town.

Another place that closed shortly after we visited was the Cheeky Monkey in Portland Michigan.  We stopped there on another road trip some time ago.  I went on and on about how perfect this small coffee shop was.  I bought a logo mug while I was there! 

Anyway, it is nice thinking about road trips from the past... and the cool places you visit on those trips....  you like to think that they are always there, even after you have gone on home.

We still have the memories....  the photos....  mugs with monkeys drinking coffee on them.  I am glad that I was able to enjoy those places while they were up and running.

Ark Encounter- Williamtown, Kentucky


Remember when I went to the Creation Museum some time ago?  Well, I was able to visit that museum's newer sibling, the Ark Encounter in Williamstown Kentucky.

You probably know that this Christian museum/theme park takes a VERY literal look at the Bible.  They have built this Ark replica to the most exact specification that they can and there are many exhibits devoted to creationism.

As I said before, there are many web sites set up to debate the merits of a museum like this, and this blog is not one of them.  I do want to say that we went to the Ark Encounter with several friends- some in the group agree with the museum's beliefs, while some in the group do not.  Everyone in our group enjoyed visiting the museum.

We arrived a little after the scheduled opening time on a recent Saturday.  There were already lots of cars in the parking lot.  Crowds were lingering around the area where you buy tickets.  There were many large groups (I assume church groups) here and there.  We could see the Ark from a distance at this point.

We bought our tickets and were given blue bracelets.  From there, we quickly got onto a bus.  Busses seemed to be pulling up and leaving all the time.  The busses drove a relatively short distance to the area where the Ark Encounter actually was.  The whole process (parking, buying our tickets, the bus ride to the Ark) lasted maybe 15 minutes.  I did think that it might have been more efficient all around to simply put the parking lot closer to the Ark.  The whole bus shuttling thing seemed a little unnecessary, though it did help with building up some excitement as you got closer to the Ark, and grasped how big the thing is.

You are dropped off at the Ark, but there is still a short walk ahead of you before actually entering the Encounter.  Once you enter, you are directed through a snake line area that ends at a green screen photo area.  They weren't pushy about making people pose for the photo, which was good, BUT, its still a green screen photo, which I think is terrible.  Set up some sort of photo area outside of the Ark, or take a photo with some of the cool animal props.....  Anyone can photoshop themselves into a picture these days.

After you get moving on the huge building/boat, things feel a bit overwhelming.  The place is massive, and there is a lot going on.  There are beautifully made fake animals in cages, as Noah might have had them on his original.  Along the various floors there are MANY side rooms/displays on Biblical topics, including the age of the Earth, evolution, the Ark of the Covenant, etc.  There are more fake animals.  There are impressive high quality wax museum style rooms showing how those on Noah's Ark would have lived, grown food, and kept records.

The last main area we went through was very museum like, and several ancient Bibles were on display.

There is a long ramp in the middle of the Ark that connects all of the floors.  This ramp seems to go on forever.  After you explore the top area of the museum, you can go back to the bottom and exit trough the gift shop.

The gift shop is huge and well stocked.  There are several places to get snacks, including a coffee shop and a fudge shop.  There is a fair trade area with lots of hand made pieces of art.  A man was painting animal statues the day we were there.  There were lots of books, postcards, shirts, etc.

After leaving the gift shop, you notice a nice big restaurant.  We decided to have a very late lunch there.

There is a huge buffet, that was delicious and rich.  We enjoyed our meals, but I would not recommend this place if you are on a diet.

After our meal, we walked towards the petting zoo area.  Here we saw lamas, emu, and other critters.  A crowd gathered around an area where a mother kangaroo walked around, with her baby peaking out of her pouch.

Also in the zoo area were camels and camel rides were available.  A line formed and, for a few dollars, you could give it a try!

We started our walk back to the bus area to ride back to the parking lot.  We realized that we had spent a solid 5 hours at the Ark Encounter.  We are an efficient group that doesn't linger.  We moved fast, and we all walk quickly.  If I were going to guess how much time we used up before looking at my watch, I would have guessed 3 hours tops.  It is easy to forget time here.

Again, busses were constantly going back and forth, and we were able to get right onto one as we finished up at the Ark Encounter.  Within 5 minutes or so, we were back to our car.

"The Rage Within- A Season in Professional Indoor Football" by Michael Goodpaster

Some of you may remember that back in 2013, I started a fan blog devoted to the indoor football team from Owensboro, the Owensboro Rage!  I really loved that team, and I was really hoping that they would pull through and make it.

I had my blog, I also handled their twitter for them.  My best pal Brent Clary was their on field announcer.....  And I drove from Lexington to make it to all of their home games while they existed.  Though they didn't quit make it to the end of the season, I really enjoyed the team while it lasted.

BUT, before that team came to Owensboro in 2013, it was headquartered in Evansville, and in 2012, the team was the Evansville Rage.

Coach Michael Goodpaster was the teams coach.  I loved watching him do his thing in Owensboro.  The man is professional and passionate, and you know he likes to win.  Luckily, Coach Goodpaster has written a book about the 2012 season with the Evansville Rage.

I was thrilled to see that this book was out, because.... well because I love everything relating to the team.  I still have my ticket stubs, flyers, shirts, and other items I can scavenge relating to the Rage.  This book is a nice piece to add to my collection.

AND, its just a fun book.  Michael Goodpaster isn't trying to create a literary masterpiece here, but he has written an honest account of the Evansville version of this team.

The book is written in a way you would expect from a football coach who doesn't give a crap about what anyone thinks.  In fact, at the beginning of the book, he acknowledges that some people mentioned in the book might be offended by what he says, but he says that he has proof to prove everything!

Four letter words fly all over the place here as coach tells strange stories.  An almost totally unbelievable one involves Coach Goodpaster literally coaching a game as he sits on a toilet. 

Coach talks a lot about some of the things you might expect from a low level pro sports team in a struggling league.  Money, resources, and talent are all in short supply at times- creating a headache for Michael, his staff and players.  During the season, he deals with getting kicked out of a hotel as the teams owes the hotel money.  He faces challenges relating to getting his players paid.  He confronts racist refs, he gets in the middle of fights between teams, and when its all said and done, he is still trying to figure out who exactly owns the team!

This book is a lot of fun and I am so glad that Mike Goodpaster took the time to write it!

The Spot Coffee in Owensboro Kentucky

I am very excited about the fact that Owensboro has ANOTHER great independent coffee shop!  If you live in Owensboro, you have no excuse for going to a chain place for coffee!

"The Spot" is located in one of my all time favorite areas of Owensboro, right by the old Lincoln Mall (now Owensboro Christian Church).  As a side note, I STILL miss hanging out at the old Lincoln Mall.


After visiting family for the day, I stopped by here on the way out of town.  As I have mentioned before, I love the Crème downtown, but it is out of the way for me in general if I am just doing a quick visit.  I pass right by The Spot on my way to or from seeing family... so this is a great place for me to get coffee when I visit.

I enjoyed my coffee and the vibe inside.  There was some live music being played by a very pleasant guitar player.  There are also arts and crafts for sale inside.

I hope all of my pals in Owensboro will stop by the Spot to get a drink and check out the unique items they are selling.  I am sure that the few bucks you will spend here will be very appreciated.

Bird's Eye View of Louisville Kentucky

Another undated postcard, showing an older shot of Louisville!  I still love these great, old cards.

Mussel and Burger Bar- Louisville

I took just a couple of photos at the Mussel and Burger Bar in Louisville.

The place serves some unique food- I don't think I have seen a place where mussels and burgers are their main menu items.  I didn't give the mussels a try (and I probably never will) but we loved our burgers.

We had the local burger with heirloom potatoes served with garlic aioli.  It was over $16, but for downtown Louisville we were happy with the quality and the price.

In fact, it was one of the few restaurants in the area open the evening we were there.  I think some of the places nearby are open for lunch, catering to the weekday work crowds.

The Brown Hotel- Louisville Kentucky

We hit the Brown Hotel while in Louisville too!

This hotel was built in 1923 and it is credited as the birthplace of the Hot Brown Sandwich.

We agreed that this was a hotel to try to spend some more time in, but for now, here are a few photos I took of it.

Seelbach Hotel- Louisville Kentucky

Another historic hotel we stopped by while in downtown Louisville was the Seelbach.  Like the Galt House, I will have to go back again on a day when I have more time.

Many famous people have stayed here, including Presidents, and gangster Al Capone.  F. Scott Fitzgerald hung out here, and the hotel served as inspiration for a hotel in his famous book, the Great Gatsby.


On a very unrelated side note.....  I do love reading the classics, but the Great Gatsby just didn't do it for me.  Maybe I need to reread it again?

We did hang out briefly at the Starbucks that is inside of the Seelbach.  Maybe I should take a copy of the Great Gatsby with me next time, and read it while there?