General: Kentucky

I think everyone after hearing about "Kentucky", think of people with really thick southern American type accents, the Kentucky Derby, or being just another backwoods area in the US.....and actually.....they are very right in those assumptions=)

Kentuckyians hearing this, might start to scream in outrage and say "Come on! There's more to Kentucky than our annoyingly thick country accents, the small shacks with tin roofs, ...
...too. I guess there IS more to Kentucky than meets the eye. Since I've already written in another review a plethora about my home state of Michigan (which is two states above Kentucky), I might as well talk about another place i'm very familiar with. A place where my Grandmother is from, where her parents were from, and her grandparents were from. Back about 3 more generations where that side of my family tree came over to the U.S. from Holland. =) ... more

I think everyone after hearing about "Kentucky", think of people with really thick southern American type accents, the Kentucky Derby, or being just another backwoods area in the US.....and actually.....they are very right in those assumptions=)

Kentuckyians hearing this, might start to scream in outrage and say "Come on! There's more to Kentucky than our annoyingly thick country accents, the small shacks with tin roofs, and horse racing!"

Ok ok, they're right too. I guess there IS more to Kentucky than meets the eye. Since I've already written in another review a plethora about my home state of Michigan (which is two states above Kentucky), I might as well talk about another place i'm very familiar with. A place where my Grandmother is from, where her parents were from, and her grandparents were from. Back about 3 more generations where that side of my family tree came over to the U.S. from Holland. =) So lets jump right in shall we?

***** Kentucky, where art thou?*****

If you look on a US map, Kentucky and Tennessee are both funny looking states being extremely LONG and not very deep. To go from the top of Kentucky to the bottom is about a 2.5 hr drive. Yet to drive from one end of Kentucy to the other is about maybe 8 hrs??? Either way, it's ultra long.

Ohio is directly above KY
(Not the jelly ....KY is the state abbr. =)
Tennessee is directly below and covers the entire bottom half of KY
(I keep thinking about the JELLY when I say that!)
Then, you have West Virgina to the North East , with Indiana and Illinois to the North West. But, it also "slightly" touches Missouri to the west and Virgina to the east.

*****Louisville, Lexington, and Lewisburg*****

* Louisville *
Is by far, the biggest city in all of KY. It also has the most history and is suprizingly "posh" in certain areas. I used to go down to Louisville every year a child with my parents for a Convention next to a famous Louisville horse race track. I remember lots of "victorian' style homes in downtown area kept in absolutely pristine condition. Not to mention the various hotels we would stay at that were either from the late 1800's or Art Deco period.

There is a lovely period hotel called "The Brown" that feels like a time warp. The elevators were even in the old style from the early 1900's. I'm not sure how much it's changed in the last 15/20 yrs, but I hope it has kept it's own old-fashioned charm.
Louisville, as of 1999, had a GREAT music scene. I know this because when I was 20 in 1999, some friends and I would drive down from Ohio to see some FANTASTIC concerts in L'ville. ( The peole who live in Louisville just call it "'L'Ville"). Oh, and Louisville is pronouced in the French style, like King Louis with a silent S. I got to see Bob Dylan, B.B King, and the Pixies in L'ville, three of my fave music artists =).

* Lexington *

I don't know much about Lexington. I only know that it's the 2nd biggest city in KY, and that it's also a good music town, with many of the same artists stopping there as the ones that stopped in L'Ville.

It did have a college type atmosphere in some of the city areas. The University of Kentucky is there, but it didn't have the classy feel or history that L'ville does. I'd say the only way I would go to visit Lexington (on purpose), was if there was a great concert there, or to go see a Kentucky Basketball game.

Oh that's another thing, sorry , tangent here.....but at the U of KY the basketball team there is HUGE. Pretty much everyone who lives in KY are Kentucky Wildcat Basketball fans, and they're rabid. Every house you pass, every car you see on the highway, has a "WILDCATS" sign on the window or door. It's a little insane. I guess they worship they're team with the same obsession as most Scots do with the Celtics =)

* Lewisburg *

Ok I just threw this town in here because it's where my Grandmother is from. It only has a population of around 900 people (and it probably had even less when my grandma and her family lived there). I've only been there once, back when I was 16, but I will NOT forget it. The town is unforgetable. You know those American movies that show city folk with their cars breaking down in this WAY OUT remote village? The kind where everyone stares at them and chews tabacco while wearing dirty clothes????

Yup, that's Lewisburg....

To say I stuck out like a sore thumb is laughably understated. I was so "citified" to them , several would touch my hair or clothes and say " Ew Neigh-Ce", in a twany accent.

At least it was an experience, and believe it or not, I did enjoy myself there. The people were friendly and hospitable, the food was GREAT , and I got to meet a lot of long lost cousins (Several whom asked me out on a date=).

***** Browngrass? No....Greengrass...Yeah...Bluegrass? DEFINATELY*****

Bluegrass music IS Kentucky. If your not familiar with bluegrass, just go to some music site and give it a listen. It's sort of a folkish type *country* music mix. They use harmonicas, banjos, guitars, and all types of odd percusion type instruments. In my opinion , a lot of it is a little on the " ummm ok turn this music off" style....BUT.....there are a few versions of it that are very listenable.

Alison Krauss is probably one of the few "bluegrass" artists that have hit mainstream. Now she's turned more into "Pop-country-bluegrass" but her older stuff, was VERY authenticly bluegrass.

When I was in Lewisburg, I got to see several local people play some bluegrass music. It was in the typical setting, they were all hanging out on the front porch of someones run down house, sitting in rocking chairs, playing their music. I loved it! Seeing it in action was so much fun. The old men playing the banjo's were laughing and smacking their legs, the younger guys playing guitars were into it so much, they acted as if they thought to be the next Johnny Cash.

I can't say you'd love bluegrass. What I can say is that it's a historical part of the states that I sincerely hope doesn't get forgotten as time goes by.

***** They Race Horses Here??? What's a Derby??*****

By no small scope of the imagination, am I a horse racing afficiando. I know next to NOTHING about it. What I DO know, is that people from all over the world come to see it. They dress up, and go to watch, clap, and bet on the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

I guess it started sometime in the late 18th century and has kept it's prestige up "somewhat" since then. I've heard from some that have been, that many of the women still come in full on hats and gorgeous dresses. Only, I guess most of the men wear Polo shirts and Khaki pants (boring).

If you are a horse lover though, there are TONS of available horsefarms to visit in Kentucky. When I was around 13 , my family had a vacation where we went to a horsefarm in KY and did a "trail". That's where you get to ride a horse for several dozen miles through towns, farms, and forests, until you get to a campsite. Then , you stay at the campsite for the night, and take the horse back to the horsefarm. WE LOVED IT!!! In my mind, If I were visiting from another country to Kentucky, that's one of the first things I would do. =)

***** In Conclusion *****

I don''t have all the great factoids for Kentucky like I had for Michigan. I've been there LOADS of times, but it was for particular reasons and I never really got to explore the area as much as I wanted. Below though, I will highlight some other KY things you might find interesting.

* KY is suprizingly hilly/mountainous. It doesn't have the scope of the Smokey Mountains like Tennessee and North Carolina have, but there are lots of trails and hikes and very high peaks and cliffs.

*Some of the most famous Caves in the US are in KY. One is called " Mammouth Cave" and the other is called ,"The fat man's misery". Mammouth Cave is well....Mammouth ......The cave is spectacular while also bbeing scary as he**. It has this "the bottomless pit", where according to legend, no one has ever seen or touched the bottom of. Several splunkers have tried to go down it to reach the bottom ,but have failed. They hit water after several hundred feet. Problem with that is, they do not have the right equipment to scuba down into the water since it's so narrow and well, dangerous. Of course,in my mind, with the technology we have, i'm sure some idiot will do this or probably already has . The rest of Mammouth cave is majestic with plenty of ewww's and ahhhh's for everyone. =)

" The Fat Man's Misery" Cave is actually in the Mammoth National Park, but not attached to Mammouth Cave itself. They call it ,fat man's misery, because it's an INCREDIBLY narrow cave. We're talking, if someone weighed more than maybe 12 stone and was taller than average, they would really have a tough time getting through it. They even have a height and weight restriction for tourists wanting to go through the cave. If your the claustrophobic type, then stay away. =)

* Kentucky has some fantastic lakes. One in particular is called Lake Cumberland. The reason it's so popular is how clean the water is, and how many "coves" there are. I'm not really sure what "cove" means in the dictionary , but they are just little outcroppings from the lake itself, Usually they were always surrounded by these massive flat front cliffs or forested areas. Many people in the states will rent a houseboat with friends and family on lake Cumberland because not only is it beautiful, it's super cheap! When we went as a kid growing up, a 5 bedroom house boat with 10 people on board, was only around 500.00 a week!

* Covington KY is basically the cooler version of "Cincinnatti". Cincinnatti Ohio, is right on the Ohio river and is seperated from Kentucky by a long mile bridge. Once your over the bridge you are then in Covington. While Cinnci has a bad economy , dangerous downtown, and bad sports teams, Covington has trendy little bars/ pubs, great shopping centers, and a safe quaint little downtown area.

Finally......

When or if you make a visit to the midwestern U.S. , I wouldn't say Kentucky should be high on your list. It has it's share of interesting places and things to do, but there are far more....exciting and scenic "surrounding" states in the midwest to peruse.

So.....Sorry Kentucky, I could only give you 3 stars. Although if there was a half star system here, i'd give you 3.5 =)

Sidenote:
I'd like to thank Kentucky for voting democratic for the first time in 50 yrs and letting Obama be the Prezzy! Yay for those Dirty , Bluegrass Kentuckians! 

...less