Day 83, Saturday, August 28, 2021, Bardstown, KY
The Bardstown Farmer’s Market was about 5 vendors and not worth a visit. The day was spent doing grocery shopping, laundry, a little work and lots of relaxing.
Day 82, Friday, August 27, 2021, Bardstown, KY
A day to enjoy being in the Bourbon Capital of the World. The morning is spent at touring the Barton 1792 Distillery. Our tour guide Rick was very informative and I know a lot more about bourbon. For instance, 95% of the world’s bourbon is made in Kentucky. 30% of the world’s supply is made within a 14 mile radius of Bardstown. 92% of corn grown in Kentucky is made into bourbon. In 1964, a federal law was passed which defined what could be called bourbon. Bourbon is at least 51% corn, must be within 86 to 125 proof and aged in new American oak barrels. We toured the distillery and got to enter one of the storage buildings with a distinct aroma of bourbon. The spirit which goes into the barrel is totally clear and is basically moonshine. The color and flavors which make it bourbon come from the barrels. We got to taste the “moonshine” which was 125 proof. Smoother than I expected and a distinct corn flavor. In the tasting room, we sampled Early Times which at 80 proof was not a bourbon but a Kentucky whiskey, Very Old Barton Bourbon and a 1792 Bourbon. 1792 is a reference to the year Kentucky was admitted to the Union. We were each given a souvenir dated barrel bung. The afternoon was spent at the Maker’s Mark Distillery. Unfortunately, our tour of the distillery was canceled due to lightening in the area. Fortunately, the tasting was not cancelled. Five different bourbons were sampled. Maker’s Mark’s primary goal is no bitterness and consistency so all its bourbon is 70% corn, 16% wheat and 14% barley, barrel char number 3 and no rye. All samples were good but I especially liked the Cask Strength Bourbon which is bottled as it comes out of the barrel, screen filtered only so the oak oils remain and uncut as to proof. Proof ranges 108-114. It is the base in all of its bourbons. I purchased a bottle which was 109 proof.
Day 81, Thursday, August 26, 2021, Bardstown, KY (61 miles)
After a very nice time in Frankfort, we headed to Bardstown, the Bourbon Capital of the World and checked into the White Acres Campground (FHU 50 amp). We visited My Old Kentucky Home State Park. We had a guided tour of the mansion which was formerly known as Federal Hill. The Federal style home was built in two stages, first in 1795 and later in 1818, for John Rowan, a prominent judge and Congressman. It was renamed My Old Kentucky Home for Rowan’s cousin, Stephen Foster’s ballad. And yes, the tour guide sang us the song which became the Kentucky State song in 1928. However, the original meaning and words had been changed and/or deleted over the years leading up to 1928. Foster, inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, wrote the song as the plight of an enslaved man who had been “sold down the river” away from his wife and children longing to return to his home in Kentucky. The scenery of the song is believed to be inspired by Rowan’s Federal Hill farm which records reflect had up to 39 enslaved persons. The ballad was welcomed by the anti-slavery movement in that it portrayed African-Americans with dignity and the realities of slavery. Afterward, we drove around downtown and stopped at Blind Pig Bourbon Market where hundreds of different bourbons could be purchased. Alas, no tastings and no purchases.
Day 80, Wednesday, August 25, 2021, Frankfort, KY
This morning we had a private tour of the Kentucky State Capitol. Built from 1905 to 1910, it was one of the more impressive Capitol buildings I have visited- beautiful outside and inside in neoclassical Beaux Arts style. The outside is Vermont granite, Bedford limestone with a terra cotta dome topped with a lantern at 215 feet high. The interior is not only beautiful but very well organized with a separate floor for each branch of government. The first floor is the executive branch including the governor’s office. The second floor is the judicial branch and houses the Supreme Court with its seven justices. Our guide who was very good indicated that the Supreme Court is the only appellate court in the State a fact I find hard to believe but I did not look into it further. The third floor is the legislative branch with the Senate and House chambers. After the Capitol tour we continued our grave hopping on this trip and visited the grave of Daniel Boone and his wife Rebecca. We apparently are not the only ones visiting these graves as there was a special striping on the cemetery road leading to them in addition to numerous signs. In the afternoon we had a private tasting at Glenns Creek Distillery. A small batch distillery owned by David Meier, who with his one assistant John, does everything. David purchased a part of the property of the former Old Crow Distillery in 2015 and has been making spirits ever since. David was our host for the tasting and informed us on the history of bourbon and Old Crow. Old Crow was making bourbon for about 125 years. But after years of bourbon sales plummeting, Old Crow closed down in the 1980's as did many other distilleries. Bourbon sales have rebounded since 2000 and Jim Beam bought Old Crows storage buildings but had no need for the distilling facilities which are now Glenns Creek. We sampled 9 of the about 12 spirits which included bourbons made with a part rye, a part wheat, a part barley, a part toasted barley and one made with 100% corn. I purchased a bottle of OCD #5 which is fermented with original Old Crow yeast. Rosemary was partial to Swheat which is made with a part wheat recipe which smooths and sweetens the spirit. Yes, even Rosemary enjoyed the visit but she is not the one who will be drinking what we purchased.
Day 79, Tuesday, August 24, 2021, Frankfort, KY (100 miles)
We departed Ohio and check into Elkhorn Campground (FHU 50 amp) in Frankfort. First stop was to Switzer Covered Bridge, the only covered bridge left in Kentucky. We drove by the only Frank Lloyd Wright designed house in Kentucky, the Ziegler house. The house is privately owned so no chance to view the interior. Our next stop was Rebecca Ruth Chocolates which is famous for its Bourbon Balls - a dark chocolate coating of a bourbon laced cream filling with a pecan on top. We purchased a variety of chocolates including some Bourbon Balls. We drove around the State Capitol, Capitol Clock and Governor’s Mansion before heading to the Castle and Key Distillery for a view of the architecture, not for a tour. The castle building was the former Old Taylor Distillery. Picked up dinner from Smile Thai which was very good and enough left over for another night.
Day 78, Monday, August 23, 2021, Cincinnati, OH
We crossed the Ohio River into Kentucky and visited Newport on the Levee. A modern area of shops and restaurants with views of the river. We walked the Purple People Bridge (pedestrian only). The day was hot so we decided against eating dinner at an outside restaurant and returned to the coach.
Day 77, Sunday, August 22, 2021, Cincinnati, OH (78 miles)
After a great time in Dayton, we departed for Cincinnati and checked into the FMCA campground for two nights. We are FMCA members and we get two nights free. This is also a stop which will allow us a couple days to recuperate. We did visit Findlay Market and visited Dean’s Mediterranean Imports where I picked up some Lebanese baklava. We drove to Mt. Adams and Eden Park to view the city overlook.
Day 76, Saturday, August 21, 2021, Dayton, OH
We began thee day with a visit to the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park which is comprised of several different sites. The interpretive center did a great job of laying out the history of the Wright Brothers and also Paul Laurence Dunbar. Dunbar was an author and poet who was a classmate of Orville. Dunbar worked for a short time with the Wright Brothers’ printing business. Dunbar, born of former slaves, was the author of the work which included “I know why the caged bird sings”. We visited the building which was the fourth location of the Wright Cycle Co. The fifth and last location is a vacant site around the corner as Henry Ford bought it in 1937 and moved it to his Greenfield Village in Dearborn, MI, that we had visited on our 2017 trip. We drove by the Paul Laurence Dunbar House. Next we went to the Second Avenue Market where Rosemary finally got to taste maple syrup samples and we purchased a half gallon from Dohner Maple Products. For lunch I picked up a falafel platter from Olive Mediterranean Grill. It was the best I have had except for in when I was in Israel. Next stop was Yumi Boba Teas, then Woodland Cemetery where we continued our grave hopping and visited the Wright Brothers and family. For some reason, the brothers markers were covered in pennies and a couple small aircraft. A bit outside Dayton was the Huffman Prairie Flying Field Interpretive Center and the Wright Memorial. The Huffman Prairie was where the Wright Brothers perfected control of the airplane during 1904-1095.
Day 75, Friday, August 20, 2021, Dayton, OH
While Rosemary took a day of rest, I visited the National Museum of the United States Air Force. With four huge hangers plus a missile building all attached by hallways that had more exhibits, I spent all day here. The museum is laid out well beginning with the Wright Brothers and the early years, then WWI, WWII, the Korean War, the Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia) War, the Cold War, the Missile Gallery, Space Gallery and then the Presidential Gallery which had the original planes used by every President since FDR. Included was the plane Kennedy flew to Dallas and returned with his body and upon which Johnson took the oath of office. In addition to the some amazing 360 aircraft, the museum is a history lesson. I found the museum fascinating but I am sure Rosemary made the right decision for her to stay home. I rate this a must see for anyone interested in aviation history. There was one item not disclosed that I had to look up. The last survivor of the Doolittle Raiders whose goblet remains upright was Richard E. Cole, Doolittle’s co-pilot, who passed in 2019 at the age of 103.
