2018 Trip 3, March 20, KY and TN

Munfordville, KY. March 20

Ed working on the blog at our B and B

As we sit in a B and B in Munfordville, KY, yesterday’s rain has now become snow. One to three inches by tomorrow noon. Luckily we should be underground for much of that time as we will be touring Mammoth Cave. A horse and carriage from a local Amish farmer drove by a few minutes ago, hopefully they will get home before snow accumulates-if it does. The temperature is around 35 degrees Fahrenheit.

We were able to sleep in today. Our first stop at the International Bluegrass Museum in Owensboro did not open until 10 AM. While there is a botanical garden in town, the weather did not portend a blooming sight for our eyes so we passed on trying to visit the garden first. Bill Monroe, considered one of the primary founders of bluegrass music, was born in Rosine KY, a short 35 mile drive from Owensboro so that seemed to be the inspiration for founding a museum here.

The museum opened in 1995 and has expanded once already. We were lucky to visit now; the museum will be opening a new facility around October of this year with three times the exhibit space. The current space is likely to close in May to accommodate the move to the expanded digs.

Inside the International Bluegrass Museum in Owensboro,KY

We spent an hour touring the museum. Displays are well done and cover such topics as the pioneers of the music genre; Bluegrass’ Classic Band of Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Chubby Wise, and Howard Watts; historically significant bluegrass instruments, Hall of Fame, etc. They define bluegrass as “ bluegrass has a unique singing style. It is tight-throated, high-pitched, piercing and full of lonesome yearning for the good, simple life. In Bluegrass the bass fiddle typically thumps out a steady foundation rhythm and outlines the harmony. The mandolin, when not soloing, provides a characteristic chopping accent on the offbeat – called syncopation – giving the music rhythmic drive. Melody instruments such as bango, fiddle, mandolin, are free to layer new rhythmic patterns over this background pulse.” Numerous opportunities exist to listen classic songs. It was a reasonable introduction to bluegrass music.

Kentucky maps show 11 parkways. Coming in to the state, I did not know if these were toll roads or slow, scenic roads. It turns out the parkways used to be toll roads but as the bonds used to finance construction were paid off, the parkways converted to free roads. Normally, they match interstate standards as limited access highways. We discovered the quality of the roads by purposely choosing to drive two of the parkways instead of two lane roads as we headed to our second stop, the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park in Hodgenville, KY.

Hodgenville has a population of 3,200 and Chris managed to find a local restaurant with good food. Chain fast food places seem to be driving many of these out of business. We had lunch here, although the Hodgenville Grill is just over into the Eastern time zone so our lunch was almost a mid-afternoon snack. For $6.49 we had an entrée and two sides. We enjoyed the vegetable options choosing baked beans, lima beans, beets, and coleslaw from among about 16 or so choices. And yes, the food was good. In contrast, our evening meal at a different local restaurant was mainly fried food, the place could have been cleaner, and we heard one of the staff discussing how sick she was this weekend. Maybe there is a reason fast food chains with standardized quality and cleanliness are taking over.

The memorial at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park

The replica log cabin inside of the memorial at Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park

The Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park is located on the site called Sinking Spring where Abraham Lincoln was born. The first U.S. memorial to Lincoln was constructed here in 1911. The neoclassical marble and granite memorial houses a simple, symbolic log cabin inside represent the humble beginnings with the monumental achievements of our 16th President. Lincoln was born on this site and lived here for three years. His family moved ten miles away to Knob Creek where he lived for five years before moving again to Indiana and later Illinois. Land disputes, due primarily to faulty or non-existent land surveys, caused the moves from Sinking Spring and Knob Creek.

We visited both sites, talked to rangers, watched a video and bought some souvenirs before heading to our B and B lodging for the next two nights.

Ed and Chris

Epilogue: Snippets on life in America from Chris.
Day 5: He was born in Kentucky. While not poor, Abe Lincoln had come from modest means with a young life marked with tragedies. He became one of our best Presidents as well as founding the Republican Party. And now we have Trump.