On the way to Kentucky I finally got to see Kudzu, albeit in its Winter sleep. Oh well. I think it was Illinois where my husband discovered his new favorite snack, what I call Rest Stop Cookies. For children. I suppose I have funny eating habits in Germany due to not growing up here. I don't like those kiddie cookies but I have to say when you open the package, the entire car smells like vanilla.
I saw a lot of these new-to-me flowers. Violets? And a cardinal, so red, singing his heart out: )
Cross another river, (Ohio river), enter another state, and another Super 8 hotel.
I saw a lot of this - trees in water. If you look closely there are TRUMP signs on the trees. There were dozens of them. We also saw a big sign saying that Fox News tells the truth, something you don't see in Seattle.
We drove into the town and I was surprised to see how they'd just let the place go. Garbage everywhere!
At this point I'm still thinking, what a trashy neighborhood, geez!
They just leave their busted up vehicles next to their unfinished homes...strangely there were no people around. There was a puppy though.
I started walking around and realized that the garbage on the streets wasn't garbage, exactly, but debris. And it had been swept into piles on each corner. There was no one around this deserted place, and it was silent except for the wind. There were some trees down and then I saw something way up in a tree:
It's a piece of sheet metal, about 5 meters in length....way up there. That's not normal.
We both realized that this is what tornadoes can do, and not just to wooden buildings, but stone ones too.
And then we were in the Bible belt. No Costco, no gas station, no grocery store, no tavern, but CHURCHES. And all alike, with white steeples like Churchill Downs.
It was wonderful to see overflowing parking lots and women in dresses and men carrying their Bibles into the building for Easter Sunday. We listened to 3 different sermons on the radio and a couple of them had pastors yelling so loud I thought their health was at risk. We did hear one nice normal sermon though.
I remember how huge the front yards are in KY. No one could use a normal push mower, you need a ride-on. Also there were the iconic white horse fences, but often used in properties with no horses, or a city park! I wish we'd been able to go deeper into the state.
4 comments:
What a trip it must have been to stumble upon Mayfield. Your description of Kentucky is perfect. In June of 2020 I bought a house on 65 acres in south-central Kentucky for our future retirement. It was so affordable that I also bought 105 acres on the Cumberland River with a giant barn and old stinky mobile home on it. Then the housing market went nuts and now no one can afford to buy anything anywhere. Anyway, we retired a couple of months ago and have since moved in. The tornado warnings are terrifying. We had one blow past our neighborhood. I was trying to describe to someone where I live, and I said, "There's a Baptist church on the corner... oh, that's no help. There's a Baptist church on every corner." We also have family graveyards surrounded by chain-link scattered about the countryside. Families sell their land, but retain their personal cemeteries. And when there is a funeral procession, everyone pulls over to the side of the road, and some drivers get out of their vehicles and bow their heads as a sign of respect.
NM, Wow, you're in KY! Do you have a safe place to go when the tornadoes come? Do you have tornado insurance? Even J's cousin in St. Louis has tornado insurance! I didn't include photos we took of a graveyard, but some of the graves were underwater, it made me sad. As we travelled south, it got more and more difficult for people to understand us when we spoke, and vice versa. Once I was in a gas station and I was the only person in there talking normally. But the people were so nice, holding the door open for me and talking to me as if they know me. You are lucky to live in a state with Gus's fried chicken. I never knew chicken could taste so good, you have to go!
We have a closet under the stairs in the basement and half of the basement is built underground, so that is where we go during the tornado warnings. I just recently put together an emergency kit and keep it in that closet. I'll have to see if our insurance includes tornados or not. I thought only flood insurance was separate from general coverage, but then again I've only lived out west before now, so I know nothing about tornado insurance. I thought you were going to say that I am lucky to live in a state with such nice people, and I burst out laughing when you focused on the food. We have so many different chicken joints around here. I don't know Gus's. I'll keep an eye out for it in my travels.
I love those vanilla cookies! The thin oreo ones are my favorite!
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