“Rule number one is, don’t sweat the small stuff. Rule number two is, it’s all small stuff.” Robert Elio
State 4: Kentucky - June 20, 2017
We woke up in Corbin KY, after a restful night sleep. On the agenda today was to run some errands, tour the Capitol in Frankfort KY, and drive to Louisville, Walmart to spend the night. Today was just one of those days that just fought us each step of the way. The most important errand was to get Rosie an oil change. Easy breezy right? Well, nothing is easy with a van that is over 100 inches high when you are in an unfamiliar environment every day. We started with Walmart auto shops, since we spend our nights camped there. Of the 22 Walmart’s, within a 50-mile radius of Corbin, only 8 had of the Walmart’s had auto shops, and only 2 of the 8 Walmart’s were able to accommodate a vehicle of Rosie’s size. One of the 2 was 48 miles in the opposite direction we were traveling, so we headed to the one remaining Walmart auto shop. When we arrived, we were greeted by the most unhelpful and unmotivated employee I have ever met in 30 years of being an office manager. My questions were simple. How much is the oil change? Can my van fit in your bay? When is your next availability? Apparently these questions were too challenging for her, because the only response I got was her rolling her eyes and pointing to the sign. I then asked to speak to the manager, who was also of little help. We did not feel comfortable having our van serviced there, so the search for an oil change continued. Then we noticed a Valvoline across the street, so we drove over to give them a shot. They could accommodate Rosie’s size which was great. What was not so great was that Nate had to drive into the garage over a 3-foot-wide and 8-foot-deep open gap in the floor that had no barriers! Since Nate could not see the gap as he drove into the garage, he had to fully trust this "not so bright" mechanic who was guiding us . We decided to leave, as there was no way we were going to risk Rosie falling into the abyss. We then looked into Midas, Firestone, Pep Boys, Meineke, and every other nationwide brand we could think of all to no avail! We even decided to call 3 Dodge Dealerships. One was booked solid until next week, one could not fit Rosie in the garage, and the last one quoted us $336.00 for a oil change! Argh! Since this routine errand was starting to consume most of our day, we decided to put the oil change on hold, and head to the Frankfort, to tour the capitol.
As we headed toward Frankfort, we began to notice a concerning pattern about the roads in KY. Many of the roads do not have storm drains. Instead, they have ravines on either side of the road to accommodate the water runoff when it rains, and these ravines are anywhere from 2 to 8 feet deep! To make everything even more treacherous, many of the roads in KY do not have a shoulder. Rosie is a big girl! When we are driving down the narrow KY roads we are always right on the edge of the ravine on one side, and on the yellow line on the other side. Talk about a continuous stressful drive, especially when we are passed by tractor trailers! As we drove along, we would occasionally see abandon vehicles sticking out of the ravine serving as a reminder of the danger that awaited us. By far the most scary thing we saw consumed by the ravines of Kentucky was an entire mobile home! Yes, you read that right! A truck was delivering a brand new mobile home, and took the turn too sharp. Luckily no one was hurt, and of course I had to take a pic. It’s not every day you see an entire home flipped over on the side of the road. I would have hated to have been that truck driver! Luckily we finally made it to the states capitol safe and sound.
The outside of the capital was nothing too special, but the inside was absolutely beautiful. I will let the pictures do the speaking in this instance. We showed up for the tour and met with the tour guide in the main room of the capitol beneath the rotunda. Immediately, I noticed something very peculiar right away about two of the statues in the main room. One statue was Abraham Lincoln the President during the Civil War, and the other statue was of Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy, during the Civil War. I could not understand for the life of me why these 2 statues would be in the same room. As it turned out, both statues were erected to commemorate that both men were born in Kentucky.
Something else you must know about Kentucky, is that quilting is huge! Quilting is so big that the National Quilting Museum is actually located in KY! Back in 1980, someone had the ingenious Idea to have a quilt made representing the entire state of Kentucky. Each of the 120 Counties would contribute a single patch that depicted it greatest contributions the state or the country. The quilt has been on display in the state capitol for almost 40 years behind glass and was absolutely great to see! Kentucky was also the only capitol we have visited, that made a point to commemorate women who have made lasting contributions to the state. They did this in two ways. First, each governor's wife has a doll made in her likeness that was displayed in a glass cabinet with the other first ladies. Very unique and cute! Next there is a gallery of watercolor paintings individually depicting over 50 women complete with a description of their acts which was also very impressive! Other states should follow Kentucky’s lead to commemorate significant contributions made by women in America!
Unfortunately, the Governor’s Mansion and State museum were closed during our visit. We headed up to Louisville, KY and found a Walmart to crash in for the night. Tomorrow we have a very busy day planned.