Goodbye Virginia
As we pulled away from The Friendliest Inn the lyrics to the popular Village People song popped into my head. A blast from the past as I think it was released in 1979 & urged with echoes of the pioneer spirit to ‘Go West’.
This is indeed what we were about to do as Van Morrison had to go back to the same depot in Las Vegas. The hire company had none on the East Coast & indeed small hire campers seemed quite a novelty in the places we visited on that side of the USA.
Checking ‘Been’ the app that lets you chart & record places you have visited was interesting as turns out I have been to a significant number of states.
Possibly a darn sight more than the average American if honest & that in its self is a bit of a shocker. Not quite sure how or why I managed to circumnavigate Oklahoma but seems I did.
I had hoped one day to ‘fill in the grey gaps’ on the map so to speak but in light recent legislation that has come in to place that adversely affect women’s rights I now feel that’s unlikely.
This makes me sad on so many levels if Im honest. I have many amazing memories from travelling around the USA. From meeting really nice interesting people, seeing extraordinary wonders of nature in terms of animals & scenery & enjoying the many great ideas that make up the American way of life.
However the attraction of all that pales against the recent laws in some states that have been passed that jeopardises the health of women. Potentially penalising individuals who do not ‘fit’ the new norms that have been brought in. I feel that to travel to the country somehow means I condone such changes & I don’t.
So I will recount my journey West over the next few posts but these may be the last of my adventures in the States for the foreseeable future.
Kentucky Awaits us
Drawing into the RV park I had planned to stop in was massively busy so we ended up a bit further out but was probably nicer as it turned out. We wanted to go into downtown George Town but to have a break from driving we ‘ubered’ in.
I’m starting to think I need to check my uber settings to see if I have inadvertently set something to ‘weird drivers only’ as I certainly seem to get them. The strangely plastic coated interior that even covered the seat belt slots gave off the ‘serial killer in training’ vibes & I was glad I wasn’t travelling alone. He dropped us off & we headed up the main street to the museum.
This is definitely one to visit as the staff here were really nice & helpful & there is a lot of interesting things to inform you about the local area.
The weather was lovely so we headed off on foot around the streets to marvel at some of the interesting buildings & the halloween preparations that seemed to be in every garden. The full size zombie models were a little disconcerting even in broad daylight!
It’s a real puzzle to me why given the amount of religious fervour evident in the USA that so much effort is put into celebrating what is essentially a pagan ceremony.
Shots All Around
The other advantage of being on foot meant we could sample the local bourbon. I have never really been much of a whiskey drinker but turns out I have a taste for bourbon.
Apparently the main difference between a whiskey & a bourbon is the amount of corn. In simple terms whiskey is a mash of multiple grains whereas bourbon has to come from over 51% corn. As visitors went the majority were from the USA our little pin was ‘off the map’ & out of the shot I took of it to sadly.
In all the travels thorough different states I had never encountered so much boundary fencing or garden walls as seen in Kentucky. Maybe an American reader may be able to shed light on this puzzle?
The Battlefield at Perryville for me had the same sort of eerie vibe I felt at Culloden in Scotland when I visited. The quiet & tranquil atmosphere of today would have been very different during the battle.
Both places really gave me ‘goose bumps’ when standing near where the opposing forces would have faced each other. I find it hard to get into the mindset of what it must have felt like to face people you knew you would have to attack or they were out to get you.
I was glad of the distraction of the unusual flora & fauna to be honest & the discovery of the weird Osage Orange (or Maclura Pomifera) was great.
Using a plant identifier on my phone I was able to find out that it is in fact the fruit of a small native deciduous tree that emits a sticky white latex like substance when cut.
The tree is not related to any kind of orange & the fruit is bright yellowy green so who knows where its name originated.
Next day we packed the wagon & headed off towards Cub Run & a place to camp to put us in a great place to visit Mammoth Caves National Park & other quirky places.