Current Location: Jeffersonville IN (just across the Ohio River from Louisville KY)
Mileage: 250 miles
States Traveled: WV, KY, IN
I had wanted to start writing this entry earlier today, but if I had, I probably would have had a completely different spin on how today went. It started with the traditional breakfast gorging at Shoney’s, at which point Darren and I decided that, rather than taking Interstate 64 West into Kentucky, we would follow US Route 60, which *should* take us through some small towns and introduce us to our first taste of local color. It would ideally only add one hour to our travel time.
Trouble is, we discovered two things along the way:
1) A lot of the small towns en route were not so much ‘towns’ as small groups of houses incorporated into a town; and
2) Corporate America has essentially taken over the back country. The only real places to stop and eat, aside from some rather unsavory-looking gas station diners, were national fast food/family restaurant chains located wherever US 60 intersected I-64. It was kind of depressing, because I think both Darren and I were looking forward to visiting some of the small, out-of-the-way towns along the way to our various ‘major’ waypoints. For the record, for lunch today we did partake of the native cuisine of the land – KFC.
Given that we were unable to find any books, brochures, or helpful roadsigns indicating ANYTHING of interest in Lexington KY, we went directly to Louisville – and let me say that I’m glad we did. We’re staying just across the river in Jeffersonville IN (although apparently it’s considered a part of the Louisville Metro area – I’ve heard it referred to as “Kentuckiana”). It provides a rather dramatic view of the Louisville skyline from the bridge as you drive across. There’s just something about the way light from a skyline plays on water – I can’t really describe it (and unfortunately, I can’t show you either, because the battery in my camera petered out).
I was finally able to fulfill a long-held desire of mine – I went to see a play at the Actor’s Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival. The Humana Festival is a month-long celebration of new works, and is probably best known for their collections of 10 minute one-act plays – anyone who remembers “Attack of the Moral Fuzzies” – that was from the ATL’s collection of 10-minute one acts. Darren and I took in “The Ruby Sunrise”, a rather unique comedy inspired by the real-life story of the wife of TV pioneer Philo Farnsworth. The ATL reminds me a little of the National Theatre in London, in that it’s an all-in-one complex – you can enjoy dinner, shop in the bookshop, and see the show.
After the show, we did some exploring through downtown Louisville. It was somewhat bizarre to see how empty the streets were at 10:00 pm – especially since there were still restaurants, bars, and clubs open, even on a Tuesday night. We eventually found our way to The Jazz Factory at Glassworks on West Market Street, where apparently it was “downtempo open-mic night” – but it was a nice club, and it looked like they had some good acts lined up for the near future – including a Marsalis brother. (I don’t remember which one, but…)
Aside from a near-loss of Darren’s cell phone, today was a very good day. A very LONG day, but a very good one. I also have to say, I’m glad we finally had a chance to explore a city a little bit, and that we were able to take in some of the local nightlife. It bodes well for our visits to Memphis, New Orleans, and Austin later in the week.