It's 81 in the shade here right now (1:00 pm). It sure doesn't feel like fall, and this morning even, it was only 57, so it's certainly like a nice Maine summer day. School can NOT have started yet. The leaves are beginning to turn just a bit, but it's mostly because of the drought -- they're going from green to brown and crinkly without passing through the reds, yellows and oranges.
This past weekend, we went to Paducah, to the barbecue -- I think I mentioned that we were going. We went downtown Friday afternoon to pick up some ribs and pulled pork. Emeril would be proud of us since "PORK FAT RULES!" The crowd on Saturday evening was estimated at 30,000-40,000, jammed into a small area near the riverfront, which made it just TOO packed for our liking. It's a good thing we went on Friday. When we went back on Saturday evening, there were just too many people, many booths had sold out, and the few that were still open had lines up the street. We estimated that one place would have had a 45 minute wait in line, so we went back to Rick and Laura's and ordered out for pizza!
On Sunday we went up to Smithland (about an hour away from Paducah) to visit friends of Laura's parents. Jack and Marilyn had us for lunch (well, not literally), then Jack took us over to one of the last ferries on the Ohio River. We crossed the river to Cave In Rock, IL, a little town that has a big history. When early settlers were taking flatboats down the Ohio River in the early 1800s, "river pirates" would rob, harass, beat, or even murder unsuspecting travelers. The picture from the inside of the cave looking out is almost exactly like one I took. The cave itself was certainly large enough to house a modern convenience store (or even a small Wal-Mart), and of course it would have been sheltered and well-protected from outsiders. If you click on the link to "river pirates" above, you'll see quite a history about this group of reprobates!
Also, check out the movie How The West Was Won to see Jimmy Stewart's scene, which was filmed right there in Cave In Rock. Other scenes, as the family settles down on the Ohio River, were filmed in Paducah, only a short distance away from where the barbecue festival was held.
By the way, I'm really missing an active historical society here in Casey County, KY, so I think I might start one! There's a great old house (about 15 miles south of here) that was attacked by Morgan's Raiders in 1862, on his way from TN up through KY into OH. The bullet hole in the front door is still there. It's falling down, and no one seems to have any interest in preserving it. Have a look - from the Advocate Messenger article.
In nearby Danville (12 miles north), a couple wanting to build a new house on the site of their present house were going to sell the logs from the original log cabin, which has been enlarged and modernized. Well, it turns out that the building may have been the first building constructed in Danville, ca 1780, and is probably the oldest building in Kentucky! It was huge by the standards of the day, and historians believe it was where the Kentucky Supreme Court first met. It obviously was some sort of meeting house, and -- get this -- it's only 3 blocks from downtown! Next Tuesday, there's a public meeting to see what can be done to save the building. Guess who's gonna be there? More info from the Advocate Messenger on the story.
And finally, check out this page to see what a nuisance I'm gonna be down here...
You can move the member out of the historical society, but you can't take the historical society out of the member -- once addicted, forever addicted!
This coming weekend:
CIVIL WAR!
RE-ENACTORS!
HISTORY EVERYWHERE!
(Note the BLUE and GRAY). Wait until I get THOSE pictures up and running!
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