“I’ve been a long time gone now, maybe someday, someday I’m gonna settle down, But I’ve always found my way somehow, by taking the long way” – Dixie Chicks
Miles traveled: 231.8
Sure I could have made it to Nashville in far less time and miles by hopping on an interstate. But that’s just not my style. I prefer to take the long way, always. I spent a little time this morning checking out downtown Lexington before heading down the scenic highways of rural Kentucky. It was a great drive through Kentucky today – rolling hills of bluegrass, horse farms, and small towns. My original plan was to drive highway 68 to Harrodsburg, KY. That went quickly to hell in a hand basket when a mere 5 miles from the town, the dang road was closed. Like closed, closed. So that was awesome, backtracking 20 or so miles. Sometimes the best laid plans…
Anywho. Since I rerouted, I decided to add a little side detour and make my way to Hodgenville, KY to see the birthplace of our 16th president of the US. That’s Abraham Lincoln for you non-historians (don’t be embarrassed if you didn’t know that – I only know he was the 16th president because of that gosh forsaken educational kid’s tune, “Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president, 16th president, 16th president…”). Great – now that song is stuck in my head. Commencing iPhone playlist. Well, there’s really not much to the historic site, but I did catch the short video before walking to the memorial in which the infamous log cabin sits. So here’s the scoop on the cabin. It is not the cabin Lincoln grew up in during the few years he lived in Kentucky. They know this because they aged the wood and the dates didn’t match up. Why the decided to put it in the memorial if it is not the original cabin, I have no idea. It is a near perfect replica of the original though, so perhaps that’s why. The memorial actually sits on the spot where the cabin was located – so in case you are wondering what the whole point of the memorial was – that’s it – to mark the location of the cabin.
After that, I made my way – the long way – to Nashville. And yes, I spent the day driving and catching up on my country music to get prepped for Music City. So excited to be in Nashville to close out my road trip – I will be here for a few music mania days before heading back to Charleston.
Until next time…
-traveljunkE