Penn’s Store
Gravel Switch, Kentucky
Penn’s Store has been operated by the same family in the same rustic building with the old creaky floors since 1850. It’s listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and hosts “Kentucky’s only internationally recognized outhouse race” – the Great Outhouse Blowout.
New Haven, Kentucky
In late summer, just before the calendar declares that it’s Autumn, New Haven hosts the Iron Horse Festival. What’s an iron horse? A locomotive!
New Haven is our closest town for groceries and gas, and has a tiny business district where a little street fair was set up. Even though the festival is called Iron Horse there’s nothing train-themed about the fair. New Haven does have a large depot and the Kentucky Railway Museum, and locomotive rides are held on weekends. But that’s where the Iron Horse connection ends.
Maker’s Mark
Loretto, Kentucky
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Ahhhh…the perfect summer evening: Friends, food, and fine art. All within a bourbon backdrop – Chihuly and Maker’s Mark. Perfect.
Josephine Sculpture Park
Frankfort, Kentucky
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Here’s another entry under the category How Did I Not Know About This Place – the splendid Josephine Sculpture Park near Frankfort. It’s a 20-acre farm that has been carefully groomed and curated to become a wonderful sculpture garden. It’s been in place almost twenty years, but I just recently discovered it through happy accident by reading a roadside tourist sign.
Patti’s Settlement
Grand Rivers, Kentucky
Land Between the Lakes
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The little town of Grand Rivers has 350 residents and a giant establishment called Patti’s Settlement that takes up half the town.
Patti’s Settlement is the singular destination here at the headwaters of the vast recreation area known as Land Between the Lakes. LBL, as it’s called, is a large island situated between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. Both these waterways were created by damming two rivers, and a canal at Grand Rivers connects the two lakes. 
I’m sure everyone is familiar with Antiques Roadshow, the popular PBS show. Here in Kentucky we have our own version called Kentucky Collectibles. It’s aired on our local public channel, KET. We bought tickets for the show, gathered up our queerest old-timey items, and headed out to Paducah, on the far western edge of Kentucky, to join the appraisal show.
It’s a time honored tradition – the Derby Party. So we went to the track to celebrate. But not at Churchill Downs and not in Louisville.
Lebanon & Springfield, Kentucky
Nothin’ better than a lazy Sunday drive. Especially in the Spring with sun shining on new grass and redbuds in the bloom.
Last weekend I toured the Kentuckiana Cluster of Dog Shows held at the big fairgrounds in Louisville. There amid hundreds of dogs and owners I got an education on a different kind of sport. Like any other serious hobby, the Dog Show world has its own language, specialized equipment, and complicated protocols.
Hodgenville Kentucky
It’s pronounced Haw-Gen-Ville. Population 3,200 and the seat of LaRue County. (view map)
Originally the town was called Hodgen’s Mill, after an early settlement. Locals still add the S to the name, and for a hundred years so did the US post office. So you’ll often hear folks say Hodgensville, regardless of the official spelling.