Photo of downtown Frankfort, Kentucky.
The hotel was attached to the parking structure on the left.
I promise not to talk too much more about our trip in May but it really was an amazing almost month-long journey on the road through sixteen states.
Years ago coming down the Granite Pass in Wyoming heading to Cody and the east gate of Yellowstone, we came across a very old coffee shop in a tiny town at the bottom of the pass. One waitress, who was also the cook, welcomed us.
The place was full of old men.
We sat at the counter and listened. We learned what issues they were discussing. We learned their politics. We learned that to understand the people where we visited, it was helpful to find where the old men have their morning coffee then engage them in conversation.
We have learned so much by doing this throughout our travels.
On the trip in May, we had planned to visit two of the distilleries on the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky. Note: Never stay in Frankfort, the capitol of Kentucky. There is nothing there except state buildings. We had to drive to the suburbs for dinner.
As there was no coffee shop in the city and we were heading back to one of the distilleries in the middle of horse country, the next morning we stopped at McDonalds for breakfast. That NEVER happens in our real life and REALLY never happens when we are on the road.
The place was full of old men.
We found it! We found the coffee shop where the older people sit and talk about the issues of the day and it was a McDonalds!
A true Kentucky colonel turned to us and asked where we were from. San Francisco? He talked so lovingly about the city before we realized his last visit was during the war! Soon another older gentleman joined him at the table. He introduced him as his son-in-law. Michael started to laugh, as surely this older man is not married to this guy’s daughter. No, really. Son-in-law. He had a booming voice and asked, “Where you from?” then asked, “Where?” So louder, we replied.
The entire place stopped. Everyone turned to look at us. Suddenly, a small very old-fashioned looking woman came scurrying from the other side of the restaurant. She came right up to us and said, “We just got back from a trip to Michigan!”
What do you say to that? We nodded and smiled. Everyone soon returned to their coffee.
Everywhere we traveled, I tried to ask about immigration issues and what were the most pressing issues of the day.
“We are in deep trouble,” the older gentleman said. “What is the problem?” I asked. “We have a state deficit of one million dollars!”
I started to laugh and said, “In California, we could do that in 15 minutes!”
They then invited us to join them at the Jim Beam distillery as a new bridge for larger truck access was being unveiled later that morning. Free food and bourbon samples! We told them we couldn’t join them because we were on our way to Nashville as we had tickets to the Grand Ole Opry that evening.
But, that is a whole other story.
A true Kentucky colonel turned to us and asked where we were from. San Francisco? He talked so lovingly about the city before we realized his last visit was during the war! Soon another older gentleman joined him at the table. He introduced him as his son-in-law. Michael started to laugh, as surely this older man is not married to this guy’s daughter. No, really. Son-in-law. He had a booming voice and asked, “Where you from?” then asked, “Where?” So louder, we replied.
The entire place stopped. Everyone turned to look at us. Suddenly, a small very old-fashioned looking woman came scurrying from the other side of the restaurant. She came right up to us and said, “We just got back from a trip to Michigan!”
What do you say to that? We nodded and smiled. Everyone soon returned to their coffee.
Everywhere we traveled, I tried to ask about immigration issues and what were the most pressing issues of the day.
“We are in deep trouble,” the older gentleman said. “What is the problem?” I asked. “We have a state deficit of one million dollars!”
I started to laugh and said, “In California, we could do that in 15 minutes!”
They then invited us to join them at the Jim Beam distillery as a new bridge for larger truck access was being unveiled later that morning. Free food and bourbon samples! We told them we couldn’t join them because we were on our way to Nashville as we had tickets to the Grand Ole Opry that evening.
But, that is a whole other story.
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