Williamsburg is located in southeastern Kentucky near the Tennessee state border; between the Daniel Boone National Forest and the Cumberland River. It is known as the Gateway to the Cumberlands, for its proximity to the Cumberland Mountains, Cumberland Falls, and the Cumberland Falls State Resort Park. Other famous attractions in Williamsburg include the Kentucky Splash Water…
One thing about Kentucky folks, they love fried chicken. The relationship between its fame and its followers has perpetuated a self-fulfilling prophecy over the century, keeping the dream alive. In my Corbin blog, I mentioned that it is home to the original / first Kentucky Fried Chicken location & Museum and Sanders Park, and I…
Corbin is a small town of less than eight square miles in the southeastern corner Kentucky, a state that is kinda shaped like a piece of the fried chicken it is famous for. I-75 runs straight through Corbin, just north of the Tennessee state line. I am going to go ahead and lay my cards…
Charlotte’s City Center is divided into four separate wards that are simply called the First, Second, Third, or Fourth Ward. Collectively, these four wards form a diamond shape and are referred to as “Uptown.” Each ward is defined by its direction away from the intersection of Trade Street & Tryon Street, known as Independence Square.…
In 1799, a kid found a 17-pound rock while playing in the river and his mom used it as a doorstop, until a visitor later recognized it as solid gold. Feels like something that would happen to me, honestly. This discovery created the first Gold Rush in the new world.
Two of our favourite stops in Charlotte, North Carolina are both northeast of the main “Uptown” part of the city. I have already written a few blogs about Charlotte’s First & Fourth Wards, Second Ward, Plaza Midwood & Belmont, and the NoDa District, so I thought I would give these two spaces a blog of…
Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine district was once known as the most dangerous neighbourhood in the United States, far worse than the legendary City of Compton. Far, far worse. Much of this reputation was earned after the 2001 riots which were the climax of decades of growing civil unrest, but there is more to it. Like most of…
Waynesville, North Carolina’s Cataloochee Valley has become a prime spot for elk viewing since 2011, after an experimental program reintroduced elk to this part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The program was led by the National Park Service, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and a few other partners. Twenty-five radio collared elk were brought in…
From Bat Cave, North Carolina, get yourself a jug of apple cider from a roadside stand and sip it all along NC-9 North and Bat Cave Road. Follow it right into Old Fort. Old Fort is a tiny town of less than 1,000 residents located halfway between Black Mountain and Marion, and halfway between Bat…
We have diligently been trying to eat and sip our way through the town of Blue Ridge, Georgia this past year or so. I’m almost embarrassed to say that even after this much progress, there are so many places we still have not reached. In our defense, we do a lot of other things, but…
One of the first things I noticed in downtown Boone, North Carolina was this mural painted by local artist Peter Grant Catoe. The mural depicts the Tank Man protest on Tiananmen Square back in 1989 when the repressed students and citizens of China rallied for economic reforms and personal freedoms, among other changes. The Chinese…
Grandfather Mountain is among the most rough and rugged mountains in Eastern USA and at 5,946 feet (1,812 m), it has the highest peak on the eastern escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains. My song for this entry is a heavy cover of Edvard Grieg’s classic “Hall of the Mountain King” by Apocalyptica: Daniel Boone…
Fernweh 