My Old Kentucky Home State Park

It was Tavern Day for me and The Augster today! By chance we ended up at two different taverns. And before you judge, keep in mind that the primary historical definition of tavern was a place for travelers to stay. Today we encountered the Kentucky I'm familiar with - rolling horse farms and a very Midwestern feel. I didn't feel like I'd seen much at all of Berea yesterday, so we decided to do some more exploring before leaving town. It's a town with a lot of character, and a gem of Kentucky.

At the heart of Berea is Berea College, a fascinating school. It was founded in 1855 by abolitionist John Gregg Fee, and was the first college in the South to allow both women and people of any race to attend. It's astounding to think of how progressive that concept was in those days. It is a liberal arts work college, meaning that students are not charged tuition but instead agree to work at least 10 hours a week for the school as part of their commitment. It focuses especially on admitting academically promising students from Appalachia. An interesting business model for a school to be sure, but to see how it operates in person was quite impressive.

I had heard that the Historic Boone Tavern was a great way to experience the way the college uses the craft of its students to support the concept, so we stopped in for a visit. I thought the RV added a lot of class to the historical charm. Berea College owns the restaurant and hotel, and its students make up over 50% of the staff. I met half a dozen students during our short visit, all of them bright and earnest.

First up we went to the Dining Room and enjoyed an early lunch. Normally I wouldn't take August somewhere so fancy, but I was really craving a good salad and the menu looked promising. Wow, was it delicious. Our server recommended the fried green tomato salad, and it was excellent. Two fried green tomato slices atop a bed of baby spinach, with grated white cheddar and fried country ham on top, and served with the best ranch dressing I've ever had. So good! We also had the special accompaniment of the house - Spoon Bread.

It seemed to be a cross between a cornbread and a souffle. August loved it. Would definitely recommend if you're in the area. Also, I saw a group of wise women friends getting together for their weekly lunch, and one of them ordered a bottle of wine right off the bat. They looked like they were having a great time!

Afterwards we stopped by the Gift Shop and Gallery which features the handiwork of, you guessed it, Berea College students.

Ceramics, woven items, and brooms seem to be the specialty. August has a real obsession with brooms right now, so I couldn't resist buying him one of the colorful ones. All of the guest rooms at the inn include solid wood furniture made by woodworking students. I also learned that the Historic Boone Tavern is the only hotel in Kentucky that is LEED certified, an energy and environmental design benchmark. While I was checking out, the gift shop student let Auggie come behind the counter with him to take a call.

Then it was on to our next destination - My Old Kentucky Home State Park in Bardstown, KY. The drive took about 2 hours, which is an improvement over the last couple of days. It was nap time and August slept for the whole trip. As soon as Chris made it to our meetup point, the sky opened up and it started raining for the first time all day. Chris was really glad to have a day where he didn't get soaked.

Tonight we had the pleasure of a visit from our good friend Bryan. He has a beautiful country homestead about half an hour from here and is a reservist at Fort Knox after serving his country in Iraq and Afghanistan during his active duty. He made the drive after work to see us and showed us around town. We are not drinkers, but are smack dab on the bourbon trail here. There are several distilleries in the immediate area, and if we had more time we'd probably take in a tour.

So, we saw the town and ate dinner at the Talbott Tavern. I am learning that my Hot Brown ordering rule I mentioned yesterday is going to lead to a lot of Hot Brown eating for me down here! It was tasty, and the building it's in is truly unique, having been built in 1779.

It was a great way to end the day, and great catching up with Bryan, who brought August this adorable Army teddy bear and a touch piece for both Chris and me. Chris' coin is for good luck and safe travels, and mine is the pin for his unit, whose motto is "I am ready" to represent us standing by as a support for Chris' adventure. How cool is that! Very thoughtful that guy is.