Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Frankfort

Friday we traveled 120 or so miles NE from Cave City to Frankfort.  Took the backroads mostly and made a couple of historical stops.

Abraham Lincoln's birthplace is near Hodgenville.  The memorial there was the first built for him and is at the site of the family cabin.  The memorial is closed for renovation now, girded by construction barriers, so we couldn't go in or get a good exterior shot.  This is a website picture.  Hmm, style seems familiar.


Next we stopped in Bardstown at the My Old Kentucky Home State Park.  This house, the centerpiece of a plantation called Federal Hill, was the family home of the politically prominent Rowan family. 


Stephen Foster, a Pittsburgh boy (that was a surprise - I just assumed he was from the South, but he actually spent very little time there), was a cousin and it is said that his visit here inspired the song.  Wikipedia says some unavoidable skeptical scholars think otherwise. 

                                           

We have a nephew named Stephen Collins who is very musically talented, so maybe there's a connection namewise.  I thought it was interesting that the guides emphasized the full name in discussing Foster.

We've seen a lot of houses that would qualify as Old Kentucky Homes.  Here are some.







We got to the Elkhorn Campground in Frankfort in mid-afternoon.  We'll be here five days before moving on to the Cincinnati area for a soccer tournament that grandson Andrew is playing in.  We stayed at the Elkhorn six years ago when we were following US60 westward.  It's a nice park and we're looking forward to some leisurely exploring of the region.

The campground is adjacent to the Elkhorn River.  Here are a couple of pictures - on further reflection.






On Saturday we're off to Washington, KY for a Chocolate Festival -- sweet!

Cheers,

Susie and Rob

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