We were the ones with the accent after heading yonder 570 miles in twelve hours Tuesday. We were visiting my in-laws, Bob and Donna, in Central City, KY, birthplace of the Everly Brothers. Bob and Donna live in Muhlenberg County which is traversed by the Green River. They have a friend who's a coal train engineer for CSX, has never heard of Mr. Peabody, and tells me you can't steer a train like in Polar Express.
We had our choice of two routes to KY, both of which took us around Chicago and through Indiana, so we chose the third route. Even though the route we learned about two days before our trip was 400 miles of Illinois driving, we paid only one toll, avoided Chicago, the speed limit was 70 and traffic wasn't bad.
Bob and Donna's home in Western KY is a charming three bed, two bath, double-wide with lots of yard and a large garage. Their house has plenty of room for visitors, though our youngest had to share his room with SpongeBob and the oldest with Harley Davidson. Tam and I stayed in a former office the size of a one car garage next to the house. Our room had a fridge, coffee pot, videos and games, heat and A/C, but no windows. It was cozy.
Thursday, while the boys kept themselves entertained with the friendly outdoor cats and trying to injure themselves with airsoft guns, Tam and I drove to Nashville where we toured the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
After a delicious and authentic Southern meal at a small mom and pop and a roasted-marshmallow fire in the yard Thursday night, we packed up the car. We left for home at midnight and arrived in Waukesha nine hours later Friday morning.
We put 1500 miles on our rented Taurus in four days and the least expensive fuel was $2.10 / gallon. Almost all the roads were in perfect condition, though we really didn't care much for the too-narrow secondary roads in KY. We paid a total of $2.00 in Illinois tolls even though we travelled 800 miles in the state. And the worst pavement was right here in good old Wisconsin on I-43 between Beloit and home.
I was pleasantly surprised by everything; the beauty, the friendliness and hospitality, the ease of getting around. We were fortunate to have nice weather the entire time of our trip. I'd go again.
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Paradise©John Prine
Chorus:
And daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay
Well, I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking
Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away
