On Friday, I pitched my tent for the very first time on a beautifully manicured lawn at the Presbyterian Church in Booneville, Kentucky. Thankfully, it turns out that I do in fact have all of the necessary parts. It’s a pretty great tent — super light, and I can sit upright at the front of it: thanks L.L. Bean!
On Saturday, we officially reached the “Gateway to the Appalachians”: Berea, Kentucky. This is momentous, because it means the big hills are over with for a little while. Eastern Kentucky has a lot of rolling hills, a lot of farms, and a lot of gas stations with convenience stores that are marked on our map, but have been closed up for what looks like at least 10 years.
The ride into Berea was incredibly hot (we registered 95 degrees,) and there were precious few places to stop and cool off (50 miles with nary a shop.) We finally found cold soda, water, and a composting toilet at a really neat coop-style farm in Big Hill, Kentucky. It seems that Berea is a sort of liberal enclave out here.
However, as I may have already mentioned, not liberal enough to allow the sale of refreshing alcoholic beverages. We tried in vain to talk the students staffing the Berea Visitor’s Center into telling us where the underground speakeasies were, but to no avail. So, we made do with iced tea.
Berea is a nice little town, but a bit too nice. There are lots of things to do if you like to browse through artisinal craft stores. Otherwise, it’s a little disappointing.
Posted by: sam