Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Days 24 and 25: The Reroute

My initial plan after leaving South Bend was to cut through Michigan and Canada and spend a couple days in Buffalo, where I was born. It seems that Mother Nature was not down with that plan. Thanks to a small blizzard in Buffalo, I was forced to reroute on the fly.

My impromptu new path took me south through Indiana, with the goal of stopping in Louisville, Kentucky for the night. The drive was awful. It was raining the whole time -- not normal rain, but the kind of rain that makes it nearly impossible to see out the windshield even when your wipers are in frantic mode. I took a break to grab a gas station sandwich and snap a shot of a lovely Indiana corn field, and then I pushed on.


After a giant iced coffee and what felt like an eternity, I finally crossed into Kentucky and pulled in to my hotel for the night. I promptly took a nap after the exhausting day of driving.

Feeling somewhat rested, I ventured out into the evening and strolled through Louisville's pedestrian Fourth Street Live! area. It was still lightly raining so I didn't stay outside for long, but did stop to take in the early Christmas decorations.


Afterward I treated myself to a delicious barbecue dinner and a good night's sleep.

Having grown up watching my brother play baseball, I couldn't leave Louisville without visiting the famous Louisville Slugger factory. While I'm not usually a big fan of guided tours, I have to say it was great. Our guide was completely charming and there were only three of us in the group, so it felt very hands-on. I highly recommend a visit if you're ever in Louisville, with or without kids.



With my souvenir miniature bat in tow, I forged a path to West Virginia. After a few hours of winding roads and traffic backups, I made it to my perfectly lovely hotel in Charleston. The fresh cookies in the lobby were an unexpected bonus.

After dropping off my bags, I set out on foot to explore. It was a bit of a hike, but I made it all the way to the beautiful capitol building.


On my walk back, I stopped at Sullivan's Records, which just might be my favorite record shop on this trip. I found a number of treasures and that, combined with a tasty dinner, left me content for the evening.

In the end, I have to say that my unexpected (and, frankly, unwelcomed) detour turned out to be pretty darn enjoyable.

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