August 2012 Solo United States Road Trip
Duration: About 2.5 weeks
Cost: Around $1,000
10 States
If you missed Part 1 of my road trip, read here. Or if you want to read what led me to make this, at the time, was a “once in a life time” road trip, check this post out.
Frankfort, Kentucky, Here I Come! 
My friend Sara was a former supervisor from my first year of working in the Florida State Parks in 2004-2005. She moved back home to Kentucky a couple of years later, so it had been many moons since I had seen her. She’s a fun person to spend time with, I was super excited to see her!
On my way to her house in Frankfort, I pulled off the interstate in Bowling Green, KY and searched UrbanSpoon* for a local lunch dive. I found this very country kitchen type of place called Brenolyn’s Restaurant** where it was obvious the locals frequented. Everyone seemed to know one another there and it was exactly what I was looking for to find a good meal, and that I did! One of my favorite things to do on any trip is find a local dive to experience. One, I love food, two, I love what the area’s culture has to offer! Plus, it doesn’t hurt that usually the prices are not geared towards tourists. You should always trying to find a place that locals like at least once per trip, you can learn so much and have amazing food!
Mammoth Cave National Park
I had a couple of days with Sara, so we visited several cool tourist type places, including Mammoth Cave National Park, north of Bowling Green, and the caves were phenomenal to see! Their website boasts that it is the world’s longest known cave system, with more than 400 miles explored. How long you spend at the park is really dependent upon which tour you select. They have several to choose from, an hour to four hours long. Plus I would recommend an extra hour to explore their visitor center and exhibits too. You’d be safe with planning at least a half day in the park, more if you choose.
TIPS: Be sure to wear good, comfortable, waterproof hiking shoes or boots and bring a warm sweater or jacket, as it can be quite chilly in the underground caves. There were kids on the tour and they seemed to enjoy it too, so it is a kid-friendly place.
Woodford Reserve Distillery
We also visited a whiskey distillery, Woodford Reserve, in Versailles, KY and participated in a tour. It was very fascinating and they give you a sample of their bourbon at the end, too! Sara took care of mine for me, haha!
The tours last about an hour, unless you do their National Landmark Tour, which takes approximately 2 hours. There is also a little café on premises so you can grab something to eat while visiting too! It’s a neat place, boasting as one of the oldest and smallest distilleries in KY. It is surrounded by the beautiful bluegrass hills and thoroughbred horse country. Your drive to and from here will be a great part of the experience!
To add to our fun, Sara’s and my drive to and from sites are my favorite kind where, if you see something neat, you pull over! Take pictures! Make Memories! Have a blast! Always try to leave some room in your plans for random stops and adventures!
Onward! Here I come, Indianapolis, Chicago!
I made a very short, random stop in Indianapolis on my way to Chicago, IL, and I’m glad I did. It was beautiful in and around the area. I drove down some gorgeous streets and throughout neighborhoods lined with trees. This city visit was super low key. I took a very quick photo of the Colts stadium because they were just about to wrap up a game and I didn’t want to be stuck in the traffic mess. Excuse the ugly photo, but I present Lucas Oil Stadium!
Even though this was a quick stop in my journey, it has one of my most fond memories from my entire road trip. I love the site www.meetup.com because it always has some great group gatherings and things to do. It so happened that there was a local volleyball meetup at Holht Park the same night I was in town. YES!! I LOVE volleyball!! I dropped in and the group was primarily all locals, but they were so cool and let me play. I had a blast! Did I mention I LOVE to play volleyball? We played for several hours on a sand court, chit-chatting and having some laughs.
I finished my Indianapolis visit with my first ever Jimmy Johns experience (they really are freaky fast!) and a trip to a weight-based Goodwill. I love thrift stores and this was my first time buying from one where they weigh your items to determine the charge. I since have become a fan of them (and happy there are now some semi-local to me).
TIP: The big lesson from this stop is to check out the Meetup website when you have some spare time somewhere in the US to see if anything exciting is going on. It has meetups for singles, couples, groups, moms, dads, kids and parents, board game enthusiast, outdoor enthusiast, indoor enthusiast, rock climbers, book clubbers and sooo many more that it’s impossible to list. As always, be aware of your surroundings when trying something new and be safe.
Goodbye, Indianapolis!
Read next as I make my way further north to Chicago, then back south towards home: Road Trip Part 3!
