To some, the California-Kentucky connection might not be immediately obvious. While Mat may seem like a tried-and-true California boy, the truth is that he spent about 5 years in the Bluegrass State during high school and hasn't really been back since. His friends there now own houses, dogs, and Eurovans - well, I guess one doesn't own the Eurovan anymore. During our quick trip to the 'ville, we saw good folk, got our Eurovan (which Greg still owes us money for after the result of some backwards transactions - don't forget, Greg!), toured a Bourbon plant, and watched movies on a comfy leather couch (the midwest is COLD!)
The acquisition of the van begins the true road-trip in our mind in many ways. Now we have comfortable room for all of our things, a warm(er) place to sleep at night, and a behemoth of a car that our Governator would be proud of. Not wanting to escape Kentucky without seeing the Red River Gorge, we headed to a pizza place named Miguel's just outside the bustling metropolis of Slade, Kentucky.
We arrived at Miguel's on a Saturday night and felt like we were walking into some crazy backwoods version of Camp 4 at its heyday. It was a small pizza joint on the outside, but in reality it was so much more. Literally hundreds of tents were assembled festival style in the fields behind Miguel's restaurant amidst slacklines, community fire pits, and signs reading "Camping for climbers only!". Dirtbags from around the world gathered under a covered picnic area to fire up their Coleman stoves, cook top ramen and veggies, and brag about the day's accomplishments. Amazing looking pizza passed back and forth while the climbers on a tight budget salivated at the substantial aromas. We opted to skip some of the craziness by camping in the parking lot inside our van, after fighting for a level spot amongst the long-termers circling the perimeter.
The gorge and the surrounding area was truly beautiful. The fall leaves were almost at their peak, and while we didn't get too much climbing in, we went on some amazing hikes and got a decent feel for the place. The routes were short, the sandstone was steep, and the climbing was social - unfortunately it rained a bit and made everything a little sloppy.
We bid adios to Miguel's and headed up to see Mat's extended family in Ohio. Throughout our travels in other parts of the world, arriving in new locations brought with it the excitement of discovery and novelty. For example, one might travel to a new state in India and encounter an entirely different language, food, type of dress, and environment. While cruising along I-75 we realized that the freeways of America do not offer this same variety. As our country becomes more corporate and privatized it appears that every city is becoming the same, with strips of identical box stores and chains lining Main Street, USA. It's strange to visit a new town and not only know what store to go to for milk or batteries, but also know the exact location, aisle, and the price we can expect to pay. Convenient, perhaps... but one must admit that it takes a certain flair out of the everyday tasks.
This being said, we do believe that there are unique, interesting, and rich places out there (like Miguel's!!) We are prepared to search a bit longer and harder in the states to find these locales - maybe it's staying off the freeways, maybe it's taking a wrong turn every now and then, and maybe it's camping in Walmart parking lots instead of actually frequenting the store.
We've been blessed so far to see lots of friends and family, and actually spend a bit of time with them in their homes. We've now settled for a bit at Mat's parents' house in beautiful Lake Wylie, South Carolina, where we will celebrate Thanks-giving/taking and figure out how the heck to get back to the left coast.
P.S. We've got some photos up on flickr now - click on the nifty flash logo to the right to check them out!
2 comments:
I think people in this country are more unique, interesting, and rich than ever, but agree that this heterogeneity has migrated away from the commercial domain and is severely less accessible to the traveler.
Interesting to know.
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