Day 3 – Horse Cave KN to Birmingham AL

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Although we’re a week into it, I hope you all had a wonderful new year. I was dead to the world by 10pm so I can’t say mine was too exciting but when you’re working on a farm, staying up past 9pm is tricky.

Apologies to my subscribers who have received this post twice, there was a draft conflict and annoyingly the draft I didn’t want published was and the other draft is now somewhere the ether.

Anyways, back to the road trip!

---

When I drew back the curtains, I found a very wet and rainy Kentucky. This morning was perfect weather for indoor activities… I suppose caving is indoors right?

After a beige buffet breakfast (try saying that three times fast), we packed up the car and set the GPS to Crystal Onyx Cave.

We had so much fun touring this cave with our guide, Jack. He was very knowledgeable and we all had a laugh together. At this time of year they don’t get many visitors so they were surprised to find two Brits waiting for a tour.

Before the cave was bought by current owners, Scott and Sandra Sendtko it was first discovered in 1960. It first opened for tours in 1965 and over the years had been a very popular spot for caving enthusiasts. Unfortunately over the years the cave had come to need some TLC and major repair work. Thankfully it was sold to the right owners as Scott and Sandra spent nine years repairing and rehabilitating the cave. This included adding gravel walkways which the couple carried in bucket by bucket which I can only imagine how exhausting that would of been.

Not only are they passionate about caves, they are also passionate about antique figures especially aliens. Jack told us the couple spend time touring around flea markets collecting these figures which honestly sounds like my kind of lifestyle.

Our next stop… Nashville!

Being a huge lover of Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash, Nashville is a place I have always wanted to see. The food, music, atmosphere, bars, boots and so much more, it’s impossible not to enjoy yourself here.

With food on our minds, our first stop was to the best chicken place in town, Hattie B’s. I had the hot chicken sandwich and it was absolutely delicious. This will be one of those holiday meals I will reminisce about for years to come.

After our meal we parked the car and went for a stroll along the pedestrian bridge to see the view of the city.

Nashville is the hot spot for Hen and Stag dos (or bachelor and bachelorette parties). We saw so many beer peddlers and electric scooters all with very excited and singing tourists. I kept wishing I could transport my family and friends there so we could hire our own peddler and be one of those happy drunk people but I guess that will be a trip for the future!

Mitch and I were still dressing for Canada so had to shed layers very quickly. It was a toasty 20 degrees so our hoodies and jackets were definitely not needed here.

As we walked down the street, a man dropped to the floor in front of us. My first reaction was panic, I thought it was a medical emergency but he was actually just doing push ups one handed (badly) and probably giving himself a hernia in the process. So perhaps I was right and it was a medical emergency but not until later on.

An emergency alert on our phones and a siren telling us a hurricane was on its way, put an abrupt end to our time in Nashville. We had to evacuate ASAP and it was very scary.

We were driving away from the storm so we were safe but for anyone who was in it, it was awful. A lot of homes and buildings were destroyed which is so heart breaking, especially just before Christmas.

Eventually we got to Birmingham, Alabama and to my pure delight I heard that strong, southern twang. I absolutely love the accent, it’s not one that I hear often and to me it sounds so warm and friendly I just adore it.

As always thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed this post please let me know by leaving a like, comment or buying me a coffee. Also make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss the next post!