Blue moon of Kentucky, keep on shinin'

When I left this morning, I imagined this post being relatively short with lots of whining about how lame driving through Kentucky and Ohio was. But you deserve better, I deserve better, the blog deserves better. So we'll start you off with this little beauty from Corbin, Ky. Wait for it...

That's right, the birthplace of KFC. In addition to being on the site of the Colonel's original restaurant (the building in the photo is a recreation), there is also a museum and a regular KFC. Not to mention a souvenir stand, complete with Colonel Sanders bobbleheads. I, however, opted for the $0.69 commemorative button. I believe I'll have to give this place an honorary spot on the Lunch List.

After lunch in Corbin, I headed to Cincinnati for dinner at the Montgomery Inn. This place came recommended by (ed.) Casey's roommates Rebecca and The Doctor (instead of the universally-panned Skyline Chili) and lived up to expectations. The "World's Greatest Ribs" were solid, but the highlight was a scoop (actually the size of football) of Graeter's Black Raspberry Chip ice cream. I ate at the Boathouse location, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone dining in the 'Nati.

A little site housekeeping to close...

First, you'll (probably not) notice a slight change to the bobbymap. First, Ohio has been changed from blue to red since I have now driven through it. Second, as I am spending the night in Ann Arbor, Michigan is now red as well. I haven't really done anything but check into the hotel, so Michigan will get some love tomorrow. One last thing is a new feature on the side bar, the Scoreboard. It will list four things from here on out - miles traveled, states visited, tanks of gas purchased and average miles per gallon. I haven't actually included totals yet (because I forgot to look at the odometer when I got out of the car), but I will update that in the morning.

So almost no whining and the Colonel...not too bad if you ask me. Kentucky was really boring though. And the traffic in Lexington sucked.

Ain't no smoggy smoke on Rocky Top

Day one is in the books, and I'm no worse for the wear so far. After a late-afternoon arrival in Knoxville I met up with my first special guest of the trip, my friend Jessica. Her photography class was shooting the Tennessee Smokies game, so naturally I tagged along. It had been a long time since I was the one wearing a media credential instead of issuing one.


As you can see, plenty of good seats were still available at cleverly-named Smokies Park, but it was a perfect night for baseball. The home team lost to Mobile 6-1, but we did get the highlight of Harry Caray sound bytes on the PA throughout (Tennessee is a Cubs affiliate), including the classic, "That would have been a home run in a phone booth!"

Today I'm off to Ann Arbor with a stop in lovely Cincinnati. So I bid farewell to Jessica and the awesome Gizmo the Jack Russell and head north on I-75.