I’ve always enjoyed driving to Boyd’s orchard (see the video above). It’s a wonderful drive through the rolling green fields of the Jessamine countryside into Versailles. The orchard itself is immensely fun. There is a gift shop, café, and playground. They even have a hay ride.

The Food!

In their café they have the standard food you would find in most American restaurants:
• Hamburgers
• Hot dogs
• Onion rings
• Chicken strips

The Apples

What makes Boyd’s orchard stand apart are the apples. They had every conceivable treat made from the juicy delicious fruit:
• Apple cider
• Apple slushy
• Fried apple pie
• And the list goes on…

Needless to say I ate more sugary treats than I should have. But it was well worth it!

The playground

There is a playground for the little kids with a small slide made of hay. For the bigger kids they have a larger slide that is several stories high, also made of hay. Sorry parents, the slide is only for the kids. Also throughout the day there is a hay ride around the orchard.

If you enjoy apples, I would recommend a trip to Boyd’s orchard in Versailles, Kentucky. Enjoy the drive and bring an appetite.

Everyone has heard of Fort Knox. That’s where they keep the gold! Near Fort Knox is the Patton Museum, that’s where they keep the tanks!

We stayed in Elizabethtown, KY (E-Town for short) at a nice Hampton Inn. I love Hampton Inns. Comfortable rooms, free Wi-Fi, free breakfast and the indoor pool!

About an hour drive from where we stayed was the Patton Museum. It was a pleasant drive through part of E-Town and Radcliff. There were plenty of shopping centers and restaurants. The closer we got to Fort Knox the sparser the buildings became.

Under an overpass and there it was, Fort Knox. It’s a formidable building. No trees, bushes or shrubs around it. It doesn’t appear to be as big as I was expecting, but it was as daunting as I had expected. I don’t know if there is gold there or not, but I don’t expect that anyone would break in to find out. I would’ve liked to have taken a picture of the building and it was suggested that I just pull over to do it. To be honest, I was just a little concerned that I would be shot first and then asked what I was doing.

Once pass the Fort was the Patton Museum. Tanks are lined up along the front like large destructive lawn ornaments. It was exciting. The parking lot and the museum are separated by a fence with a strange turnstile like gate. My first thought on the gate was “concentration camp”. It was that eerie. On the inside was a sign that had the number for the military police if you were foolish enough to stay after hours. They will help you once they are done with any other duties. I think I would have stayed the night than to call them.

Along the walk to the museum’s building is the memorial garden with commemorative plaques for soldiers fallen in battle. It’s beautiful and very similar to the one in the Wright Patterson Air Force Museum in Dayton (but not as large). The building itself does not appear to be big enough to house tanks, but surprisingly there were a large number of the metal beasts inside.

Inside the building our first stop was the Patton room. This held a number of artifacts about General George Patton. His famous gun and holster. Another display showed his ever present helmet that he seemed to always wear or at least in all the photos I had seen of him. And of course, the infamous car that he was in when the accident that eventually took his life.

After the Patton room was the tank exhibits. Wow! And to be honest, WOW, doesn’t cover it. They are huge! The first room was devoted to more modern American tanks. The second exhibit was WWII tanks both American and German.

Besides tanks, they also had the first Harley Davidson, various other military vehicles and a horse. Yes, a horse in a tank musuem. The museum was formally known as the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor.

I was most impressed with the diorama of the WWII soldiers in the trench up against a very menacing tank. It was huge. I wasn’t able to capture the enourmasity of the thing on film. It was like a moving house. Allot of the pictures I took just didn’t convey the largeness of these moving monsters.

I was informed by a museum employee that the exhibits get rotated out every few weeks. I think just seeing how they move around the large monstrosities would be a sight to see. It may be worth another trip just to see what changes.

Of course, like all places, they had a gift shop. It was small, but contained some interesting items. You would think they would have difficulty finding items to sell at a museum with such a tight niche, but they pulled it off. Pins, key chains, books, posters and lots of models of, you guessed it, TANKS!

Outside the museum were even more tanks. Patrons are allowed to walk up and get a close view of them. They were all impressive. Each held a little bit of history inside their metallic bodies. I must have really looked like a tourist walking around awestruck with two cameras. I had my trusty DSLR Canon Rebel XTi and my surprisingly versatile Olympus. My Canon was for detailed pictures and my Olympus does panoramic photos. I guess I must have looked like I knew what I was doing because a nice young couple asked me to take a picture of them in front of one of the tanks (I love doing that).

If you like history and/or tanks, take a little drive to the Patton museum. It’s worth it! A little tip for anyone who may visit, bring lots of film and sun screen. I must be the only person who can go to a museum and get sunburned. I didn’t realize that some of the exhibits would be outdoors.

That’s all for this trip and Tanks for reading! Please feel free to leave a comment, suggestion, rant or anything you just feel like typing.

Took another drive from Lexington to Versailles. Thankfully this time it wasn’t raining, so the drive was more pleasant. I used the Aiptek HD camcorder to film this trip. I’m still working out the mechanics of filming from a moving vehicle and I still need to make some adjustments. Enjoy and as always feel free to leave a comment!

At the ferry, there is a park where travelers can park their cars and stretch their legs. Benches face the river, so that anyone can take a moment to watch the ferry make its slow endless journey back and forth across the river.

Over the river were more twisty country roads. It was refreshing to be away from the city and traffic. The air was cleaner and the temperature seemed almost cooler driving under the trees.

It was worth the extra time and gas to take a longer way into Richmond. The interstate is faster, but the old roads are much more fun.

This is an ongoing list of Festivals in Kentucky. If you know of one that is not on the list, please post a comment below or email me at whereitravel.com@gmail.com.

Bowling Green

July 4

A Star-Spangled Spectacular! – 8 pm
http://www.orchestrakentucky.com/

Lexington

July 1

Great American Pie Contest & Ice Cream Social @ Cheapside Park starting at Noon.

http://www.downtownlex.com/

July 4

Fourth of July Festival Activities – Vine Street – 9 am to 6 pm.

http://www.downtownlex.com/

Contra Dance – ArtsPlace – 8-11pm

http://ravitz.us/ltda/

Red, White and Boom – Music and Fireworks

http://www.redwhiteandboom.com/main.html

Old Fashion Ice Cream Social – Waveland Museum – 3-7pm

Louisville

July 4-5

Crescent Hill Old-fashioned 4th of July and Arts and Music Festival
http://www.crescenthillartfair.com/

Taylorsville

July 4

Light Up Salt River – Opens at 2:00 pm
(502) 477-3235, Ext. 111

Owensboro

July 4
Celebration of the American Spirit – Opens at 5pm
http://www.owensboroparks.org/

Versailles

July 4 & 5 – Independence Train Rides – 2pm

http://www.bgrm.org/

See the world’s best brass bands, FREE!

Great American Brass Band Festival

I packed the family into our van and headed out for a drive through the beautiful Kentucky countryside. We headed to Versailles and then on to do some window shopping in the colorful historic downtown Midway.

We decided to take a longer route through Keene in Jessamine County. We lazily drove through rolling green farm land. We got to pass by the Boyd Orchard (must go back for this – they weren’t open at the time), log cabins, horses, cows and some very well kept homes (and a few that weren’t).

Once we got to Versailles, we spotted the Train Museum (we looked for this once before, but wasn’t able to find it). It was great! My youngest son (8) was thrilled! They have a working train (and you can ride on it), a small one room museum (with working telegraph) and a small gift shop. It doesn’t sound like much, but it was a pleasant and fun surprise. We plan on going back for the train ride!

After our train adventure, we were off to Midway. It was Sunday so most of the shops where not open. If you have never been to Midway (don’t be upset if you missed it, it is a small town), they have a historic downtown that is bisected by train tracks (it’s still in use).

I really enjoyed myself walking around and checking out the shops. Most weren’t open, but the few that were, were interesting. I most enjoyed the custom jewelry shop and the Irish shop. Both had very unique items and would make great gifts.

Overall I would say that was a fun and adventurous trip. I’m planning on going back!

View Civil War Sites in Kentucky in a larger map

Park includes:

• Museum
• Gift Shop
• Self guided walking tours
• Walking Trails
• Picnic

Official Website

Wikipedia

View Civil War Sites in Kentucky in a larger map