Getting There is Half the Fun: Thoughts on Getting Lost

While on our recent week-long vacation to Tennessee, I got lost three times. Each time was a completely different experience, and each one added something new to my vacation.


First, on our way down to Tennessee, we got off the highway in Kentucky to go looking for the Maker's Mark distillery near Bardstown. There was a large sign on the freeway advertising the location at the exit, but when we got off the freeway, the signage became less dependable and we discovered that the distillery was some 34 odd miles away from the exit. However, we were overcome with the spirit of adventure, so we continued on our side trip.

I loved the little town of Bardstown. I would love to return to it and spend a weekend in a bed and breakfast. And, since we never managed to find the Maker's Mark distillery, that is a real possibility.

That's right. We never found it. As we drove deeper and deeper into the Kentucky countryside, we lost the connection on our wireless internet and GPS. So, I drove around the countryside for about an hour, maybe an hour and a half, with absolutely no real clear idea of where we were heading. But, during that time, I spotted 7 Kentucky Quilt Barns. I've always loved the idea of Quilt Barns, and I've had the idea of driving around Southern Ohio during the fall leaf color change time on a Quilt Barn trail and taking pictures of all of the fall foliage and the barns.

Add that to the to-do list, along with the return trip to Bardstown and the Maker's Mark distillery. Also near Bardstown is the original Jim Beam distillery. We drove right past that one, but we didn't stop because we were looking for Maker's Mark.

But, on the plus side, we ended up in Elizabethtown, Kentucky where we got back onto the freeway. So, now I have been there, too.


Second, I got a little bit lost on the way to the Nashville Zoo. This was due to the fact that I didn't have the GPS with me, because it was supposed to be a simple trip. However, I found that this simple trip took me through a foreign country. Between downtown Nashville and the Nashville zoo is a little slice of Mexico. Everything is in Spanish...it was a little bit surreal. All the shops and gas stations and restaurants were foreign, the street signs and billboards were in Spanish, and there was very little that seemed recognizable to me. I have heard that 1 in 6 people in the United States are Hispanic, and that this is the population group that is growing most rapidly in our country, but this experience made the idea very real for me.

Most notable were the billboards that were all over Nashville that were in Spanish, instructing people only to dial 9-1-1 in an emergency, because dialing 9-1-1 is not a joke.


Third, I got lost after a trip to Cheekwood...in Belle Meade, Tennessee. When we become rich, and I mean really rich, that's where I want to live. I want to buy a house in Belle Meade and send the boys to Vanderbilt, which is nearby. Belle Meade is the fifth richest neighborhood in the United States, as I discovered when looking it up later, and it was absolutely beautiful. I knew when I was driving around that I was in a very elite neighborhood. I drove past the biggest, most beautiful homes I have ever seen, all surrounded by substantial property. The landscaping, street signs and streets themselves also reflected the prosperity of the neighborhood. It's where Al Gore resides, for instance, as well as many big country music stars. In fact, I drove past Kelly Clarkson's house three times without even knowing it. (Note to self: improve celebrity stalking skills before next trip.) One of the things that was most striking about the neighborhood was it's sheer size. There was a large volume of these homes, and the surrounding neighborhoods were also very nice.