Maker's Mark Distellery

Allan,
A couple days ago, will and I took a few shortcuts and happened to find a sign for the Maker's Mark Distillery, only 5 miles off our route! We had an excellent tour, getting to learn all about the fermentation process, seeing the bourbon made from moonshine, tasting the malt at different stages, and learning the long history of distilling (oldest in America -1855) Apparently, Kentucky Water is the best
Love, Paul

PS (from editor)- Paul's leader got attacked by a dog and is out of commission for a month or so (broken collarbone). It sounds like they're safely into the great plains (Missouri) now.

Makers Mark

Nick,
So we're not going through Lexington; Berea is 40 miles south of there, but we did stop at the Makers Mark distillery. Apparently the...malt and use it to power 50% of their distillery. Also, we tasted bourbon BBQ pork and bourbon cookies. Awesome!
-Paul

Marion, KY

Nina,
Just crossed into Illinois! Will and I crossed the Ohio River into Cave-in-the-Rock, apparently where pirates used hide and wait for boats to go by the main river, then attack trade vessels. I was just thinking about how awesome it must've been to be a pirate; or even just live in the time of pirates --> I wonder if people would wait for bikers to travel and steal their fancy bikes.

Love,
Paul

Caption for the photo reads: Old barn build by A.L Brantley and songs in 1935 in Repton community in Crittenden County, KY. Photo by: Sheila Truitt


Additional note:
I talked to Paul last night, and he seems to be doing really well! He has a new goal of trying to consume at least one chocolate milkshake every day. So far, he's succeeding. He asked me to post the log-on information for the blog so that if anyone else receives postcards or other correspondence from him, they can share it on here. For those of us who are lacking a scanner and would still like to post the pictures from the postcards, Paul suggested using a digital camera to take a picture of the postcard and then uploading it.
Username: bikerudwick
Password: rudwickbike

"Amish farms add an old-fashioned beauty to our community."

J and Shells,

So, apparently, the Amish live in KY - most in the group were baffled of my intimate knowledge of their ways. We stayed in a Baptist gym last night and I ate at the Marion Cafe, home to delicious homemade lemon meringue pie and the best something-something ["milkshakes" maybe? Sorry, USPS stamped over that word.] of the trip so far (yes, I ordered both).

Love,
Paul

*An aside from the addressees: To the actual photographer of our post card, Sheila Truitt, you're not supposed to take pictures of the Amish. They're against that, but it does make for a good quote (see title) and the look of rural coziness. Photo is from Marion, KY, as was the post card.

Berea, Kentucky

(Sorry for the anachronistic posting...was away all weekend and just received Paul's postcard!!)

Nina,
Today, or two days ago, the days seem to blur together, I met two musicians in the old town area of Berea, Kentucky. I didn't really talk about music much, but the two had graduated from Berea College and basically told me coffee shops were the coolest things on Sunday afternoons! Josh was chillin at "The Black Feather" since he'd been kicked out of "Coffee & Tea." Sad day for Josh.

Love,
Paul

Some notes from Paul

Picture of the crew in Yeaman, KY. Front - Left to Right Bryn (NY), Amber (VA), Me, Bill (KS), Randy and Meg (ID), Ray (Can), James (VA), Michel (CAN), Back - Lee (UK), Joe (PA), Robert (FL), Olaf (GER), Jack (CO), Mort (NOR), Will (OR).

The people we stayed with were welcoming, homily and very hospitable. Gary and Beth recently moved from Trenton, NJ and Gary claims Beth has been getting lonesome in the countryside - she normally hosts over a hundred for Memorial Day weekend with a crab dinner! So, she's decide to get into the vicious sport of Blog-stalking and found a blog from our group - Meg and Randy's. It's about ten million times better than this one; so much so, I'm slightly embarrassed to give you the link . They both invited us out to their barn, where we were met with cold drinks (since they're from NJ, they were huge Yuengling fans), Burgers, a place to camp or stay indoors if we chose.

Beth was quite the hostess, showing off her beautiful home, filled almost exclusively with original art, a custom built fireplace, and had all the outgoing skills one would need to serve guests well. Gary wasn't quite the socialite, but really came alive when most of the group went to bed, telling me about his passion for reading vampire novels, and why they decided to move to a rural lifestyle.

Cheers from Marion, Kentucky (that's a joke, since it's a dry town)

Paul

Phone chat with Mom

5-25-10
I spoke to Paul today who was in Springfield, KY, yesterday had been in Berea, KY where the hotel plan conflicted with Berea College graduation. He enjoyed Berea. It was a long ride, sunny and hot, of 75 miles to Springfield Monday 5-24. They are headed west but a short day of only 40 miles so he was able to sleep in. He got to share the hotel room with the 'loudest snorer' in the group but had no problems sleeping - he can sleep through anything [good training as a college freshman in a triple @ Villanova].

He is really enjoying seeing the country. Dogs are still present but being dealt with. The weather has been mostly good.