Jacob Spears House, Paris, Kentucky

One of the main attractions of the Blue Grass region is the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, a driving tour that visits seven of the more famous Bourbon distilleries in the area. Ironically, the Trail bypasses the place where it all began. Located in the countryside just north of Paris in Bourbon County - of course - on quiet Clay Kiser Road (38.267753, -84.307994), is the Jacob Spears house and distillery (also known as Stone Castle).  Jacob, who was born in Rockingham County, Virginia, in 1754, first began distilling whiskey in Kentucky in 1790 and is widely considered the first to coin the term "bourbon whiskey".

Jacob Spears house, Bourbon County

Spears was a Revolutionary War veteran, serving in Captain Hoagland's company of Colonel William Crawford's regiment during the Sandusky expedition of 1782. He later joined Joseph Bowman's company as a sergeant and trekked with that outfit to present-day Harrodsburg, in Mercer County, where he purchased a tract of Bourbon County land from John Haggin.

The stone Federal style house (which features Gothic Revival additions) was built on Spears' property in c. 1790 by Thomas Metcalfe, a fellow Bourbon County resident who would become Kentucky's 10th governor. Together with his wife Elizabeth née Kellar, Spears raised six children (4 daughters and 2 sons) on his farm while continuing to produce bourbon for markets as far away as New Orleans.

After Jacob died in September of 1825, the distilling operation was continued by his son Soloman before being sold to Abram Fry. William H. Thomas purchased the farm and distillery in 1849 and continued its operation until 1882. In 1881, what was then known as the W.H. Thomas Distillery produced 900 barrels of Kentucky bourbon.

Just across Clay Kiser Road from the house sits the remaining stone bourbon warehouse that was built around the same time as the house. Up to 2500 barrels of whiskey could be stored in this remarkably preserved outbuilding.

Spears distillery warehouse

Today, the property is privately owned by a lawyer and his wife, who is currently serving in the Kentucky House of Representatives. There is no public access, other than to take photos from the road. At the corner of Clay Kiser Road and Cynthiana Road (US 27) sits Kentucky historical marker 2295. It's situated in a rather inconvenient location, so I didn't bother obstructing traffic to get a photo. The text, however, follows:

"Named after Bourbon Co. because of quantity and quality of whiskey produced within its borders. Made from a fermented mash of at least 51% corn, with less wheat, rye, or barley, yeast and limestone water. Distilled at no more than 160 proof and aged in charred oak barrels. In 1964, Congress recognized bourbon as a distinctly American product.

(Reverse) Stone Castle, 1 mile south, built 1790 by Thomas Metcalfe for Jacob Spears. A Pennsylvanian who settled in Paris, he was innovative farmer & one of first distillers of bourbon whiskey. Still standing on this farm are a springhouse and a storehouse for his bourbon whiskey. It is the most complete distiller’s complex still in existence today."

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Scott County AirFest 2013

It's been years since we've been to a bona fide air show. It's been so long, in fact, that I can't rightly recall the when and where of the last one we went to. Thinking back on it earlier this summer, I was surprised to discover that we might not have been to an air show since were still stationed at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, in 1997. Time certainly flies, and it's a shame that we didn't take advantage of attending more shows over the years while the kids were still young.

The Opening Ceremony of AirFest 2013

Resolved to make amends, I began to scour the Internet for upcoming air shows in our vicinity. I learned that, besides the massive and incredibly difficult to attend Thunder Over Louisville extravaganza held each year, Kentucky is somewhat barren of air show opportunities. As luck would have it, though, one of the few Kentucky air shows is held every other year just down the road from The Homestead.

Officially called the Georgetown-Scott County Air Festival, the Scott County AirFest is a relatively new event that organizers hope to hold every other year in September.  Taking place at the Georgetown/Scott County Regional Airport, the show originated as a means of drawing attention to the airport as an alternative to the Blue Grass airport in Lexington for private and commercial light aviation usage.

Small crowd

The last air show featured a number of warbirds, including a B-17, as well as Kentucky Air National Guard aircraft. This year, thanks to The Sequester, no active military aircraft would be participating. Vintage aircraft would be limited as well, with a B-25 from the Yankee Air Force in Michigan (Go Blue!) serving as the centerpiece. For the air show starved public, like me, it seemed good enough.

Since The Youngest was down with a migraine, Wonderful Wife and I headed for the show on our own. The weather was absolutely beautiful - a cloudless, deep blue sky and temps in the low 70's. After a short hayride from the parking area to the flightline entrance (not something you expect at an air show), we handed over our $5-a-piece admission fee and stepped onto a tarmac that was packed with aircraft nearly empty. A few private aircraft were available for viewing near the entrance (think Cessnas and Beechcraft) and the B-25 could be seen at the far northern edge of the pavement, but in between - nothing. Well, almost nothing. A Stearman biplane was taxiing out to give a lucky enthusiast the open-cockpit ride of their life, but really that was the extent of the displays.

The Stearman taking a passenger for a ride

We watched the three parachutists descend with their American flags, then headed past the antique tractor display and community services booths to the B-25. Built in 1943, B-25D s/n 43-3634 was assigned to the 489th Bombardment Squadron where, as the "Ellen E. & Son", she flew seven combat missions over Corsica, Sicily, and the Brenner Pass. After the war, the aircraft was handed over to the Royal Canadian Air Force where it remained until purchased by a private party out of Detroit. Eventually making her way to the Yankee Air Force, she was renamed "Yankee Warrior" and restored to military configuration in 2001.

B-25D "Yankee Warrior"

The crowd was sparse, but the majority of those that were in attendance had gathered around what was obviously the main attraction. I managed to snap a few exterior photos, but the interior was pretty well buttoned up since she would be conducting flights for the very lucky few who could plop down $400 for a ride. I, alas, was not among the few.

While most of the adults were fawning over the B-25, many of the children in attendance were mesmerized by the remarkably "life-like" R2D2 replica. Even R2's squeaks and clicks weren't enough to make up for the disappointment of not seeing more aircraft on display.

Good ol' R2D2

After having spent just over an hour on the premises, Wonderful Wife and I left for our "Plan B" activities (more on that later). Although I'll keep an eye on the plans for the next edition of AirFest, it's unlikely that I'll take time out to attend. It was a dud of an air show, but if there is a bright side to the time we spent there it's that my air show appetite has not been sated.

Indiana Caverns

To celebrate the last "official" three-day weekend of the summer, I gathered the family into the Corolla and we headed west to explore Indiana Caverns. Only open to the public since June, this attraction has been generating some buzz due primarily to their somewhat unique offering of an underground boat ride - the deciding factor for me when choosing our destination. We'd been looking forward to this trip for a couple of weeks because, other than briefly exploring an unmapped cave on our neighbor's farm, we hadn't been underground since last visiting Mammoth Cave back in 2009. Ultimately, the experience lived up to expectations!

Indiana Caverns was established as a commercial venture by Gary Roberson and the Indiana Speleological Survey in order to provide a public entrance to the Binkley Cave system, the largest cave system in Indiana. Prior to this venture all of the known access points were located on private property, keeping the wonders of the caverns restricted only to those properly trained and equipped to experience them.

Located just a short drive south of Corydon, Indiana Caverns' newly constructed above-ground facilities can be a bit easy to miss unless you're sure to grab directions before embarking on your trip. Hopefully more prominent signage is in the plans for future visitors. The unassuming structure that houses the gift shop and serves as the origination point of the cave tours also contains a vending machine (great for post-tour refreshments) and well-cared for restrooms.

Tours, which depart approximately every 30 minutes, begin with a short film production that explains the history of Indiana Caverns as well as providing a brief summary of caves in general. Be prepared to encounter a subtle creationist bias to the science that's presented, if that sort of thing bothers you. Although the production doesn't come close to being a Michael Bay extravaganza, it serves as a decent introduction to the cave system and well worth sitting through its short running time.

Entrance to the cave is achieved through an airlock of sorts - one of the many measures implemented by Indiana Caverns to preserve and protect the cave system. In my mind it goes without saying, but after reading some of the reviews on TripAdvisor I learned that many cave visitors didn't expect to have to navigate steps of any sort while touring the caverns. Well, Indiana Caverns has 'em, and many of them involve spiral staircases with see-through metal grates. Be prepared to descend (and ascend) a fair number of steps.

The walking portion of the tour is conducted not on the natural cave floor surface, but on elevated "cat walks". Not only does this help preserve the cave, but it also provides a walking surface that is - fairly - consistently level. The walkway also has handrails to either side, allowing for maximum stability and "user-friendliness". You lose a little of the natural beauty aspect, with these man-made surfaces constantly in view, but it's far less of a distraction than you'd think. Instead, expect your attention to be held by the many calcium formations (stalagmites, stalactites, etc.), the evidence of prehistoric animal habitation (including the nearly complete remains of an Ice Age peccary), and the highlight of the tour - a boat ride on an underground stream.

Visitors are loaded, two-by-two, into a specially designed flat-bottomed boat to be taken to the furthest reaches of the "developed" portion of the cave. While the ride is relatively short, it's an uncommon feature found in only a handful of commercial caverns around the country. This was a first for both Wonderful Wife and The Youngest, and I can assure you that they (and I) thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Compared to other cave destinations, Indian Caverns ranks somewhere in the middle. The formations are interesting but not awe-inspiring and the tour length is relatively short, but this attraction deserves a place on your itinerary.