Caves, Lakes, & Corvettes

This is the region I know better than any other in Kentucky.  And, there is a good reason for it:  it is the region of my two hometowns, Bowling Green and Smiths Grove.  I was born in Bowling Green, on Hospital Hill.  After a brief two year stint in Tennesssee, we moved back to Kentucky and settled in Smiths Grove.  Driving home always fills me with nostalgia.  I am constantly reminiscing about what I remember seeing there and what has changed here. I am filled with both sadness and pride.  Sadness for the changes and what I have missed.  And pride for the progress made in my hometown.

For those not from Kentucky, Bowling Green is most famously known as the Home of the Corvette. Bowling Green is also home to the Corvette Museum.  When you arrive at the exit where both the manufacturing plant and the museum are located, there is a corvette waiting to greet you (located in front of the plant).  As an elementary school aged child, we were all given tours of the plant.  I remember feeling awed by the size and machinery in the building.   I was lucky enough to be part of a choir that was invited to sing Christmas Carols just after the museum opened.  Part of the package was free admission to the museum.  While I may not be a passionate car girl, I can appreciate the sleek lines and the barely leashed power under the hood of a corvette.

Bowling Green is also home to Lost River Cave.  A couple of years ago, a close friend of mine got married at LRC.  There is an area cleared in the grove of trees where chairs are set up for the ceremony.  A ceremony here feels almost like a commune with nature.  The area is beautiful and a small breeze through the trees feels like God is reaching out to bestow blessings on the new couple.  The cave and river have quite the history:  first used as shelter for Native Americans, then used for water by those milling in the area, next a hideout for Jesse James, and lastly a nightclub through the 60's.  Now, a pavilion at the mouth of the cave serves as the perfect area for a reception.  The natural formations created the perfect environment where lights and shadows speak of days gone by and mysteries to be discovered.

A great deal of my time in Bowling Green was spent at Western Kentucky University.  All of the choir competitions held in our area were held at the top of the hill.  When you are walking up it, "hill" is quite a misnomer.  The only available parking always seemed to be at the bottom of the hill.  Walking up that "hill" in heels and a formal choir gown is an experience that I will never forget.  I will also never forget performing in the grand halls of the University.  I did choose another path for school since I lived in the town my entire life.  That, in itself, is its own tragedy.  I was so quick to dismiss WKU as a school option.  However, the tragedy is only in the discounting, not the choice that I did make.  Had I not, I would have missed out on a wonderful friendship and a wonderful marriage.  So, I have no regrets about the choice I made.

A trip to Bowling Green would not be complete without a trip to the Fountain Square.  My fondest memory is of a trip to the Square to attend an International Festival with my now-husband.  On that trip, we enjoyed food from around the world and came home with George.  George is a wooden giraffe with hand-stretched leather covering him.  As he was made of natural leather (not the processed, cleaned version), he was not pleasant smelling.  Over time, that went away, and we are now left with a more than decade old reminder who has graced a shelf in my living room for the last six years of that.

I have it on good authority that a trip around the square also requires a stop at Verdi.  The restaurant specializes in food with Bosnian, Greek, and German flair. They also are a green restaurant, specializing in organic ingredients.  I have never eaten there, but I am already making plans to stop in for a meal on our next trip home.

And if the meal tastes even a FRACTION of how good it looks...I am confident I won't be disappointed. 







There is so much to share and so much I love about my home region, that I have decided to split it into (at least) two parts.  I am also just not ready to leave...

Tomorrow, we venture to my other hometown, Smiths Grove, and to other stops in the CLC region.