So how often do you get to view the World's Largest Underpants without jostling with peak season crowds. We knew we had to take advantage of our re-entry into Kentucky in order to get the priority viewing tickets for this record setting garment (it was an exhibit in the Western Kentucky University Museum and, to be honest, we were the only ones there on the day we went- apparently it's not quite the draw for others as it is for us). It’s not the only unusual item here and the first floor even had a surprisingly large tribute to Duncan Hines, a Bowling Green native.

Back in the days when we did own a house, DH was never quite sure where the kitchen was so, given that cooking wasn’t her thing, it wasn’t surprising that she didn’t think that Duncan Hines was a real person but it did bring back memories of her last attempts at baking (with an Easy Bake Oven when she was 8 years old) with mini Duncan Hines Cake Mixes. In much the same way a claustrophobic person has only a limited tolerance for confined spaces, I had to get non-cooking DH out of the kitchen exhibit when the number of baking options started to get overwhelming.  

I took advantage of her somewhat muddled state to get her agreement on visiting the Corvette Museum just across town (although she won’t allow me to even think about owning a muscle car). The museum showcases the Chevrolet Corvette, an American sports car that has been in production since 1953. I can’t honestly say I’ve ever been much of a car guy but, if you were, I could see where you might lose your mind in a place like this. The cool factor for me was exploring the damage a sinkhole did to this museum in 2014- eight classic, expensive Corvettes were damaged. A 60-foot-long, 45-foot-wide, 30-foot-deep sinkhole has been repaired but most of the damaged cars were beyond repair and the museum found that having the damaged cars on display became a tour highlight. They’ve even gone as far as to sell jars of sinkhole dirt and rock in the museum for $10 (if DH wouldn’t let me buy the Kryptonite rock in Metropolis you can bet she wasn’t going to approve a $10 jar of dirt). Sink holes in this part of Kentucky are relatively common but it was kind of cool, if somewhat sad, to see the CCTV footage of a hole swallowing up these vintage autos. We’re also being a little more selective as to where we park Billy Thunder in Kentucky.

Mammoth Cave is arguably the number one tourist destination in Kentucky so we had to make the detour. It is the World’s Longest Cave- more than 367 miles of passages have been mapped. Mammoth Cave is three times longer than its nearest competitor but cave mappers believe the cave system will eventually prove to be 560 miles long! We entered the cave through a survivalist-type door in the middle of the forest (the only sign on the door was a no-guns-allowed sign- apparently they had past problems with gunshots in the cave- really??). Caves are always a fun thing to explore and we can now claim to have been in the longest system in the world… without any accidental shootings.

And just before getting to Louisville, we did a small section of the Bourbon Trail. I suppose it shouldn't surprise anyone that, in the land that gave birth to countless illegal stills during Prohibition, they've turned drinking and touring into a participation sport. DH has firmly taken over the driving so that I can fully explore this important piece of history.