Kentucky Pictures, Events, Restaurants
Is this a classic sign or what? There’s a similar sign when you enter Hartford, Kentucky from the other direction as well. I guess they really want you to look out for these soreheads!
Every time we pass through this quiet little Kentucky town, their sense of humor brings a great big smile to my face.
For what it’s worth, I’ve never encountered a single one of these soreheads. I think maybe they’re just being modest…
I recently had the great fortune to stay in one of the condos at Green Turtle Bay Resort in Grand Rivers, Ky.
3 friends and I went on a little mid-week golf vacation. We wanted to stay and play in one area, so we chose one of my favorite locations on the planet – the Kentucky Lake / Lake Barkley area.
The first place, really, the only place we even considered staying was Green Turtle Bay.
Think about it. 4 big guys, golf bag, golf clubs, suitcases. Ain’t no way we could cram into two, much less, one hotel room or suite.
But we could fir easily into a 2 bedroom house and that’s basically what the condo was … a big, nice, ultra clean, ultra nice, ultra well equipped house.
Anything less and we’d never left that vacation as friends. Heck, we’d probably not even been talking to one another.
The condo was:
Basically, it was a smile generator!
I got there first, checked us in and ran up to our condo to get some pics, because I knew that if I waited until my friends got there and dropped their bags in the middle of the floor, I’d never be able to show you how nice this thing was.
Remember, this is a condo. It’s not a hotel with folks running in and out of their rooms slamming their doors, leaving their TVs up loud when they leave, banging on the walls and all those other horrible things that happen to you in hotels.
None of that happened to us in out super clean, super nice, super well equipped condo. In fact, my three friends all thanked me multiple times for being the first one to find this little jewel of a place many, many moons ago.
When you first walk in, you’ll notice the bright, beautiful, tastefully done colors. Then you see an enormous flat screen TV and a great looking fireplace. Then you’ll see the comfortable furniture and see the carpet is so clean that you’ll wonder if you’re the first one’s to ever stay in this particular condo.
Then you’ll notice that not only is it clean, it’s immaculate! There’s not a speck of dust on the blinds. Heck, there’s not a hint of dust on the ceiling fan way up there in the vaulted ceiling! And the arched windows bring in beautiful light all day, but especially in the early mornings and early evenings.
Turning the corner you’ll come to the kitchen and see a stainless steel fridge and dishwasher. I mean, really, who has fixtures like this, appliances like this, in a rental?!
And look at how sparkling clean everything is. Shiny! Not even a water spot in the sink. Way cleaner than any hotel room I’ve ever stayed in. Clean smelling, fresh smelling.
It was almost too bad we had no plans to cook or eat in there. C’mon on … 4 guys on a golf vacation? Not a chance, baby! We’re eating every meal out. Breakfast and lunches were at Dockers Bayside Grille and dinners were at the Commonwealth Yacht Club. Both are right there on the property, so it was easy and dang fine food.
The omelets and biscuits and gravy for breakfast were beyond big and beyond good. The coffee was fresh and piping hot!
The Turtle Burgers we had for lunch we fine eatin’ and the fries and onion rings were classics.
At night, we’d head over to the Commonwealth Yacht Club for some great steaks, grilled Mahi tuna and pastas. All of them were 5 stars and the service was just as spectacular.
Then it was back to the condo and hit the back deck, put our feet up on the railings and tell lies about our golf games as the water lulled us into the nicest state of relaxation you can find in the Land Between the Lakes area.
Just so you can see how amazingly clean and shiny everything was, I’ve included some pics of the bathrooms that were fresh smelling and had plenty of towels. Could not ask for more.
And look at the bedrooms, especially the Master bedroom upstairs. I mean, really, who has a staircase like this in a rental?! And look at the Master bedroom and the enormous bed in there, with a good size flatscreen TV on the wall. And the view from up there just makes you feel like a King.
Do yourself, your family and your friends a favor and don’t cram them into a hotel room this year. Head over to Green Turtle Bay Resort in Grand Rivers, get yourself and condo and create memories that will last long after you’ve gone back home.
Really. Do you wanna argue over the one TV in a hotel room? Do you wanna fight over not having enough towels? Do you wanna listen to the neighbor watch his TV all night? Do you wanna get woke up at 6 am as someone slams their door 4 or 5 times as they try to get packed up and leave?
No?! Me neither. That’s why we go to Green Turtle Bay.
The Condo Review above was written by my husband, Michael. He also took the beautiful pictures. – Joi
The Hushpuppies tasted even worse than they looked!
When writing on Genuine Kentucky (or any of my other websites for that matter), I prefer to concentrate on the positive. By nature, I am the Mary Poppins type. You know, the one who almost always SEES the positive and OVERLOOKS the negative. I’m also not a complainer. If you hear me complain or imply that something is bad – or worse, hideous – you can write it down: The thing in question was beyond horrible. It probably borders on dreadful if I say something unkind.
For years, I approached my Kentucky Restaurant Reviews this way: If we enjoyed a restaurant experience and like their food, I’d write about it. If we didn’t, I’d delete the pictures from my camera and the memory from my mind. In essence, I pretended it never happened.
I’ve done this with quite a few restaurants, actually.
However, a recent experience made me question this approach. If we had found recent, completely trustworthy reviews for a restaurant we ate at a few days ago, it’d have saved us money, time, effort, an unpleasant experience, and… if I’m being perfectly honest… a stomach doing flip flops. It made me think, whenever I have a hideous experience, I should let my readers know. Sort of warn them, you know? I think it’s also good to warn the owners of restaurants as well – let them know what’s going on behind closed kitchen doors.
Here come the warnings for all.
My husband and I ate at a restaurant in beautiful downtown Lexington called Ramsey’s. My husband had eaten there about 10 years ago and remembered it being extraordinary.
What a difference 10 years makes.
First of all, the positive. The restaurant looks cool. It’s in a really old building and retains the charm of an era you can’t help but love. The decor was cool and I loved the UK t-shirts on the servers! The fact that there was a UK game that night made me even more excited about eating downtown. The energy is always electric.
Speaking of servers, our server was a sweetheart. She was a lovely little blonde with big blue eyes. She had an upbeat, sweet, warm, and infectious personality. I thought to myself, “If the food’s just half as great as she is, this will be an experience to remember!”
Another positive: The butter served with the basket of crackers (yes, crackers) was good. Very good butter. Oh, and the plates. The plates the food was served on were pretty. They deserved a better fate.
Let’s see… the tea was very good too.
Now for the negatives.
First of all, as all good Mary Poppins would do, allow me to say that we were there on the day after Thanksgiving. It’s entirely possible that the regular chef was given the weekend off. That, of course, would be an insane approach, because on a weekend such as this you’d have people in your restaurant who had never eaten there before. This would be your one shot at impressing them.
Heck, one of them might even write Kentucky Restaurant reviews. Boom.
If the regular chef WAS off, it was a crazy mistake. However, it’d at least explain the food. Per chance, if he/she is ever allowed off again (frankly, I wouldn’t chance it), it’d be best not to pull in someone off the street to replace them next time.
Just put up the CLOSED sign.
The crackers and butter. Okay, packages of crackers served with a little side of butter is cute. However, for the prices charged, a little more than cute could be expected.
The fried catfish. In a baffling turn of events, my piece of fried catfish had absolutely no flavor. In fact, flavor wise, it was in the negative column. It took any flavor that was in my mouth and cancelled it out. If you read this catfish addict’s reviews, you know I never put anything on catfish (salt, pepper, tartar sauce, lemon…) because I just want it to be me and my catfish. At Ramsey’s, I tried all 4. When my husband saw me salt it (my first weapon of choice), he said “Uh Oh.” Then when he saw me go for the tartar sauce, he knew. No. Taste. At. All.
I will allow that, compared to a few of the other items on our plates, the catfish had the right idea. No taste is better than bad taste.
The hush puppies. Folks, we have a winner. These were the worst hush puppies I’ve ever had. Burned on the outside, yet doughy and undercooked on the inside. Someone hadn’t a clue what they were doing. When I took a bite (like a dummy), it was the first time EVER I looked around for a napkin to spit my food into. I only had the one in my lap, so I had to follow through and swallow the horrible bite – a decision I was certain would land me in the ER. Or grave.
The apple fritters. Overcooked. Bad. Very little flavor, and what was there was disappointing.
Fried Okra. They tasted more like bacon than okra – overcooked bacon. Like someone took okra (which had been on the vine too long), coated it and threw it in a pan of bacon grease. Bam! Done! Plate it!
Fried Green tomatoes. Less offensive than the rest. They weren’t really bad, but they did have a hint of the overcooked bacon flavor the okra had. They pulled it off better than the okra did, I’ll give them that.
Pork with Red Sauce. When Michael saw me struggling to find something to give flavor to my catfish, he said, “You think that’s bad, try this.” He gave me a bite of the pork and, he was right, it was hideous. The sauce was bad and the pork was probably the worst pork I’ve ever had.
Cornbread stick. Dry, bad, dry, bad, dry, bad… The cornbread stick tasted like it was about 3 months old.
Macaroni and Cheese. Michael told me to take a bite and asked, “Is that the worst mac and cheese you ever had or what?” It was one of the two worst macaroni and cheeses I’ve ever had. It just tasted bad… pretty much like everything else. How do you muck up macaroni and cheese, guys? Seriously, there aren’t enough ingredients to get very far off course. And yet….
Pinto beans. Bad. Not much flavor.
Carrots. Ugly and hideous. Why put mustard on carrots? A desperate attempt to give them some sort of a flavor other than carrot? If you’re desperate to switch up something’s flavor, I saw a table full of other candidates. They’d have been better off putting raw carrots on the plate.
Let’s put it this way, at the end of the meal, I realized that the crackers and butter were the highlights.
Experiences like this make me sad. Not because we wasted money and time at a restaurant when we could have gone to another one instead. It’s not that. I have enough sense to know that when you eat out, it’s a 50-50 shot. You’re just as likely to have an experience like this as you are to have a great one.
Here’s what makes me sad. I have an overflowing amount of pride in Kentucky. When people visit us from neighboring states or from states far away, I want them to have the best food, the best service, and the best experiences they ever had. I want them to go back home with compliments pouring out of their mouths about our beautiful state.
If anyone had eaten at this particular restaurant on this particular day, Kentuckians would’ve been the butt of endless jokes when they went back home. They’d say things like, “Kentuckians don’t know how to cook!” or “Mustard on Carrots and Crackers with Butter… Kentucky logic!”
But I don’t just hate it for out of state diners, I hate it for those around the state who come to Lexington for Cats games. When people from Madisonville, Kentucky travel all the way to Lexington, I want them to be able to have a great time and great food. There was a Cats game on the day we were there. Heaven help the fans who chose to eat at this particular restaurant.
The thought of a restaurant taking someone’s hard-earned money and not giving them a dinner that’s worthy is depressing.
As I’ve said before, you should give your guests your A game each and every night. You never know how far someone has traveled to eat at your restaurant. You never know how many people they’ll share their experience with. If it is a case of a stand-in cook (which I’m only guessing.. in an attempt to explain food that seemed unfathomable), why chance it? If your back up is this bad… again, just put up the Closed sign.
(Final thoughts below the picture…)
There are other Ramsey’s locations in Lexington. In fairness to them, I thought I’d remind you that it was the Ramsey’s Diner downtown Lexington that was a nightmare for us.
I apologize for having to write such a negative review. However, it was such a distasteful (literally) experience for us, I simply wanted to spare anyone else the same fate. Look at the ugly carrots above. That, dear readers, summed up the entire experience. When our daughters were little, if they thought something was ugly or disagreeable, they’d yell, “GROSS!!!”
When we left the restaurant, I heard their voices…. in unison… in my mind.
And stomach.
Owensboro Ghost Tour: The Miller House
Are ghosts real? Do you believe in ghosts? Cool questions, right? And with today being Halloween, I can’t think of a better time to ask these questions. It’s also the perfect time for a Ghost Tour!
My family and I had a great time last night at The Miller House. They ran a special where you enjoyed a meal – vegetable soup, potato chips, and a burger – while listening to wonderful ghost stories and got to meet “Mr. and Mrs. Miller” (as they were portrayed by a couple of wonderfully entertaining hams).
Mind you, the food wasn’t up to the Miller House’s usual standards. Their regular food is to absolutely die for (poor choice of words while talking about ghosts). If anyone ate the burgers and soup last night who has not eaten at the Miller House before… take it from me, this was not their typical burger or cuisine. This is actually one of the best (and most beautiful) restaurants in the entire area.
It doesn’t really matter, though, the burgers weren’t the main attraction. The atmosphere, ambiance, and stories were. The ghost stories were told by Owensboro’s ghost expert, David Wolfe. He does a wonderful job with these tours and ghost stories.
I hope you’ll visit his website, Haunts of Owensboro, and go on his tours asap. I did not realize it at the time – I really wish I had – but you can actually tip David Wolfe at the end of the tour. Had I known, I’d have certainly done so. Not only did he help make our Halloween more special, he is doing a great service for our town and community. Anything that draws people to Owensboro benefits us all. He obviously puts a great deal of time and research into his tours and it shows. When you go, be sure to tip!
I’m more of a history buff than a ghost buff, and the tour absolutely fascinated me. To learn about men and women who lived in Owensboro, Kentucky years and years ago is nothing short of fascinating. To walk in the steps they walked in and see the big beautiful houses in which they lived (and live?) made this history buff’s arm hairs stand at attention.
Did you know that the last public execution actually happened in Owensboro, Kentucky? A new hotel (on the riverfront) is being built on the site of this execution. The man executed was Rainey Bethea – for the murder of a 70 year old woman. On the tour, we were shown where her house once stood – a parking lot is there now. A gentleman in the group raised his hand and said he remembered when the execution happened. He said he wanted to go watch, but his mom wouldn’t let him.
Good call, mom.
David Wolfe has done so much research for his ghost tours and knows so much about Owensboro’s rich history. It’d be amazing if he did History Tours as well as Ghost Tours. A local museum should line him up for Historical Tours throughout the year. No ghosts… just history. Believe me, it’s fascinating.
Warning: If you’re easily scared or “creeped out,” you probably should stop reading now and go have a cup of tea. Just be sure to add a little honey… maybe a squeeze of lemon…
In this post you’ll find a couple of pictures I took from the evening. The picture at the top of the post was taken in front of The Miller House at the end of the tour. Mr. Wolfe told us about a few mysterious (and a few not so mysterious) deaths that occurred in this very home. Apparently a gardener was murdered on the grounds one evening – and no one has any idea why. To this day no one knows why anyone would want this man dead. Mrs. Miller is believed to have died in her beloved house.
What’s more, over the years, there were a few more deaths within the home.
It was all very interesting, whether you believe in ghosts or not.
As I said, the picture at the top was taken at the end of the tour. It was the last picture I took. The one below was taken only a second or two before the one at the top. You can see “Mr. Miller” in the doorway and can tell he had only barely moved.
I say all of this simply to bring your attention to something in the bottom part of the picture – toward the right. I can’t claim to know what the blur is. There was nothing on my camera lens or it would have shown up in the other pictures. I have not altered the picture or done any effects to it whatsoever.
There wasn’t anything there. There wasn’t any smoke…. nothing. And yet…. something.
Sometimes all that’s left to be said is, Happy Halloween!
You’ll notice in quite a few of the pictures something ghost chasers call “orbs” – little inexplicable circles of light (energy… whatever you want to call them). They claim that these orbs are evidence of spirits or ghosts. Again, whether you’re a skeptic or believe in ghosts, you have to admit, the orbs were all over the place in a few of these pictures.
You’ll notice a big beautiful yellow home in the second and third pictures. The present owner defined what Kentucky hospitality is all about. He brought out a big bowl of candy and let us all get our chocolate fix. Instant hero.
More Pictures from the Tour (You don’t know how badly I wish I’d taken more):
Again, go to Haunts of Owensboro and find out when the next tour is… then grab your camera and go, baby, go!
Today is my birthday. I love birthdays, whether they’re mine or someone else’s. What better holiday than one that celebrates life?!?!
My own birthdays kind of make me retrospective, reflective, and any other $10 word you can think of that starts with re- and ends with “looking back over my life.”
With absolutely zero disrespect to anyone who was born in, or grew up in, a state other than Kentucky, I just wanted to write a few words about how happy, and blessed, I feel that I was born in Kentucky, raised in Kentucky, and live in Kentucky.
Those of you who were also raised here will understand 100 percent where I’m coming from. Funny thing is, I have a feeling that those of you who have adopted Kentucky as your home will also understand FULLY where I’m coming from.
After all, home’s home – whether it’s always been home or has only recently become home.
I honestly don’t believe anyone in the world loves their home state any more than I do mine.
Some probably love it as much, but more than? Not likely.
You’re sitting in front of one example of this love… Genuine Kentucky! Some people put up websites to actors or actresses that they love – with oodles of pictures they fawn over. Genuine Kentucky is my Angelina Jolie or my Denzel Washington!
We lived on Pensacola Beach for a while nearly 10 years ago. Literally on the beach… as in, step out the back door, step into sand. Take 10 giant steps and you’re in the ocean!
This animal lover was in paradise with daily sightings of dolphins, stingrays, jellyfish, pelicans, sea gulls, etc. We had two ducks (a male and a female) who came to our back deck twice daily for visits and food. When they showed up, sea gulls covered the place because they knew things were about to get real.
A few of my daughters and I have killer allergies. We have to take allergy medicine just about every day during certain seasons. We never bought a single box of medicine while living in Florida. No trees, no grass equaled no sneezing, no itchy throats, and no itchy eyes.
We ate seafood as often as Wimpy eats hamburgers and as often as Popeye eats spinach. Days began with walks on the beach, days ended with walks on the beach.
Sound like paradise? Would it surprise you to know that paradise is what we returned to?
When we came back to Kentucky, we came back home.
One day, after we came back, my daughters and I were driving through Madisonville’s City Park. Twice we drove past people who were walking the trail – even though we didn’t know them, they smiled and waved. My girls pointed out squirrels running from tree to tree gathering acorns – something we hadn’t seen in a while.
The birds were so beautiful and colorful – they looked like someone had colored them with crayons and the trees and grass were so GREEN, I couldn’t help staring.
When we got out, to walk the trail, a wonderful Kentucky breeze accompanied us. I said, “This fits, doesn’t it?“
My Kentuckian little girls knew exactly what I meant and completely agreed.
There are a lot of things we sometimes take for granted in our beautiful state. Sometimes we don’t realize it until we step away for a while.
There are countless things I love about Kentucky and countless reasons I’m thrilled that a certain number of years ago, I was born in this beautiful, friendly, and Crayola Crayon colorful state.
Each day begins with a walk around my green yard, feeding my cats, squirrels and a wide array of birds.
Each day ends with the same walk – this time also leaving out little something extras for skunks, raccoons, and possums that visit us each evening (you haven’t seen cute until you’ve seen a raccoon picking grapes off of a bunch of grapes – one at a time).
As the weather’s giving us a preview of Autumn in Kentucky and everyone’s beginning to talk about UK, U of L, Murray State, and Western Kentucky football and basketball… I’m reminded that there isn’t a better place on earth than Kentucky and no place I’d rather live.
THIS is Paradise and I thank God everyday that I get to call it home.
See Also: More pictures of Kentucky!
