Day 1: Lots of Wasils!!!

Well, day one didn’t get off to an exciting start. Looking at our usually packed itinerary, the day consisted of starting point, destination, and not much in between. After countless hours in West Virginia we had seen little more than the highway ahead, the mountains all around, and the occasional coal propaganda billboard, plus a semi hauling a taco bell sign (yep, that WAS just about the most exciting thing we saw in West Virginia).

Kentucky was very much the same, and surprisingly enough, we saw very few horses. In fact, despite the countless signs which proudly proclaimed Kentucky to be the horse capital of the U.S. Carl and I really only saw one lone horse out in the middle of an abandoned field prior to Lexington.

Our hopes returned as we came close to Louisville, KY. We were there last year and saw the “World’s Largest Bat” and toured the Louisville Slugger factory. Little did we know then that Louisville is also home to the final resting place of the great Colonel Sanders.

Wishing to pay homage to the crowned king of southern friend chicken, we looped through the neighborhoods of Louisville only to be met by locked cemetery gates. Seems that Louisville rolls up the streets at 5pm and we were just 30 minutes late.

Continuing into Indiana, we began our back roads tour towards Bedford where we planned to stay the night with Carl’s friend. Although we went through some quaint little towns, we quickly learned that after a while each little Indiana church, post office, and corn field all begin to look alike…

That was until we saw THE “store,” this old shack with an amazing collection of old metal signs, gas pumps, car parts, and even a Bob’s Big Boy. Carl had decided it wasn’t worth the hassle of stopping for each little photo op…..but this one warranted a closer look, so we swung the truck around with camper in tow and headed back.

Carl hopped out of the truck and was just about to snap a shot when this rather disgruntled mountain man pulled up and very colorfully told us to put our camera away and never come back. Not really wanting a full confrontation with the protective hillbilly, and presumed owner of this Holy Grail of roadside crap, we did just as he suggested. Sadly, there is no picture, so you will have to just believe me when I say it was one of the greatest roadside things I’ve ever seen.

This encounter of course raises the question… Why collect all of that stuff AND put it by the road IF you don’t want people to stop and look at it!?!?!?!?

Finally we made it to Bedford, Indiana, the quiet little town was almost asleep as we rode through, but the Wasil clan was still going strong.

Carl has done a lot of travel to Charleston, SC for work, and in his journeys partnered with Nigel Wasil of Bedford, IN on the same project for several months. When we decided to take this trip, Carl decided to pay a visit to the Wasils on the way out. It just so happened that Nigel and DeAndrea had several relatives visiting for the weekend, but we were encouraged to join in anyway.

We pulled into the driveway and, as promised, there were lots of Wasils. There were Wasils playing volleyball, Wasils eating dinner, and even one or two little Wasils running around the yard and jumping on the trampoline.

Not only did we have a great time hanging out down by the pond (or “lake,” depending on who you ask) but we also learned that Nigel’s family boast a home built on a cornucopia of geoes. The kids had literally gathered up boxfuls of the rocks, and I couldn’t help but carry off one that I found near the truck the next morning when we left.

Not only did Nigel and his wife, DeAndrea, offer us a warm welcome, but they also fed us and offered a place to stay for the night. Add that to a beautiful setting and great company, and it definitely made it all worth the day’s worth of driving we’d done. Thanks again.