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[mamculuna]

We went on a trip this weekend, just me and Bill. He wanted to punctuate finishing his book. It was a lot of driving, but nice places. We saw The Hermitage in Nashville--home of Andrew Jackson, a very beautiful Federal style house, very simple and delicate. I thought it was maybe the third best historical place I'd been in this country, after Monticello and Independence Hall.

Paducah was a very well-developed antique and crafts touristy town, with good old buildings for several blocks, a really good restaurant, and a flood wall (more protection on top of the levee) with more murals. This was my fall of murals--after the Mission in San Francisco.

Why does Paducah need a flood wall? It's very near the confluence of the two biggest rivers in North America--Ohio flows into Mississippi. We went there--it's very near Cairo, IL, another unusual town. It's almost dead except for one street of old mansions and the Customs House. There's a book about how Cairo and Kent, Conn, are both towns whose essence has been destroyed in two different ways: Far from Home, by Ron Powers.

The drive was long, but incredibly beautiful. It reminded me that I'd rather teeter on the broken edge of an Appalachian road than face Atlanta traffic.

Comments

[wombatina.livejournal.com]

dickens writes of cairo in his journal of his travels through america. if you haven't read this, i would highly recommend it. i believe he describes cairo as a mosquito infested swamp.

my own experience with cairo was camping near one of these mosquito infested areas when d and i were traveling by motorcycle. i didn't sleep much due to the incredibly feirce thunderstorm. we were worried about getting struck by lightening, and or having our tent float away. then we packed up our soggy things and were chased by a growling dog on the way out. yes. fond memories of cairo.

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

The drive was long, but incredibly beautiful. It reminded me that I'd rather teeter on the broken edge of an Appalachian road than face Atlanta traffic.

I've lived in Atlanta and now live within 40 minutes of the Smoky Mountains. I find East Tennessee so beautiful.

Jackie

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

It did look very swampy and mosquito infested--but not nearly aas much as the place where I live (near a huge floodplain in central SC). Mostly Cairo looked desolate and abandoned, worse than the old mill towns in the south. Hard to understand why one town, Paducah, can make such a success, and the next one over such a failure.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Then you know what I mean about Atlanta traffic. It makes the wildest Chinese cities look gentle.

Western NC is beautiful, too. I usually see those mountains from that side--it's interesting when we drive the other way.

[cactuswatcher.livejournal.com]

Cairo used to be a fairly busy place, but I think it was too dependant on being a railroad town. Sounds funny for a place so close to the two biggest rivers in the country. A lot of towns in that area are dying because agriculture isn't what it used to be. With Paducah doing well to the east, and Cape Girardeau, MO growing fast just to the north, it's not difficult to find something better not so far away, which makes it hard to keep younger people in the weaker town.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

I know. We talked to people in town (it's down to a few thousand, now) and they said that all the young people were leaving. I guess the area can support only so many jobs.

Loved Paducah, though, and it seems to be thriving.