The route we took back to Florida led through Indiana where we made two stops. The most memorable one was French Lick. Funny name but beautiful place. It was originally a French trading post next to a salt lick. Hence French Lick. It is the home of two beautiful, historic hotels, The French Lick Resorts. I especially loved the rocking chairs that lined the wide porches. Basketball fans may recognize the name as the home of Larry Bird.
Continuing south, we stopped in Danville and Bowling Green, Kentucky. Danville is a small town with a lot to boast about. The National Trust for Historic Preservation awarded it the Great Main Street Award. Money Magazine ranked it 4th best place to retire in 2011. And two Vice-Presidential debates were held there. Not far from Danville is the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, the largest restored Shaker Village in the Country. Immaculate buildings are sprawled over 3,000 beautiful acres.
Another charming town we stopped in on our way south was Florence, Alabama. It is the home of the University of Northern Alabama. In the center of the beautiful campus is a huge enclosure for 2 lions, the school mascots.
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Not far from Florence is Tuscumbia, the birthplace of Helen Keller 1880-1968. She was stricken with a disease as an infant that left her blind and deaf. Right outside the house is the well where her teacher Annie Sullivan broke through and Helen suddenly understood that Annie was writing the word 'water' in her hand. The story is depicted in the famous movie The Miracle Worker. Helen Keller went on to graduate from Radcliffe College becoming the first blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Then it was on to Birmingham and finally Mobile, Alabama where we visited with my brother and his family. Cousins from New York came down making it a little family reunion. Mobile is actually the birthplace of the Carnival and Mardi Gras. The Carnival Museum houses many of the parade floats and magnificent robes the King and Queen wear. Now we will be heading back into Florida.
