It was a pretty short drive from Berea to Lexington, so I got to Lexington fairly early in the day, after lunching in Berea (remember the fried catfish sandwich from the previous post)
Before leaving on the road trip, I had done a little bit of internet research and came across a hotel chain called 21c. Their claim to fame is each hotel is attached to an art gallery (which, BTW, is free and open 24×7 so the art is accessible to all), and every room, and the lobby, has original art that is rotated out roughly monthly. There are currently 8 21c hotels with one opening soon in Chicago.
I arrived prior to check in but luckily was able to go in my room. Here are some photos – first is artwork in the lobby. The figures are all cut out of vinyl records!
Photos from my room:
One of the things I wanted to do while I was there was to go to the Kentucky Fun Mall, aka KY for KY. It was a little over a mile walk to get there, so I set out soon after I settled into my room.
Although I didn’t get any photos, I walked past the campus of Transylvania University. There was a lot of artwork painted on buildings. Here’s one:
And then I arrived!
The big reason I wanted to go was to see …
There really is a fascinating story about this bear, and you can read it on the Roadside America web site:
https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/50220
and if you click on “More on Cocaine Bear” at the bottom of the article, you’ll see the update I submitted and got published (as China Lee)! Here’s a screen shot:
That’s my second published Roadside America tip! I submitted a couple of new places to them – waiting to hear whether they’re published or not. Of course I will update the appropriate posts if they make it!
After buying a ‘Cokey the Bear’ T-shirt, it was time to walk back to the hotel. Here are some scenes from the walk back.
After I got back to the hotel I walked through the attached art gallery. Nick Cave (the musician) did this coat
The artwork below, in case you don’t recognize her, is Lady Gaga. It actually is a video. She is standing relatively still for the duration of the 5 minute or so(?) video, rarely blinking, which is impressive. At one point you can see tears cascading down her face. There is quiet music playing in the background. I thought it was pretty cool. A lady walking by looked at it and said “That’s really weird.” It takes all kinds!
After the art gallery it was time for a snack. I sat at the hotel bar and asked the bartendress what’s good on the menu. She said she always gets this dish – tomato pie. It was fan-frickin-tastic! I ate the whole thing. Tomatos, basil, corn, other veggies, chives, in a pie crust with green goddess dressing. Wow!
Noticed some window washers from my room
Night descends on Lexington.
The next morning I was headed to Loveland OH. I’ll put my trip there into the next post – I stopped at a Thoroughbred Farm and US Grant’s Boyhood Home among other things, on the way there. Stay tuned!