It was a place all too new and unfamiliar to me, yet the sheer beauty of the greenery and the rolling hills made this region called south central Kentucky a place that I could call “home”. The landscape was identical to a scape that I had eyed in a picture book; the serene setting seemed to have manifested itself here. The bluff lines, in particular, reminded me of the many years that I had spent venturing the Shawnee National Forest in Southern Illinois. Carbondale is where I had called home for the past seven years and where I thought I had left my heart.
I had grown up in the North shore of Chicago, and my adulthood was cultivated in Southern Illinois, as I attended the University there. Now it seems that in my adult years, I only wish to navigate toward southern cities. With my relocation to Bowling Green, I seem to fully enjoy the Southern custom of daily life. For example, there is not a need to rush. Taking time to enjoy the scenery, to stop and make conversation with folks, to sit out on the porch and enjoy the season, has become a wonderful routine that I had never fully taken advantage of. The hustle and bustle of any city can squeeze out almost any trace of tranquility and serenity from one’s system. The phrase to “stop and smell the roses” has never made any more sense. The folks here (Kentuckians, as I have learned) are quite cordial and have even helped out with a substantial amount of driving directions and business recommendations. As I took in all of the natural beauty of Kentucky and it’s people, the only quandary that arose in my mind was, “where is the nearest grocery store?”
Food has always been the center of my universe and quite possibly the highlight of my everyday life. Therefore, finding a place where I could nosh on good eats at any hour of the day and a reliable grocery store which carried fresh (organic and/or local) vegetables and meats was my only dilemma. So far, my shopping experience has not been entirely fulfilling. I had visited several grocery stores in the area, but had not found anything that was compared to any of the stores that I had shopped at prior to moving to Bowling Green. A farmer’s market (one of my most favorite places), a local butcher shop, and a wonderful International grocery store have paved a semi-traversable path in my hunt for groceries. This in turn, has kept morale up, and I am once again a happy camper. The other side of the coin is that Bowling Green is said to have a wonderful assortment of eateries, and I believe that I have concurred with this statement, for my tummy has not been disappointed since I have taken my first bite in Bowling Green and my pants feel a tad tighter.
On the silver screen, it seems as though southern towns are portrayed as always throwing some sort of fair to celebrate country-time goodness. Indeed, fairs are a wonderful place to indulge in rides, artery-clogging sweets, and blue ribbon winners. With this mind, I am anxious to attend one of the many festivals and fairs Kentucky has to offer. What other way to experience wholesome fun in the Comomonwealth? So with a bigger waistline and my grandmother’s prize winning banana cream pie, Kentucky, thank you for the warm welcome.
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