We left Mammoth Cave’s on a bright and sunny morning that we hoped would stay…it didn’t… Driving up I-65 toward Louisville, Louise came up with a stop that we thought we would enjoy the boyhood home of Abe Lincoln. Just outside of Hodgenville, we arrived at The Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site.
It had been a long journey since his birth on February 12, 1809 in a small cabin near a mill that is now Hodgenville, Kentucky. The park is located in a forested setting on what was once Sinking Spring Farm, which had been purchased for $200 in 1808 by Thomas and Nancy Lincoln. Abraham (Abe) was born soon afterwards and spent his first two and a half years here before moving to a farm on Knob Creek about 10 miles to the north. Although it was cool, overcast, and off and on rain, we enjoyed the drive through the brilliant green Kentucky countryside. I must say however, the roads we traveled off of the Interstate were very narrow and kept me on my toes the whole time we were driving to and from the Lincoln sites.
The park consists of a visitors’ center, the birthplace memorial and Sinking Spring. As we have seen all over this part of Kentucky, the forest has been terribly damaged by the ice storm in January and many areas of the park have been closed because of danger from falling branches still hanging above trails and open areas. Unfortunately, the park facility at Knob Creek was closed due to ice storm damage.
5 miles outside of Loretto and following a long driveway we found ourselves arriving at Maker’s Mark Distillery. Unfortunately for us, they didn’t have a parking area that could handle a motor home with a toad. We tried to make a U-turn but found ourselves caught half in and half out of the parking lot. Fortunately we weren’t in a position of blocking anyone right away, but we still had to un-hook the toad pretty quickly. After getting the car parked we took the coach over to the side of the driveway and finally felt we were set to go in and join a tour.
Maker’s Mark Bourbon Distillery is in a beautiful surrounding of dark green hills, a crystal clear stream, and buildings that date back to the early 1920’s. One of the buildings was called the “first package” store in Kentucky and it just happens to be here at Marker's Mark.