Paducah or Bust

This weekend, I took what was possibly the most beautiful drive of my life, to Paducah. The colors of the leaves along the highway were absolutely, positively breathtaking. Breath. Taking. Anyway, I fear there is a good chance you might have never heard of Paducah. There are two reasons for my fear. First, several of the people to whom I mentioned my trip looked at me with a quizzical look on their face and said, "What is Paducah?" (not "where" but "what," weird huh?) Second, every time I type Paducah - either while texting or writing an email or blog post - spell-check underlines it like, "What is Paducah?"  Having had those experiences, I feel like I should explain to you that Paducah is a lovely little city in Kentucky that is just about half way between Chattanooga, TN and St. Louis, MO.



Its location is precisely what made Paducah enticing. I met a lifelong friend from St. Louis there to catch up and have some time together. It was long overdue.


Surprisingly enough, while wandering around Paducah's quaint downtown we stumbled upon some familiar faces.


How bizarre to see two other St. Louis friends sifting through antique shops in Paducah? Turns out they were headed back from a week in Asheville, NC. SMALL WORLD.


For the record, Paducah is a charming little place chock full of antiques and art galleries and its size makes it the perfect day trip destination. It's especially ideal if you want a quiet place to spend quality time with one of your favorite people on earth.


Annnnnnnd, in case you're in the business of keeping score, I'm crossing another state off the list. Technically this wasn't my first stay in Kentucky, but it was the first time I've had a picture taken of myself there. So, check and check.
Now tell me, have you ever heard of or visited Paducah?