After I got back from the hotel in Knoxville (and it was a pretty crappy motel - America's Best Value), the serenity of Southern Kentucky was incredible. My work from home also improved as I was able to work outside on the porch during nicer days.
My cat had no issues adjusting to the newly gained quiet environment compared to our previous apartment in downtown Knoxville. He loved looking out of the windows listening to birds and playing in a much larger space than we had before.
I was getting excited about living in the Amish country as well. I searched on the map and found at least one store Habegger's Amish Market that was currently open selling Amish goods. Other stores were still closed as produce was not in the season, but I could wait. The very first week I headed to the Amish store located about 30 minutes away from my house rental. They sold incredible pastries, so I bought a banana bread and two fried mini-pies filled with cherry and walnuts. They also sold everything at reasonable prices. I enjoyed the store very much as they had different sorts of flour that I could use for my sourdough bread.
I also found that this area was filled with different caves. The first weekend I decided to go to do a cave boat tour in Lost River Cave which turned out to be pretty amazing. It was more of a commercial tour with hints of history, but it's been a while since I've been in a cave, so I enjoyed it. I also scheduled two other tours in Mammoth Cave National Park later in April. Both tours had to be reserved in advance through the Recreation website. The first week was full of relaxation and settling in.
During the second week I started to get bored. It was almost impossible to walk in the neighborhood because many houses had loose dogs that would bark at you viciously. I didn't want to take a chance. The main road where the house was located on did not have much traffic, but the issue with loose dogs was on both sides of the house where neighbors just didn't care about their animals. I found that to be the truth in several rural areas in southern Kentucky. It appeared that people treated animals like animals instead of their pets. The horses next door, as I found out later from my host, were completely unattended just roaming around on their own eating grass and getting water from the stream in the back. The owner only came to take care of them once a month.
Another issue that came up in the first two weeks is the Internet connection. The speeds were incredible, but occasionally the Internet would just drop. The solution was to use an ethernet cord that I bought anticipating this could be an issue while living in Airbnb. I had no other problems with the Internet at this rental.
I decided to venture out and explore Nashville during the second weekend. I dropped off my recycling at the local center in Nashville as there was no recycling available in southern Kentucky. I might be generalizing here, but in the nearby proximity of Fountain Run no city recycled. I went to explore Henry Hollow trail in Nashville and then headed downtown where I was bluntly introduced to Nashville drinking scene. Nashville, being the self-claimed Bachelorette party city, was a true representation of "having fun". People were drinking starting at 9:00 AM. The party buses, tractor tours (no idea what they were touring besides the local bars), and just rolling party carts with bartenders inside and the party sitting in a circle either pedaling or doing nothing were a nuisance to the city. In fact, this has become such an issue that locals are now raising concerns. It was a sensory overload for me spending half an hour just watching that, although I must admit had I been one of the drinking participants, I would have probably had a different opinion.
I also explored Nashville farmers market, which was an overpriced gigantic mall of vendors selling a variety of goods from $8 soaps to strawberries and lettuce for the price I would not even see at Whole Foods.. I picked up some groceries at the Asian store instead and discovered a Russian food store - Aleksey's Market - where I would pick up food regularly. Weekends were definitely a highlight!
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