October 2006 .............

Lexington: On Versailles Road, between Lexington and Frankfort is the Martin Castle. Construction was started in 1969 when Martin, a local real estate developer, and his bride returned from Europe. They divorced in 1975 and the 10,400 sq ft house inside the castle walls was never completed. It stood that way for over 30 years, and was for sale, however Martin, who now resided in Florida could never be reached by the Realtor or potential buyers. He died in 2003 and the property was purchased by a Florida Attorney who was going to finish the house. In 2004 the house was destroyed by fire, arson believed to be the cause. When we saw it we couldn't understand why the building in the center of the walls was white and the walls were gray. After looking it up on the web we discovered the house is now being rebuilt to look exactly like the one that burned. Very interesting story, just Google Martin Castle, or Castle Lexington KY and you will get lots of articles and photos.
October 2011: The castle renovation was completed in 2008, is now called "Castle Post" and is a bed and breakfast.

October 2006 .............

Renfro Valley: The idea for this trip started because Laurel wanted to go to Renfor Valley. Newmar always had a fall rally in Renfor Valley, well this year they didn't, so we decided just to make the trip on our own. The Renfro Valley Music shows started 67 years ago when John Lair built a barn and started the Renfro Valley Barn Dance. When John began listening to a Chicago radio station that was playing hillbilly music, ( the year was 1936), he persuaded two musicians from his home town to come to Chicago as the "Renfro Valley Boys" He got them on the WSL Barndance, and started watching the audiences. He noticed many came from out of town, so he thought maybe people would come from town to the country to see a show. He came home to Renfro Valley and formed a partnership with Red and Cotton Foley and Whitey "Duke of Paducah" Ford, built a barn to broadcast from and hold shown in. First there was the big barn for shows, then cabins for people to stay in. Lair soon became the sole owner of the facility and it continued to grow. Today it has two barns for shows, a motel, RV park, restaurant, and a unique shopping village. There are shows almost every night and several on the weekends. Every Saturday the "Renfro Valley Gathering", a nationally syndicated radio show that is considered to be an American Classic is broadcast form Renfro Valley. While we were there the Appalachian Harvest Festival, one of several special events, was going on. We have never seen so many antique tractors in one place before. We spent a week in the RV park, took in at least one show every day, and had a great time. They have special guests for shows on weekends, Mike Snider was there while we were and his show was very good, he had the entire audience laughing most of the time.

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