Trail Blazers

36 Hours In Berea KY: Exploring Bereas Historical SitesMalika Okeyo, Communication, Sophomore, Entrepreneurship for the Public Good Program Summer 2015.June 8, 2015Berea College This presentation was developed after conversations and interviews were conducted with adventure tourists in Berea KY

My name is Malika Okeyo, I come Kenya and I am a student here at Berea college currently pursuing a Bachelors degree in Communication.

Today we will be taking a 36 hours journey that explores some cultural and historical sites that are found here in Berea KY. We will do this through the eyes of James and Margie.

JAMES & MARGIE

Vogel, Dixie. Old people and a bird in the grocery store . May 28, 2012. Photograph. A fools journey article. Web.

James is 63 years old while Margie is 59 years old. They have been happily married for 35 years, and have lived in Washington DC for the past 20years. James made a mistake this time round and forgot to celebrate with Margie their 35th wedding anniversary. Instead, he had made plans with his friend Francis and they went on a senior golfing retreat for two days. He came back to find Margie was very sad, and she refused to accept any of his apologies.

Albrektsen, Peter. Study links job stress to heart attacks in older workers . November 20, 2012. Photograph. The Journal.ie . Web.

James was stressed over this issue and he decided to do something special to win back his sweetheart Margie. He knew that Margie enjoyed visiting towns which had a rich cultural heritage, and so he called up Margies best friend Felicia to find out if he had any current recommendations. Felicia had recently travelled to Berea college with her 36 year old daughter, for her grandsons graduation. While in Berea, Felicia enjoyed the small quiet community and had lunch with her family at the Historical Boone Tavern. Felicia remembered that Margie had expressed her wishes to visit this town and see all the beautiful things that Felicia had told her about.

Kelowna. Living Well. 2015. Photograph. Advanced home Care Solutions. Web.

And so, since money was not a problem, James quickly worked out a budget, made online flight bookings, called up the Boone Tavern to make reservations, and surprised Margie with the idea of a romantic gateway.

Margie was extremely exited with the whole idea, she immediately started looking up the historical sites that are in Berea KY through Trip advisor. She was very happy by the results she got, she wrote down everything on her notebook (especially the artistic spots) and started packing up for the trip.

2 hour Trip

James and Margies flight left Washington on a Thursday afternoon at 3pm, reached Lexington airport at 4:20pm and took the Bluegrass Cab up to the Boone Tavern Hotel.

BOONE TAVERN

An Elegant Dining Experience in Berea, KY. Digital Image. Boone Tavern Hotel. Boone tavern Hotel. Web. 2015.

They received a warm welcome at the Historic Boone Tavern, checked into their rooms and refreshed. The trip was quite exhausting for both of them and so they had a few refreshments then retired for the day.

Friday 9am

An Elegant Dining Experience in Berea, KY. Digital Image. Boone Tavern Hotel. Boone tavern Hotel. Web. 2015.

Friday 9am, they had breakfast at the Boone Tavern as they browsed the Hotels history catalog.

10:15am

Artisan Center Events. Digital image. Kentucky Artisan Centre At Berea. Kentucky Artisan Centre. Web. 2015.

The first place that Margie wanted to visit was the Kentucky Artisan Centre, immediately after breakfast, the Bluegrass cab transported them there (it is only a five minutes drive away from the Boone Tavern). The center displays artistic work from over 700 Kentucky artists, that includes unique artefacts, pottery, weaving, bee products, Bourbon products, jewelry, clothing, and a variety blend of all local artists work. Moreso, James and Margie experienced the face jug pottery event which includes a live demonstration of how pottery jugs are made. They also took pictures, asked questions about the history of the various artistic pieces, and bought lots of souvenirs. Before they knew it 2 hours 15mins had passed by.

12:40pm

Papalenos restaurant. Photograph. Tripadvisor. 2015. Web.

After asking around a bit and checking the Tripadvisor reviews for a local restaurant, they agreed on heading to Papalenos for lunch. They wanted to eat a dish that was locally renowned and so they selected chicken & dumplings with Papalenos famous garlic bread and vegetable soup. The meal was enjoyable and gave them the energy they needed to proceed to their next destination. They left Papalenos restaurant at 2:15pm and headed straight to the Renfro Valley Entertainment center which was about 16 minutes away from their location

Don Williams Live at the Renfro valley 2011. Digital image. Renfro valley Entertainment Centre. Web. 2015.2:50pm

The Renfro Valley musical show was scheduled to start at 3pm, and James had called in advance to book their show tickets. Tickets were going for $15.95 per head, and the Mountain gospel Jubilee band would be playing for an hour. The Renfo Valley Entertainment Centre is a platform that promotes local Kentucky musical artists and their work. It was enjoyable listening to cool Kentucky music, and it also gave James and Margie more time to relax before they were headed off to their next community event. By 4pm the Musical concert ended and they hang around for 30 minutes to meet and greet the artists as well as learn more about the history of the event.

First Friday. Digital image. Berea where Arts Alive. Berea KY Tourism Web. 2012.5:00pm

They left the event at 4:35pm and headed out to their very first First Friday event in Berea KY . First Friday is a community block party that is held at the downtown Artisan village shopping district of Berea KY. The event features local artists, handmade arts & crafts , local food, regional live music and dance, local businesses, local products, and unique exiting activities every month. James and Margie enjoyed every aspect of this event. They took more photos, bought a few more souvenirs, and enjoyed a bag of the local kettle corn.

An Elegant Dining Experience in Berea, KY. Digital Image. Boone Tavern Hotel. Boone tavern Hotel. Web. 2015.Anniversary dinner ~Boone Tavern~5:00pm

After the festivities, they headed back to the Boone Tavern to refresh, enjoy their 35th Anniversary dinner, and rest for the night. By then, Margie had forgiven and forgotten any grudge that she held against James.

Berea Coffee & Tea

Berea Coffee & Tea. Digital image. Berea where Arts Alive. Berea KY Tourism Web. 2012.Saturday 9am

Saturday 9am, they had breakfast at the Berea Coffee & Tea, commonly known as BC&T. They were fortunate to sit at the same table with Mr. Adam (the owner) who explained to them the history of the coffee shop. What was most fascinating was the fact that BC&T has coffee from around the world that has been harvested and brokered through sustainable and fair trade practices. The coffee was delicious and they bought a packet of it for their trip. They expressed to Adam their interest in touring Berea College before they traveled back that evening, and he organized for them to have a guide from the school.

Colleges with the lowest average tuition per year. Digital image. Campus Explorer. Campus Explorer. 2015.

10:15am

A tour of the college was organized and they went through the various academic buildings like Frost, Draper, Alumni, Academic services, Admissions; through the dormitories Bingham, Anna Smith, Deep Green; through thee quad, the library, the log house craft gallery, through student crafts, the seabury gym, and thoroughly throughout campus. The log house and student craft center were particularly more intriguing for James and Margie and they bought souvenirs. They also received a catalog of the school and learnt more about its history.

Main Street Cafe. Digital image. Berea where Arts Alive. Berea KY Tourism Web. 2012.

Main Street Cafe12:10pm

Enjoyed lunch at the main street caf. The local cafs ambience and the food was absolutely wonderful. They finished lunch at 2pm and went back to the hotel to check out. Their flight back to Washington was leaving at 4pm.

$ 3,500

Flight tickets $1,400 (round trip)Accommodation - $600 (couples suite)Food $700Souvenirs - $800

Total $3,500 in expenditure for spending only 36hours in Berea KY. Think of the opportunity, think of the huge possibilities. This couple did not explore any of the trails or go camping, yet they spent all these funds on a simple Anniversary tour that was mainly inclined on small historical art galleries. Indeed, Adventure tourism has so much potential in growing our local economy, especially when we target this particular senior age demographic segment.

Comments or Questions?