Berea, Kentucky Visitors and Artisan Center

Usually, when I cross over a state line on the Interstate and encounter the new state's welcome center, I just keep driving on unless someone in my party needs to use the restroom. For that's usually about all they're good for. Recently, though, I had a different experience with Kentucky's visitors center.

For one, the Kentucky visitors center was 77 miles into the state from Tennessee, off I-75 just outside the community of Berea. Smack dab in the middle of the state! For another, there was much more to it than the obligatory counter with brochures, maps, and restrooms (although they were there, too). This place featured a huge artisan center and cafeteria, both of which featured items "Made in Kentucky".

While browsing through the artisan store, I joked to my son that I was going to find something made in China. I never did: everything was truly "homemade". Likewise, the food was more Southern-oriented as well (like the tasty catfish and derby pie we ate). And...wonder of all wonders, they brewed hazelnut-flavored coffee (and sold bourbon-flavored coffee by the bag).

I enjoyed our little stop at Berea on the way to Lexington so much that I had us stop there again on our way back. The Spring Valley Farms (from Holland, KY) old-fashioned pecan pumpkin butter we bought on our first stop tasted so good that we bought some more on our return. It's a pretty cool place to get off the road, stretch your legs, get a good meal, and look at some area-based arts and crafts. I decided to stay away from their bourbon-flavored coffee, though!

This place seems to be such a big hit with travellers that I wonder why this hasn't been repeated wherever there is a busy highway passing though just about any region in the country. For each area, not just Kentucky, has its own character, crafts, music, cuisine, and history. Let's promote local-based culture as a counterbalance to the homogenizing effect that mass media and megacorporations exert on us to make us the "same" everywhere...