Hwy 23 Travels

Today's pictures were taken on May 1, 2010.  For the weather fanatics like myself, it was the same day for the beginning of the floods that put several places in Kentucky and Tennessee in states of emergencies due to the rising waters coupled with breeches in the flood walls.  On this day, my friend and I went to the Breaks Interstate National Park in Breaks, Va.  If any of you ever like nature trails combined with the mountains, I would highly recommend going to the Breaks.  From Kentucky, you have to get on highway 80 past Elkhorn City, Ky.  Anyways, when we left Morehead, it had just started raining (this was on a Saturday).  We went along Highway 23 to get to the Breaks.  We stopped in Paintsville and Prestonsburg on the way down to take pictures and tour the area.  The first picture below is one of favorites.  It took a special friend in Bowling Green to make me realize the small things in life and the moments that we need to capture (especially a bench beside a tree).  This picture was taken near Van Lear, KY, which is home to Loretta Lynn.  Actually, the house that is in the background is her birthplace in Butcher Hollow.  We went inside of the home and took a tour via Loretta Lynn's brother.  It was an awesome experience.  

 The next two pictures was taken in Paintsville, Ky at the Our Lady of the Mountains School.  We happened to come to this school as we were going through Paintsville, which is a very pretty town.  Walking around this small campus had many treasures.  We could have stayed taking pictures for hours if it was not for us trying to reach our destination.  The school itself has been in operation since 1945 and currently provides education to children from preschool to eighth grade.  The school itself was absolutely gorgeous.  My pictures does not do it any justice.  It would be great to have a picnic lunch on the grounds of this campus and awe in the amazement at the overall feeling while there.  Across the street is a beautiful church that should not be ignored while visiting this area.  As you can tell, I really liked touring Paintsville.

The last picture was taken while in Prestonsburg, KY (big shoutout to my man Johnny O).  This was an old theatre in Prestonsburg.  I took this picture while the car was moving (passenger) so it was by luck that I got a good shot with this picture.  I changed the picture from color to sepia to get an old time feeling of the picture.

I will have more pictures from this trip in the future, which include Pikeville, Elkhorn City, and Matewan WV (home of the Hatfield and McCoy feud).  Kentucky and the surrounding areas is very fascinating to me.  You can go within a two hour radius of any location and uncover historical treasures.  I am thankful to have the opportunity to capture these sites and locations.  I had a great time and it made for good memories even in trying to get back to Morehead with all of the flooding.