JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

Day two began with buffet breakfast at the hotel. While additional entrees were available for free, the spread was fine by us. The tub of grits on the steam table was a sign that we were departing the Midwest. We also had our first serving of biscuits on the trip, though none of us tested the sausage gravy. The latter is treated as a family joke - Mom always conjures images of people shovelling away giant bowls of white sauce speckled with black pepper and bits of breakfast sausage, twisting her face upon mere mention of the dish. I didn't feel like causing her any pain, so I resisted trying the gravy (I'm indifferent towards sausage gravy, but will sneak a spoonful if it looks fresh). After checking out, we drove into downtown Louisville. All I expected to see was the world's largest baseball bat, leaning on the Louisville Slugger Museum. Main Street proved to have a few surprises... The West Main District boasts the second-largest concentration of cast-iron ...

Last year, my family went on its first long-distance roadtrip in years. We easily survived a week together in Ottawa, so I set my sights on a more ambitious trip this summer. I often daydreamed about a trip along the Mississippi and through the upper South to visit landmarks in the history of popular music - the blues of the Delta, rock and soul in Memphis, country in Nashville. Since none of us had ventured through these areas, I was able to convince Mom and Amy to join in the adventure. We packed up the official Warehouse Transport Vehicle on the first Saturday of August and began our southern journey. *** Our first stop was Shipshewanna , located in the heart of northern Indiana's Amish area. Mom used to visit frequently with her Detroit-area cousins to check out crafts and a giant midweek flea market. As is usual with such towns one of the main obstacles for pedestrians is dodging the horse flop. We ate lunch at the Blue Gate , which had expanded since Mom...