Layover in Metropolitan Louisville - 8/16 to 9/11

We returned to the Louisville area in mid-August. Since we own no property on which to park, we must now use other means while being in our home area. In a way, we feel like visitors in our hometown.

When we headed out on June 30 we were thinking of staying just across the Ohio River in Clarksville at then Metro Louisville KOA. Since we stayed there one night, we decided to look for another place. That particular KOA is alright for a few nights but for a longer period, we wanted something different from parking on an asphalt surface with neighbors eight feet away. This required a bit of research. What we came up with was the Add-More Campground five miles into Indiana from the river though it is still in Clarksville. We, like many other campers in Louisville, had not heard of this campground.

As it turned out, Add-More Campground was really quite handy for us. It was very near the intersection of I-265 and I-65 in Indiana. It was within a mile of the Walmart and Sam’s Club on Veteran’s Parkway where there were dozens of other commercial locations. The only issue for us was getting through the traffic and construction going on regarding the new bridge over the Ohio. As a result, we were within a dozen miles of Jeremy and Candice.

One of the reasons for being back in the area was to go to regular appointments with doctors. There were a couple of unexpected visits such as the trip to the emergency room when Byron cut into a portion of his thumb while working with a table saw. Another trip to an emergency room was to take care of an issue with Candice. Byron ended up in the office of Kleinert Kutz, the well-known hand surgeons in Louisville, and it was determined that Candice had a urinary tract infection that was difficult to pinpoint.

George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge carries US 31 traffic from

Jeffersonville, Indiana to Louisville, Kentucky

While in town we crossed the Ohio River many times accessing doctors, family, friends, and church. Depending on the time of day and traffic, we sometimes endured the construction and traffic on the Kennedy Bridge that handles I-65 traffic (and connects to I-64 and I-71) and other times we took the alternative path of US 31 and the Clark bridge, especially when heading to downtown Louisville first.

Sanctuary of St. Matthews Baptist Church, our home church

Of course, we were able to attend our home church for Bible study and worship the four Sundays we were around and have dinner with friends and Jeremy and Jody. We got to walk across the Big Four Bridge that connects Kentucky with Indiana since the Jeffersonville ramp was completed. One afternoon we took off to check out the campground at Charlestown State Park upriver from the Louisville metropolitan area. We also took a one-hour trip one Saturday to catch the walking tour of St. Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad, Indiana. St. Meinrad also houses a monastery where approximately 90 priests serve in the Order of St. Benedict. Martha, in particular, wanted to visit because she was a reseller of products from Abbey Press when she owned a Christian bookstore in Athens, Georgia. Of course, we stopped by the Gift Shop to peruse the many publications available and other things available through Abbey Press.

The Archabbey Church at St. Meinrad as view from the rear.

It sits atop the peak of a hill in the small community. The

extension to the left houses some of the rooms for

the seminary and dormitory for students.

While touring the Abbey Church, Byron stopped to take a look

at the new console and refurbished pipework of the organ

that was originally installed more than 100 years ago.

On Thursday, September 11, we unplugged and disconnected from our campground connections and headed westward. The first destination was the area where Byron grew up – Fairfield, Illinois.