Every year for the past 5 years I have participated in the AtoZ Bloggers Challenge and April 2020 is no different. But, unlike other years, I will be taking a different twist than I have in the past. From late January to mid-February 2020, I took an epic road trip with my daughter and three of my grandchildren. We went through 20 different states as we drive up to Washington State, down the Pacific Coast to California and then east through Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, then back to Kentucky.
This trip, which I now call “8154” because of the total mileage of the road trip, offered many unique adventures, since most of it was taken on the back roads of America. I am currently writing my fourth book, which is all about this trip. I hope to have it out sometime in April. (My goal was end of March but the Coronavirus pandemic threw a few wrenches in my gears.)
Zzyzx Road in CaliforniaAlliance Theater in Alliance, NebraskaOne of many aliens to be found in Baker, California
Over the course of April I will feature fun stops from A to Z including places like Alliance, Nebraska (home of Carhenge) and Aliens (as seen in Baker, California) to the famed Zzyzx in California and the not so famous Zuzax in New Mexico.
GREAT NEWS! Book 4 is now officially underway! Thanks to my friend Antsy McClain, the new cover for Book 4 has been setup and here it is. Titled “8154” after the number of miles we traveled for 23 days from late January to mid-February 2020, this book will detail my EPIC Roadtrip with my daughter Marissa and her three children. You’ll finally get to take a trip as seen from our eyes. Marissa will help write the book with me. We hope to have it ready for sale by the end of March 2020. We hope you’ll watch for it.
Some of the sights we visited were kindly suggested by our friends at Roadside America. Visit them and get their app!!
Visiting with John and Sebrina Erskine to celebrate my new book, which includes a chapter about them!
Back in January of 2018 I made my first visits to the Paradise Point Marketplace in Scottsville, KY and did a blog post about it (see the original post). In celebration of my newest book release, which features a chapter about Paradise Point, I made a trip down there in mid-September 2019 to sign the book and have a fun visit. Since they are also an excellent and whimsical eatery, they will also be included in a future book on eateries, so I needed more photos of the place, especially the amazing breakfast items, bakery items and hot dogs.
Paradise Point Marketplace in Scottsville, KYFunky JunkParadise Point
From Lexington, its about a two and a half drive to get down to Paradise Point, which is just down US 31E from the beautiful Barren River Lake State Park and Resort. They are HIGHLY visible right off the highway and have plenty of parking and seating. As they have gotten more and more popular, they expanded their seating to a covered outdoor area, which provides much more room for bigger groups.
Expanded Seating at Paradise PointBreakfast!
I took an early morning drive from Lexington to Bardstown on the Bluegrass Parkway and then exited off to take US 31E south along the Lincoln Memorial Highway (I’ll have a separate post about this scenic drive coming soon). Other than seeing Sebrina and John, I really looked forward to indulging in their amazing breakfast offerings. They homemake almost everything there and make a sweet tasty breakfast hashbrown casserole, breakfast burritos, cowboy casserole, a couple of types of quiche and a unique french toast casserole, among other things. Oftimes, on the weekends, their breakfast items sell out, so, if you wanna try them out, you better get there early. On weekends in the summer, they open at 8 AM CDT.
Breakfast MenuMy favorite is the Hashbrown CasseroleHashbrown CasseroleFrench Toast CasseroleFrench Toast Casserole is yummy too.Serving Breakfast and goodiesYes, they have good coffeeBakery items like brownies, cookies and pies … yum
Along with breakfast, you can pick up some of the other goodies that are bakery items, such as huge cookies, mouth watering pies and other goodies. After breakfast I was too full to even think about trying these, but they too looked sooooo good!
They also have a huge selection of drinks to wash the breakfast and sweets down, so no need to worry about that either. And, for the coffee lovers out there, they have some high quality coffee products. I am not a coffee drinker, but I have heard good things from others about the coffee.
Need a brownie? Look at these!Me Want CookieLook at that pie….yummiferousHot Dogs
The last two times I visited, it was in the morning and so I could not try out John’s hot dogs, so I stuck around until hot dog time to try one out. They have a huge following for their hot dogs so I really had to try one and I loved it. Me..I am a mustard and hot dog kinda guy, so that’s what I did. I kicked myself after leaving…should have gotten a couple of the long road trip back. I will certainly do that.
The Hot Dog thingamajiggerBest Hot DogBunsYum!Get your Hot Dog ticket inside and then go get the goodies outsideHot Diggity DogYummiferousJohn sports the Hot Dog shirtEat your hot dogs in their big areaJohn Erskine Art
Of course, food is only a small part of the Paradise Point experience! The marketplace has a great variety of quirk, color and whimsy, all sprinkled with happiness and joy and love in their shop. From the colorful car and mural enhanced semi trailer, among other things, in the parking lot and adjacent junk and art area to the overwhelming amount of eye-candy merchandise on the inside, this place is a shoppers paradise. John Erskine is an artist and all sorts of his joy-inspiring art is available for sale in the store, along with other unique things…including Sumoflam books!!!
Here is a menagerie of what you can see at Paradise Point. Hope you can get down there and have a fun time.
The Art Car gets changed every year. This year its extra colorfulDon’t Postpone Joy is a continual theme throughout the placeGreetings from Paradise Point!No naughty allowed…be nice or leaveThis is where it needs to stay!!Need a bathroom?Be warned! Only 3 guys allowed in the rest room at a timeBathroom DoorMore art by JohnBe HappyPatriotismUsed to eat Milky in Japan all the time—so fun to see a can in the middle of reural KentuckyLots of fun stare down opportunitiesDon’t Forget Ice CreamAlways make someone’s dayNext to a lake…boat ride anyone? Great companionsWait a minute!! I know this guy!! His books are for sale at Paradise Point!Get it? (Yes, there are many Amish down in these parts)Did I mention the Hot Dogs?Not sure what this is, but they have it Paradise Point!Need a sign? They have them. And stickers too!CUSTOM Love Bigger and Don’t Postpone Joy t-shirts are available hereYes, it makes me happy!
ENJOYING WHAT YOU SEE? TRY MY BOOKS.
Now have three books out. Check them out!
You can find my books at Paradise Point or you can check my books out on Amazon for more fun reads about my quirky back roads travels. Get them out on my Amazon page https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0784XVGSW
Every year for the past 5 years I have participated in the AtoZ Bloggers Challenge and April 2020 is no different. But, unlike other years, I will be taking a different twist than I have in the past. From late January to mid-February 2020, I took an epic road trip with my daughter and three of my grandchildren. We went through 20 different states as we drive up to Washington State, down the Pacific Coast to California and then east through Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, then back to Kentucky.
