While we have been to Owensboro many times since we moved here, we haven’t spent much time meandering downtown and in the surrounding neighborhoods. We are usually passing through, dining or off to ride at Ben Hawes Park. Today we did a lot more.
We parked near Brescia University and worked our way to the waterfront. We passed by Studio 105 where we met this fellow.
He had a few friends in the window and others we spotted on our travels.
Nearby was Mellow Mushroom, though by its name, it may not be obvious. It’s a pizza place. Right there on the corner was, well, a giant mushroom.
It too was fashioned from recycled metal. I don’t know if 3D mushrooms are part of the franchise décor of Mellow Mushroom but this piece aligned well with Owensboro’s outdoor art.
It wasn’t far to Smothers Park from there where we hit the jackpot—open bathrooms and running water!
We walked along the promenade and caught a glimpse of two men doing a dirty job in the Ohio River. They were breaking up mud with hard water pressure. I can’t imagine how physically hard this would be but on a day like this, I hope they were at least cool.
We left downtown and we meandered through various neighborhoods. We discovered Owensboro was pedestrian friendly and had many streets with sidewalks. The neighborhoods were diverse. It was not uncommon to see some very nice homes and then very nearby some that were much smaller and in disrepair. This southwest style home on 2nd Street was well maintained and landscaped. They transformed a dead tree was dead into art.
The O. Z. Tyler distillery was up and running. The guard at the gate smiled and waved at me. We were too hot and sweaty to take a tour but add this to our list of things we would like to do someday.
I have a good knitting friend whose surname is Ewing. Bill asked if she was related to Dr. James Ewing, a pathologist who discovered a bone tumor known as Ewing Sarcoma. Leave it to my husband to pepper our walk with medical cocktail trivia.
We walked and walked and walked. Most of the day, the sun was out but there were some ominous clouds in the sky. We skirted around them until eventually, our luck ran out. We waited out the first thundershower under a tree and then moved on.
Moments later it started raining hard again just as we passed by the Owensboro Grain where soybeans are processed and PSAs are delivered.
There was nowhere to take immediate shelter so we pressed on. When we reached the underpass, we stopped. The rain was a welcome gift on such a hot day but we didn’t want to be soaked.
Eventually, the storm passed and the sun came out. We walked back through downtown to make sure we hit our desired mileage and then drove home.
When we were pulling into town, Bill spotted a Coast Guard buoy tender making way up the river. We pulled over by the Old Lock and Dam and waited for it to catch up to us and then pass.
The work of a bulldozer loading a team of dump trucks with mud kept our attention. Apparently, shifting mud has been an issue on both sides of the river.
We were home in time to have a family dinner together around the table which was a lovely way to end the day.
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