Day 145 Exploring Paducah, Kentucky

What a fun day! Barb from Toba invited us to join her on a road trip to Paducah. Went to the River Discovery Museum that is across from the murals that decorate the flood wall in the old historic district.  The structure originally housed a bank and is the oldest building in Paducah. The first pic is the second floor where the bank clerk's family resided. Great little museum, but the best part was a barge simulator where you can drive a tug down the river. When you turned the wheel and the scene in the windshield reacted, it felt like the floor/boat was moving. Paducah is a town rich in history. It was originally laid out by William Clark of the famed Lewis and Clark Expedition. This area was important to the river and rail traffic in the 1800's. In 1937, Paducah suffered it's worst natural disaster, a devastating flood that lasted 6 weeks. 95% of the city was affected and a majority of the citizens left. It rained for 16 days straight. The new flood wall runs along the waterfront. The second pic is the murals depicting the town's history on it and the third pic shows the riverfront on the other side. In 1951, the U.S. atomic Energy Commission selected Paducah as the site for a new uranium enrichment plant bringing residents and a resurgence back to the town. We ate at one of the many neat looking little restaurants called Kirchhoff's. The sandwiches were devine. John had a Peachy Pork with this amazing coating on the sliced pork piled high topped with Brie cheese on their fresh bread. Barb and I split a Peachy Pork and a Fried Green Tomato - BLT. Also had Mexican Chicken Soup - in the description it said "No Mexican chickens were killed in the making of this soup." But it had everything else in it. So yummy. Tried to walk off our lunch by strolling through the downtown shops. The weather and company were perfect. We were so glad we got to experience the real Paducah before we leave tomorrow.