Thursday, September 7, 2017

Staying at Kentucky Artisan Center (Free!)

Our First Boondock!

The Kentucky Artisan Center is both a state visitor center and a market for local artisans and crafts, and is open from 9am to 6pm. There is also a small cafe.
 Price: Free! There are thirteen spots for RVs to park. Overnight parking is allowed, but we needed to register at the front counter.
Dog Friendly: This is an  area marked off for dogs, but it does not have a fence and it is the middle of the parking lot. There is also a lot of green space, including several large mowed areas, as well as a small walking trail, laid out in a loop.
The loop is maintained by volunteers and the path is well kept, but it does pass over several dry creeks, so may not be accessible when it's wet.
 Cell Service/Wifi: Cell Service was poor, with two bars, but this might have been weather related. The center does not have wifi.
Amenities: The center has a cafe, which is laid out cafeteria-style, and bathrooms. The center is open from 9am to 6pm, but the cafe closes at 4pm.
  The cafe's prices were very reasonable . We had heard the catfish and the derby pie was very good, and we can confirm both are excellent. As you can see, we never got a picture of the derby pie - we were too busy demolishing it!
 Getting There: The center is just off northbound I-75 and just south of Lexington. It is not only easy to get to, but it's well laid out so that buses and RVs can maneuver, park, and leave with ease.
Local Stuff: Berea is known for its college, which focuses on artisans and local crafts. There is even a hike and bike trail that can be taken into Berea from the visitor center.
Safety: There was a surprising amount of activity at this center after hours. People parking but leaving the motor running, people just cruising through the parking lot, and several people who seemed to have selected the parking lot to meet other people. While we didn't see anything nefarious, we found the constant flow of traffic through the parking lot at all hours more than a little bit odd. When we registered our vehicle, we had  also been told that the police did drive through patrols at night, but we never saw any marked or unmarked police cars.


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