Day 1: October 20, 2026 No Ferry for You Comment via blog

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When I initially planned this trip back in April, I envisioned the journal opening with a shot of my car on the Valley View Ferry or maybe a picture of the Kentucky River taken from the ferry. However, the ferry's status was the last thing I checked when I was making reservations yesterday. As I mentioned in the prelude, when I did check, I learned that it was closed. The status is posted every morning around 6:00, so I knew before I left home that it was closed today, too. Only when I stopped for breakfast and checked Facebook did I learn that the closure would extend into next month. A comment on the post indicates that this was scheduled maintenance so maybe I should have known about it earlier. If I had, I guess I might have altered my plans a little, but I don't think I'd have postponed the whole thing again.

That breakfast stop was at the Bluegrass Stockyards a little north of Lexington, KY. An online search (by voice) had turned up the Barn Door Bar & Grill as a promising breakfast spot and led me here, but I had trouble finding the restaurant. I saw no outside signage, but I eventually opened the door, and there it was at the end of the entrance hall. Very good food, and the first time I've eaten while facing a wall mounted cowhide and learning how to encourage bovine affection.

Because I knew before departure that I'd have no ferry ride, I didn't leave home quite as early as planned, but I still reached Knoxville well ahead of check-in time. I used the slack to check on a favorite site on the Dixie Highway. When the restoration of the Nickel Brothers gas station was completed in 2016, it was initially leased out as a barber shop. It now serves as a B & B.

I first visited Litton's, and took a similar picture of that sign, in 2008. Today I had The Jim Fielden. It's a hamburger steak with onions, and the only thing on the menu with a name. I asked my waitress about the name, but all she could tell me was that Jim "used to work here". As I have on more than one previous visit, I chatted with Erik Litton, one of the world's friendliest restaurant owners, before leaving, but I forgot to ask him about Jim Fielden. As I wrote this, I Googled the name and found this obituary which lists Barry Litton, Erik's father, as a pallbearer. I'm pretty sure that's the guy.

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