Am I in Paris?

Start, Mile 397.  Anchored behind Little Manchester Island.

As to the title, you might not expect this confusion in Kentucky. I landed in the early morning at Maysville Kentucky, to buy fuel. I check the iPhone maps to find fuel close to a municipal dock. Maysville displayed a huge Welcome to Maysville sign.

Inside the levee (all towns in this section have tall levees), were some great murals of the past. Even the Underground Railway was depicted. 

The newspaper office was on the corner:

I couldn’t resist asking. No, they were owned by a company in South Carolina. Maybe they should become just The Ledger.

Walking around a bit, I saw buildings that were beautifully restored and maintained.

I bought six gallons of gas, one at a time in my portable containers. Then it was time to seek out breakfast, with the help of Yelp. 

The best choice appeared to be Parc Cafe, in a corner of the old Everett Grain warehouse. 

And, next thing I knew, I was in Paris!

The plate at the bottom is from the oldest continuously operating café in Paris. This café was based on that one.

After visiting several down and out, broke, depressing towns in the last day, I didn’t know what to make of this.  I learned from Lauren, who was elegantly attired in a summery dress and straw hat, who worked on the other side of the wall, that this building was the result of a software company (and impressive vision).  The company, Carlson, creates software and hardware for earth measurement, with applications from surveying to mining, and more. This is their home office.

I’ll let pictures do the talking. I was near speechless.

The stained glass is a recreation of a picture of the young George Washington, surveyor. 

Needless to say the coffee and pastry breakfast were very good as well as the friendly fellow customers. 

Later in the day, just short of Cincinnati, the first big thunder downpour arrived.  Just as I wrote that, I heard thunder in the distance, saying, “That was us!” I just got a little wet, but was appreciative for the rinse the boat was getting.

Tonight is my third night in a marina, this one having both shower and washing machine. Boat and I are restored.