Saturday, June 14, 2008 5:29 PM CDT
COLUMN: Paducah, Ky., offers many family activities
By ROB STROUD, Staff Writer
rstroud@jg-tc.com
When my wife and I were discussing nearby places where we could celebrate our recent five-year anniversary, our thoughts soon turned to Paducah, Ky.
Paducah has become one of our favorite weekend getaway destinations over the years. The downtown river front there offers the attractions of larger cities without the crowds and traffic. It also helps that Paducah is only an approximately 3-hour drive from home.
Our five-year anniversary marked our fourth trip to this western Kentucky town and our fourth stay at the Paducah Harbor Plaza Bed & Breakfast. This inn has become kind of a home away from home for us.
The Paducah Harbor Plaza is located in a five-story building that dates back at least 100 years, when it was the Hotel Belvedere. This inn offers the comforts associated with a B & B in a lively downtown setting just one block from the Ohio River.
Breakfast is served within the guests’ individual rooms. The menu typically includes sausage, egg and cheese appetizers, a large blueberry muffin, and mixed fruit. In addition, the second-floor kitchen is kept stocked with snacks and drinks for guests.
The rooms offer views of downtown buildings and the Ohio River. The view is even more impressive when seen from the inn’s rooftop garden.
Each of our visits has included a meal at The Whaler’s Catch, located near the inn. Whaler’s Catch specializes in seafood and New Orleans-style cuisine, two of my favorites. The restaurant offers a two-story patio for outdoor dining in sight of the river.
We sometimes walk off our meal by looking over the murals that have been painted on the city’s flood wall.
The murals tell the history of Paducah. This history includes Gen. William Clark’s founding of Paducah in 1827 at the confluence of the Ohio and Tennessee rivers, and the Civil War battle that was fought there.
On the other side of the wall, a park runs along the river. We once rode on a riverboat that docked there to provide educational programs about its work. My wife and I, and our daughter, saw the Delta Queen river cruise boat dock during our anniversary trip.
The timing of our anniversary trip coincided with the Downtown After Dinner program. Live music, vintage car shows and other entertainment are offered from 7-10 p.m. Saturdays mid-May through mid-September.
Our 2-year-old daughter liked seeing a living statue, as depicted by an artist who painted herself grey and stood stone-still on a pedestal. She also liked the carriage rides through downtown and along the river, where distant tugboat lights showed in the dark.
With our daughter in tow, we visited the steam engine and rail car display that sits next to the flood wall. We also watched as she splashed her hands in the fountain at the Seamen’s Church Institute maritime training center, the front of which resembles a riverboat.
We took a snack break at the Ice Cream Factory at River Place. There are plenty of other restaurants and shops to explore downtown.
My favorite part of the downtown is the 1905 Market House neighborhood. The 1905 building is home to the William Clark Market House Museum. The museum’s artifacts include furniture once used by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and a quilt made by Mrs. Robert E. Lee.
Several businesses have located along the long, narrow brick streets that border the Market House. The sound of music and laughter drifts out from the restaurants that face the Market House.
The Maiden Alley Cinema and Market House Theatre are also tucked away in this neighborhood. We have not timed our visits to Paducah right yet to see a movie or play there. Maybe there will be an opportunity on trip No. 5.
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