Two Kentucky women have a unique way of exploring the Commonwealth. They say it’s a great way to feed their bodies and their souls.
Hovering over a laptop computer at the kitchen counter, close friends and next-door neighbors Barbara Hamilton and Barbara Stokley are searching the internet for a Kentucky mom-and-pop type restaurant they’d like to try.
The widows who’ve lived next door to each other in Georgetown for eight years have made a game out of eating at different restaurants in every Kentucky county.
Seventy-six-year-old Barbara Hamilton said the fun all started during COVID, when they had to eat in their car.
“We just started having lunch out once a week. And then Barbara mentioned a place that she would like me to go to that was in Carrollton. And then I mentioned a place, let’s go to Paris. And then we just got to talking, well, let’s start going to different counties. And then we decided we were going to travel Kentucky and have lunch at all 120 counties,” explained Hamilton.
The women call their culinary excursions B&B Adventures of Kentucky. It took them two years to complete visiting all 120 counties. But they missed the adventures so much, Hamilton said, they’re at it again.
“After, I don’t know, two or three weeks, we missed the excitement, the fun. We giggle. We laugh. Barbara one morning, she said I’ll be ready with bells on in the morning and she jumps in the car and she starts ringing bells," said Hamilton.
Both neighbors were raised in Kentucky, but Barbara Stokley said they’re enjoying places in the state they’ve never seen before.
“I had never been to eastern Kentucky. And you know, usually when my husband, well, my family went on vacation, we went to Florida. We didn’t go to places in Kentucky. And I’m finding out now there’s a lot better places in Kentucky than any place else,” said Stokley.
On this day, the women have traveled to Kenton County and the iconic Greyhound Tavern.
One of Hamilton’s criteria for selecting a restaurant is its history. Munching on an onion ring the size of a butter plate, she reads a little of the Tavern’s history.
Barbara Stokley recalls how the pair would select a destination when they first started this adventure.
“We started doing the research on the internet, and then Barbara came up with the idea of putting them in a Ziplock bag and just picking out where we’re going to go. She would write the name of the restaurant, the town, the county, how long it took to get there, and the phone number,” said Stokley.
Stokley said they are a little more particular now. They visit one county a week, a different city this round, but spend extra time researching. The 74-year-old said a trip to western or eastern Kentucky usually becomes an overnight stay.
“And then we try to eat breakfast in one county, lunch in one county, and supper in one county,” explained Stokley.
After a satisfying lunch at Greyhound Tavern, B&B Adventures get back on the road. Barbara Stokley said she is living with an eye condition and is unable to drive. So, Barbara Hamilton does all the driving.
“I see a lot of things through her eyes because I can’t see it. She’ll tell me what’s going on down the road, and I can’t see it because I have to be able to focus before I can see,” said Stokley.
Hamilton said one of their newfound favorite places to hang out is Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in western Kentucky.
”And we like to go to the Elk and the Bison farm. And we have spent four hours in there, two little old ladies driving around watching the animals,” said Hamilton.
They’ve even had a few dicey situations while driving, said Hamilton. Once the GPS took them down the wrong road, and she wasn’t sure what she was going to do. She said it felt scary.
“So, I’m scared to death, and it’s a little bitty country road that takes you to a creek bed. But out of the sky blue there was a mail carrier that come down this road. It was a woman. And she stopped and she got out and told me what to do. Anyway, I feel like she was our Guardian Angel. She got in the car and left,” said Hamilton.
From places like Fat Patty’s in Boyd County to Otto’s in Kenton County, to people they meet along the way and beautiful sights in the Bluegrass, the women said restaurant hopping in Kentucky is a fun way to feed their bodies and their souls.
