Big Als Deli is a food shack in the middle of a Nashville residential neighborhood, nestled within a 100 year old building. Its a rare spot of neighborhood culinary flair, and a sweet location for getting some real southern food.

It was the perfect place to lay back, be a character, and vibe with the workers and the locals. We talked about all kinds of stuff; sportsball, food, local zoning laws, life in Nashville. Its a solid location to wrap up the Music City experience.

I was going to need that energy; the rest of the vacation is a no-hotel, no-airBnB experience with multiple romps through nature.

Leaving Tennessee and entering into Kentucky, I had a ton of trouble trying to determine where I might set up camp for later. Same problem as before; no reservations. … At least I could reserve tomorrow nights now, and not run into this problem later.

However, I had a different reservation to catch. A 2-hour cave tour at Mammoth Cave!

Thick woods over rolling hills, winding roads leading through miles of wilderness. I’m deep in National Park territory, and rolling towards the visitors center of Mammoth Cave. The interior of the visitors center is part tour scheduling, part mini-museum, with a handful of stuff to see while waiting for your tour to start.

Our instructor gathered the group outside; a short, stout-bearded, ranger-hatted man with a Kentucky drawl and a storytellers wit. The march down the path and to the mouth of the cave emerged to several steps, descending into chambers and wide caverns. The walls bore layers of sedimentary, shale, and limestone, carved after centuries of water erosion to create dry and walkable rooms and narrows through the earth.

This cave holds a history. Ancient peoples explored and used the cave for thousands of years, as did the native americans of the AD period. Its colonized rediscovery in 1798 predated all national parks and served as a highlight of early America during a time when a budding nation sook to establish its identity as a frontier of great wonders. It held prominence in black history as a slave saltpeter mine and a place of guided tourism. It was the site of a physician’s attempt to cure consumption and house those afflicted by it. The emergence of the conservation corps during the Great Depression transformed the area into the National Park known today.

While wildly skimming over a lot of details here, it is truly a site of long-time national pride and identity.

You can learn more about Mammoth Cave here:

After the adventurous 2-hour historic tour, and the short visit to the gift shop, I hit the road once more, bound for Louisville.

No plans on exploration, and likely less opportunity to really enjoy the city, I did take a quick drive tour, and then managed to track down one of its cult favorite eats. Its how I do. Its the foodie life.

Right on the edge of Germantown, train tracks and freeway separating it from downtown, is Hammerheads,… another eatery in the midst of a residential area, grandfathered in despite zoning.

A community staple with great food, that enjoys a hybrid vibe between a polished bistro, and cozy basement dive-bar. A spot that is great for both young professionals seeking a fun night out, and middle age community-minded locals who… are also looking for a fun night out, with an amazing sliders, ribs, sandwiches, burgers, tacos, and bar fare. … The roasted duck tacos were superb!

In both cases, Hammerheads and the property at Big Al’s were grandfathered into their respected neighborhoods, circumventing residential zoning. They are shining examples of community eateries in places that light up the neighborhood with a sense of culture, unique cuisine, a place of gathering, and a monument of community identity. In a country filled with heavily zoned neighborhoods, food deserts, angry NIMBYs, and heavy-handed governments, I’m saddened more locations such as these don’t exist to remind us that the country used to be a place filled with living communities of people sharing the space they inhabited in good faith and richer quality of social life. Now, the country is dominated by suburban sprawl, isolated houses with tarmac and concrete moats, and stroad networks.

Buy hey! At least there is 40 miles of road to drive into Indiana so I can crash in my car at a random rest-stop. Probably the worst sleeping I’ve had.

Tomorrow is back into Kentucky, and through the eastern end toward the Makers Mark Distillery.