From A to Z in KY

The plan today was to 1) visit the Zappos shoe outlet store, 2) check out Abraham Lincoln's birthplace, and 3) party. I'll tell you in advance, we were successful on all three counts.

Zappos was founded by Nick Swinmurn in 1999. The initial inspiration came when he couldn’t find a pair of brown Airwalks at his local mall. That same year, Swinmurn approached Tony Hsieh and Alfred Lin with the idea of selling shoes online. Hsieh was initially skeptical, and almost deleted Swinmurn’s voice mail. After Swinmurn mentioned that "footwear in the US is a 40 billion dollar market and 5% of that is already being sold by paper mail order catalogs," Hsieh and Lin decided to invest $2 million through their investment firm Venture Frogs. The company was officially launched in June 1999, under the original domain name "ShoeSite.com."

The big online shoe started with their fulfillment center 20 miles south of Louisville right here Shepherdsville where we're camping. Their outlet is the biggest thing in Shepherdsville and the mecca for folks into shoes.

Shortly before lunch we met up with Nikki and Cory at the mega store. It's about the size of a Wal*Mart and filled with shoes that were apparently returned by their online customers. In my estimation 90% of the store is dedicated to women's shoes and the rest to men's shoes. There was a steady stream of customers perusing the aisles and aisles of five high racks of miscellaneous shoes, mostly arranged in size order. Everything from thongs (the shoe type!) through slippers, pumps, stiletto heels, to boots. All manufacturers you've heard of and some you haven't.

Nikki does have a affinity for shoes and was able to find several pairs she just had to add to her collection, including a pair for her wedding. Most of these shoes were about half of the retail cost. Cory even found a pair of sneakers. Marianne also found something. But I couldn't convince myself to purchase the pair of blue suede loafers I found that fit my big feet.

On July 22, 2009, Amazon announced that it would buy Zappos. The deal was eventually closed in November 2009 for a reported $1.2 billion. On June 22, 2012 Zappos announced it would be shedding their Kentucky warehouse on September 1st, 2012 and move to Henderson, NV. Over 3,000 employees in Zappos' Kentucky warehouse will now be in the care of Amazon. This year Zappos will move their headquarters from Henderson, Nevada to the Old Las Vegas City Hall in downtown Las Vegas.

Did you miss out on that investment potential? So did I. From nothing in 1999 to $1.2 billion just ten years later. Why can't we all be that smart?

After stepping out of Zappos (get it?), Marianne and I headed to Abraham Lincoln's birthplace, about 25 miles south of Shepherdsville. If you've been reading this travel blog or my previous one from 2010 when we traveled mostly around the perimeter of the United States, you know that we're interested in seeing presidential homes or libraries. I've come to the conclusion that a birthplace qualifies as a home.

Honest Abe was born February 12, 1809 in a log cabin, the second child of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Lincoln (née Hanks), in a one-room log cabin on the Sinking Spring Farm in Hardin County, Kentucky (now LaRue County). By the time his son Abraham was born, Thomas owned two 600-acre farms, several town lots, livestock, and horses. He was among the richest men in the county. However, in 1816, Thomas lost all of his land in court cases because of faulty property titles.

The original log cabin that Lincoln was reputed to have been born in was dismantled sometime before 1865. Local tradition held that some of the logs from the cabin were used in construction of a nearby house. New York businessman A.W. Dennett purchased the Lincoln farm in 1894 and used the logs from this house to construct a cabin similar in appearance to the original cabin where Lincoln was born. Soon the cabin was dismantled and re-erected for exhibition in many cities. Eventually the logs for this cabin, along with logs reputed to have belonged to Jefferson Davis' birthplace and possibly a third cabin, were purchased by the Lincoln Farm Association (LFA), which believed they had acquired only Lincoln logs. When workers tried to reconstruct the cabin, they discovered the problem. The LFA bought a one-room cabin similar to the one reconstructed by Dennett. When the last rebuilt cabin was placed in the Memorial Building, its size made visitor circulation difficult. The LFA reduced the cabin's size from 16-by-18 feet to 12-by-17 feet.

Today, historians recognize that the former claim that these logs were from Lincoln's birth cabin was essentially inaccurate. In his book It All Started With Columbus, satirical writer Richard Armour stated that Lincoln had been born in three states and also "in two cabins - the original, and the reconstructed."

So the original log cabin doesn't exist and a replica is housed inside a mausoleum. Hell, I didn't know that. But what the heck, if folks have been coming to this spot for over 100 years to look at this imitation, so will I.

It was warm (make that hot) when we visited the site. It turns out nothing is real on this site except the location. But it is nevertheless interesting. The mausoleum which hold the fake, reduced size cabin had it's cornerstone dedicated by President Theodore Roosevelt (I've already seen two of his homes, the grand one, Sagamore Hill on Long Island, and the one room cabin in Medora, North Dakota) in 1909, and the building was dedicated in 1911 by President William Howard Taft. Officially it's called a memorial log cabin temple, but it looks like a mausoleum to me.

Next to the mausoleum/memorial is a path that leads to an underground spring which gave this area its name: Sinking Spring Farm. This in itself is a treat, but the air temperature just 20 feet below the surrounding ground is about 20° cooler - even a better treat! Old fashioned air-conditioning; I can almost see Abe the Babe drag his bed down here so he can sleep in cool comfort.

The Memorial, fake log cabin, fake interior, and the spring that gave this site its name.
click on collage to enlarge

But the Lincoln's didn't stay here too long, after losing this farm in some sort of monetary screw-up/swindle, they moved about 10 miles east of here to Knob Creek. Another log cabin, which is another fake. The story on this one is that it belonged to a friend of the Lincoln's and more than likely Abe was actually in this cabin. It was moved to the approximate location of the Lincolns' home. Abraham Lincoln's earliest memory was his near drowning in Knob Creek, and being saved by the neighbor's son.

Behind the cabin are the 40 acres the Lincoln's farmed. Abe lived here until the age of seven, but Thomas Lincoln got screwed out of this farm as well. From here they moved to Indiana, on a site that now proudly proclaims itself as Lincoln's boyhood home. 

The Next Fake Lincoln Log Home
click on collage to enlarge

After a long day of Lincolnizing it was time to head back to the campsite and get ready for the evening's festivities: Cory's dad, Gary, and Cory's brother-in-law, Jansen, would have their gourmet sandwich food truck at the soft opening of the Apocalypse Brewery in Louisville. The Apocalypse Brewery would provide the beer and the Four Square Sandwich Co., the food. A perfect combination to have!

At the venue we got to meet more of Cory's family and friends who all turned out for the event. As Gary and Jansen slaved away at making their delicious sandwiches, we'd enjoy the nectar of the gods, including an interesting watermelon beer - don't knock it until you've tried it, I've tried it, and I'm not knocking it!

Fare & Square sandwich truck at Apocalypse Brewery
click on collage to enlarge

A good time was had by all, and after a long day, we still had to drive back south to our campground. Tomorrow is another day!