It's been almost a month since I left Newcastle. After sleeping better than I had in years in Austin, I headed back to Kentucky. My brother and I drove through Texas, spent the night in Hot Springs, Arkansas, had lunch in Memphis, Tennessee, and arrived at my parents' house in Bowling Green, Kentucky, on January 12.
This town is probably not on most Australian's destination list when they consider visiting America, but I reckon it's pretty great and it's not just because I'm biased.
Sunsets are magic here. The people are kind. The smells are sensational from the strong bourbon to the rich soil. Corvettes are famously manufactured here, and Mammoth Cave is right up the road.
The GM Chevrolet Corvette factory employs more than 1200 workers, making that classic American sports car. It's also home to the National Corvette Museum.
I've known southcentral Kentucky my entire life, as most of my family live around these parts. My parents, Tom and Stephanie, were raised on farms in Bowling Green. These days our family farm is increasingly surrounded by suburbs, and the town is now known for restaurants and college students.
National Geographic did once include it in its 10 Best All-American Cities list, and in 2018 Money Magazine ranked Bowling Green the best place in Kentucky to live.
There are a few parallels you could draw between Newcastle and Bowling Green, although it might take a long bow.
Newcastle has some of the world's best beaches, Bowling Green is landlocked for hundreds of miles.
Bowling Green is the third largest city in the Kentucky with a population of 60,000. Newcastle is the second largest city in NSW with nearly half a million.
Both Bowling Green and Newcastle are, however, known for their universities. Western Kentucky University enrolls 17,500 students; University of Newcastle enrolls over 37,000.
I love specific unique things about Bowling Green as well like the uni's Big Red Mascot (Is he a blob? A giant red ghost?) The smell of dog food from the Hill's Pet Nutrition plant will sometimes confuse tourists sometimes confuse with the aroma of country ham.
I know about the tourists of Bowling Green because at 19 I got a job as a tour guide at Lost River Cave and Valley, Kentucky's only underground boat tour.
One thing that Bowling Green does have that Newcastle doesn't is massive cave systems and underground rivers.
For seven summers I worked at this paradise filled with crystal clear blue holes, nature trails, interesting history and, of course, the largest cave mouth this side of the Mississippi River.
It was strange and sometimes daunting driving visitors around on an aluminum electric boat through a cave but also so much fun! I learnt all the cave jargon, "karstland" "sinkholes" "cave crickets" and more terrible cave puns than the world will ever need.
Bowling Green made international headlines back in 2014, when eight Corvettes at the National Corvette Museum were destroyed when a massive sinkhole opened up under the floor of the building, eventually causing the cars to fall in. You can watch the security footage on YouTube.
When it happened, it seemed like the biggest news Bowling Green had had in a long time. That all changed when the town got rocked hard by a massive tornado, just over a month ago. At 1am on Saturday, December 11, the biggest tornado and disaster in Bowling Green history hit. It was one of many cities in the region that was utterly devastated.
The tornado system travelled 350 kilometres from Arkansas through Kentucky and killed 17 people in this town alone. Businesses and houses were completely obliterated.
I wonder if the situation is at all comparable to the Newcastle Earthquake of 1989 which also happened in December. There was incredible damage and destruction, and 13 people were killed.
The damage is still very much here when I returned for Christmas. On New Year's Eve I drove my parents car around looking for firework tents in Walmart parking lots, a common new year's eve activity, only to realise most places with big parking lots have Federal Emergency Management Agency stations set up for potable water, electricity and more.
The damage is still very much here when I returned for Christmas. On New Year's Eve I drove my parents car around looking for firework tents in Walmart parking lots, a common New Year's Eve activity, only to realise most places with big parking lots have Federal Emergency Management Agency stations set up for potable water, electricity and more.
My parents were shocked by the tornado, but fortunately fine. They only lost power when the tornado hit. After the event, all concerns about Covid were on the back burner.
I was so shocked seeing everything driving around as well. When I worked in the cave in the summer time tornadoes were always a possibility in spring and early summer, but in December? That's crazy.
As my brother and I drove away from Bowling Green on New Year's Day a tornado warning went off. Dad and Mum messaged us, alarmed in a closet. They were again fine, and this time the damage was less severe.
Mum was disappointed that she missed First Lady Jill Biden on her visit to Bowling Green on Friday, January 14. The First Lady was coming to survey recovery efforts.
It's strange to be back and see how things are different. The tornado damage was icing on the chaos cake. In so many ways, nothing will ever be the same.
