In mid-February Mike and I hopped in the car for a 6-hour journey to Maysville, Kentucky. It was 7am and the sun was just cresting the horizon. I am not a morning person, but this view warmed my heart and brightened my grumpy morning mood.
Our destination was the KSB Miniatures Collection at the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center. Besides this miniatures museum, there is the Kentucky History Museum, the History of Bourbon Building (Old Pogue Distillery), a genealogical library, and other special exhibits. https://www.kygmc.org
We had previously covered most of the territory on the ride down until about the bottom quarter of Ohio. There the flat lands turned much hillier. We had heard the highest elevation point in Ohio was Hi-Point (Campbell), Ohio...just a few miles from Mike's sister's house near Columbus, Ohio. Even though it doesn't feel mountainous there, we pass this 1,550 "peak" each time we visit her. It must be a very gradual run uphill.
But in southern Ohio, we passed through beautiful hills and dales which looked like higher terrain than at Hi-Point. This is the beginning of the Appalachian Mountain range and we were driving along Ohio's Appalachian Highway. We discussed that Hi-Point must be a local myth, but we checked the altimeter on our GPS and the highest we found was near Mount Orab at only 942 feet!!!
Here we are crossing the Ohio River near Ripley, Ohio into the the state of Kentucky. Maysville was just a few miles further down the road. BTW - The Ohio River is Ohio's lowest elevation point at 455 feet above sea level.
I'm on the board of the Midwest Miniatures Museum in Michigan (written about previously and read more at www.MidwestMiniMuseum.com), so we were excited to see another exhibit of these fine art pieces. Once at the mini museum we were enthralled and amazed. Keep in mind the photos here don't do the museum pieces justice. You must see it for yourself.
This museum is comprised of the lifelong collection of Kathleen Savage Browning's miniatures in 1:12 scale (1-inch in miniature equals 1-foot in real life). At the entry you are teased with small display boxes on the wall. The receptionist makes a point to advise everything you see is real (other than living and natural things like plants, food, people, animals). So when you see jewelry boxes, you are looking at real diamonds, pearls, and gold, etc. Each item is hand-crafted and actually usable if you could fit into the scenarios displayed.
Miniature box made of shells. It's hard to tell the size perspective, but keep in mind these are 1:12 scale.
Vanity kit made of ivory. It is the size of a quarter.
An aquarium...with "fish."
I wish this photo was more clear, but this is a Swiss Army knife with 14 usable utensils. The scissors actually cut. The whole item is about an inch long from open tip to open tip. The workmanship is astounding!
Because it was near Valentine's Day, this was showcased.
Once inside the entry doors, the first thing you see is a miniature of Spencer House. The original was completed in 1766 in England and it is the childhood home of Princess Diana.
Go round to the back and see the 3-story interior.
Another area display specialty rooms, like this bakery and pastry shop.
Baby nursery.
Wedding day.
Some collections within the collection were highlighted, such as these dolls.
Or musical instruments.
Fairy tales were a big topic. Here's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
This piece caught my attention. The small rug takes the world's record of 5,000 hand-knots per square inch. It is 1x1-⅞ inch in size.
And this small hand-knitted sweater set was also amazing. I heard straight pins were used as needles. Even has a matching dog coat.
There was so much more. An underground gnome home. See Mrs. Gnome in the middle.
This conservatory.
Etc, etc. But you will have to stop to see this spectacular bounty of treasures for yourself.
I did buy one souvenir of our visit. A book by Kathleen Savage Browning on her collection and a miniature of that book to the right (little square). All the pages are exactly the same between the two books. Just remarkable!
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If you have visited any of these places, we would love to hear your comments. Or send us recommendations of places we should not miss.