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We traveled the entire sunset coast of Michigan this summer and while it seemed each tiny beach town was more adorable than the last, Traverse City took us completely by surprise. best small town You see, I’ve never thought much about the state of Michigan, I don’t know why I just never have.  It wasn’t on my must see list and I didn’t know anything about it other than it’s the home of Detroit and the unofficial state bird is the mosquito. So, you can imagine my surprise when we landed in Traverse City, the realm of beautiful beaches, cherries, wine, micro brews and endless small town charm.

We rarely spend more than a week in any destination, but the small town of Bardstown Kentucky had us feeling like two weeks wasn't enough.

Sounds crazy right?  How could a town with a population around 12,000 keep us entertained for so long? With history dating back to the late 1700’s you’d think visitors like Jesse James, Abraham Lincoln, Daniel Boone, Stephen Foster and even Pope Pius VII would have made this place famous…sure all these people left their mark in Bardstown history but it’s the more familiar names that really make this place famous:  Jim Beam, Haven Hill, Barton, Willett and Maker’s Mark.  Not bad lineup for such a small town! To be perfectly honest we came for the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and only planned to spend a week, but after just three days of exploring, here are our top 5 reasons we decided to extend our stay: