6/30/2026 - Paducah KY - Sunny Hot - 94F

 6/30/2026 - Paducah KY - Sunny Hot - 94F 

(Heat Index 110 -114)

The boat docked quietly at Broadway Ramp Landing

Port Information. Paducah, Kentucky is a UNESCO Creative City, known for its quilting heritage and visual arts.  Paducah sits at the convergence of the Ohio and Tennessee rivers.  It boasts the “National Quilting Museum” as well as other museums in the area near the wharf.  Paducah was also known as “Atomic City” for its Uranium Enrichment Facility. The plant, which used “gas diffusion” to separate U235 from U238 for use in reactors (not bombs), closed in 2013 and is under remediation to reduce the radioactivity levels.  In 2025, the city had approximately 26,700 to 27,100 residents.

Another restless night - lots of ups and downs. No reason.

Up early enough to get a shower (badly needed in this humidity).

Breakfast starter in the Sky Lounge at 7 AM today. There was no Special K (amazing but confirmed by Emma) so I had two small Raisin Brans plus coffee. Ate my breakfast on the open deck and enjoyed the views of both Mississippi and the wharf area.  I wanted to stay out there longer but it was already warm and getting warmer.  I was up early enough to get the sunrise.

We both went to the Restaurant for the real breakfast. We both had pancakes and eggs (ET banana, HMT chocolate chip). Very good. The food rota has shortened because we had pancakes two days ago. The pancakes were back to their delicious form after a brief break last time.  

We are going to do the "Paducah Loop" today, a 30 min ship run "hop on hop off" circuit.  There are five stops on the loop: 

The National Quilt Museum 

Lowertown Arts District 

Civil War Museum 

Paducah Railroad Museum 

Inland Waterways Museum

Slathered in sunscreen, we scanned off the boat around 9:25 AM. I got a nice picture of the American Heritage from the top of the cement wharf ramp 

before we boarded the American Cruise Lines bus.  The Inland Waterways Museum (located across the street from the wharf entrance) was just opening We will go there as the last stop on the loop.

We drove through an opening in the Flood Wall, which runs for several blocks.  On the side facing the city, the wall is covered with murals depicting various events in the history of Paducah.  

The first stop, The Railroad Museum, hadn't opened yet, so we decided to do the whole loop to see what was involved. The "Artist's Quarter" was next - home to several antebellum homes.

Only one original two story home remained because, during the Civil War, Confederate soldiers would use the second story to fire from; the Union soldiers were ordered to burn all two story homes. There were no restaurants or grocery stores or even gas stations. We were also told that there were no drug stores or pharmacies in the area. A couple of cute coffee shops did have customers at outside tables.

On the second time around we stopped at the National Quilt Museum.  

Along the walkway to the museum, there is a monument to Lewis and Clark, although Sacajawea did not join the two explorers when they were in this region, she is included in the sculpture.  

In the 30 minutes we were in the nice air conditioned and well appointed museum, we saw incredible quilts. They looked like paintings but they were made from tiny pieces of cloth. One particularly amazing quilt was actually made from wood. 

I took a lot of pictures, some of which are down below. Admission is $20 per adult - included on this tour.

My personal favorite was a take on Vermeer's classic. This was called "Girl with a Pearl Onion" creative.

We did not stop in the Artist's Quarter - heat was intense and the area was not that interesting. The Quarter was created as part of the Paducah's Artist Relocation Program (ARP), an urban revitalization initiative that transforms blighted areas into thriving creative hubs. Launched in 2000, it recreated the historic Lower Town neighborhood (a part of the city considered dangerous and not visited by town folk) by offering artists incentives to purchase, restore, and live in the area.

Next stop: The Railroad Museum. Trains all over. 

Model trains and train related road signs filled the place. Had to get out of their earlier than 30 min because the place was musty. We sat outside in the heat but not that long.

The last stop was the Inland Waterways Museum. 

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The highlight here was the boat simulator. I drove a speedboat down the Ohio River and under a bridge.  Low tech but fun.

Since this final stop is close to the landing, Ellen walked back to the boat – 

she went quickly to void the sun and the heat. I would follow. As I began the walk, I saw Omer walking briskly on the other side of the road, most likely trying to catch his plane to his next gig. 

On my way, Brody, the Excursion Manager, asked me if I wanted a ride back in the golf cart (a rental to complement the two the ship had). I got a chance to see some of the murals that line the back of the flood wall and I avoided heat stroke.  One mural I really liked was the "Atomic City" one.

Barody took the long way back to the boat but soon I scanned in and joined Ellen in the cabin. The AC felt wonderful.

Lunch for both of us was the “American Cruises Tuna Melt” sandwiches - tuna on an English Muffin with melted Swiss cheese on top. ET liked her but I've had better tuna. I had a side of coleslaw and broccoli salad (not great).  I did have a Corona which was perfect for dealing with the heat

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and some very good chocolate pie.

For the first time ever on a ship we played Bengo aka Bingo at 3PM in the Sky Lounge. I was one of four winners in Game 1 and claimed a nice white logo cap (perfect size). Only the second time I won anything on a cruise (I won a pen once on a gig and the cruise director said I could keep it).

After cooling off in the room, we had dinner in the Restaurant.

We both ordered seared salmon (nothing for us on the menu) and I had another iceberg wedge with ranch dressing. My salad was good but our salmon entrees were very over.  The NY cheesecake with peach compote saved the dinner.  

Ellen tried the Moscato - not sweet enough for her.

During dinner the boat went through the Smithland Locks, which raised the boat about 6 ft. As we exited the locks, the ship hit something - the impact was significant - perhaps the wall. No explanation was offered.

The headliner tonight is local singer Johnathan Len (lives in Paducah) and his show "Juke Box Memories". 

He jumped from the American Melody (it passed us coming from Paducah) to the Heritage when she docked.  He has been doing American Cruises for six years (250 shows, I think he said) after being a teacher and then a journeyman entertainer. He was an opening act for a country singer.

Even though he's 44 years old, he's into 50s and 60s music. His song list included just about every singer from that era, including The Shirelles, Bobby Darin, Beach Boys, Platters, but the showstopper was Johnny Horton's "Battle of New Orleans".  He also shared snippets from his background. It was a very entertaining show.

Lights out at 10:30 PM.