I cannot believe I accidently unsuscribed to this. How did I manage that? Thank you for telling me some wonderful things about southeren IL. We almost settled in Bardstown, KY as well. One thing I couldn't come up with at the moment: Our part of Illinois is real cheese country. I mean the good stuff. The basics are made around here, but people are getting more artisiinal and making some truly wonderful aged cheese. I live in the "tri-state-area", meaning that Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois are all within spitting distance. Great cheese, pork, and veal (where you have cheese, you have veal). Yummmmmmmy