Clear blue skies today and a long driving day with touch-downs in 5 states; Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri.
We left our hotel in Florence, Kentucky at 8:00 and drove 15 minutes to the city of Covington, Kentucky (just across the Ohio River and state border from Cincinnati, Ohio) for a quick stop to see the absolutely breathtaking Cathedral Bascilica of the Assumption. This cathedral is 360 degrees of stained glass windows (no Tiffanys) and is right up there as one of my favorite churches to date. The sun was so bright in the east this morning, it made the windows almost unbearably bright… the camera could not even take a reasonable photo in the apse over the alter. Nevertheless, the most remarkable thing about this church is the north window… a 67 foot window which holds the claim as the world’s largest hand-made stained glass window. It depicts the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431AD that proclaimed Mary as the Mother of God. Jaw-dropping! (see Gallery/World Windows for all photos)
We couldn’t stay in Covington too long as we were heading north for a 1.5 hour drive to make the 10:00 church service at the Reid Memorial Presbyterian church in Richmond, Indiana. We got there at 10:15 and slipped into the back pew in time to catch a remarkable sermon from Rev. Joseph Fields… the message was about the last will and testament of Jesus, “Love One Another”. Monica and I shared communion with the congregation and really enjoyed the closing hymn “Dance in the Morning” which you would recognize as John Allen Cameron’s “Lord of the Dance”. After the service, Rev. Fields gave us a private tour and history lesson on this 185 year old church with its 63 signed Tiffany windows. (!!!) As with the cathedral in Covington earlier this morning, the sun was so bright, I could not get great photos. Nevertheless, what a thrill it was to be there and see these windows.
Then we drove west, past Indianapolis, across southern Illinois which is as flat as a pancake… farm lands and skies as far as you can see, and finally arriving in St. Louis, Missouri where we will stay for a couple of days. They have had terrible rains here lately and the Mississippi River is swollen to dangerous levels. We are hopeful the nice weather now will help speed up the receding water levels.
Here are the photo highlights of day 23 – Arriving St. Louis
nellyglass studio 