Healthy Living - Stay-Cations

In these challenging economic times, it is often a good and practical thing for individuals and families to plan short, less-expensive vacations that are located closer to home. As it turns out, there are a wealth of things to do and learn in our service area that may serve as mini-vacations that your whole family will love!

For instance, the BSCTC Science Center has world-class planetarium and light shows that are offered most days and evenings of the week. You will want to contact the BSCTC college webpage to see the list of days and times of these performances or you can call the college during regular business hours for more information606-889-3863, ext. 67396.

Butcher Hollow is the famous home place for country music stars Loretta Lynn and her family. It is located at Millers Creek Road and you can sign-up for a tour of the property by calling Webbs General Store at 606-789-3397.

The Samuel May House is a local civil war history museum that is located at the edge of the BSCTC campus. You can call the Prestonsburg Tourism and Convention Commission (606-886-1341 or 800-844-4704) to arrange a tour of the historic house that has been recently re-built and learn about the history of our local families that have played a huge role in the civil war battles in our area.

Paintsville Lake State Park is located in Paintsville, KY and hosts a wide variety of family friendly activities. Amenities include: campgrounds, picnic shelters, playgrounds, a restaurant, fishing pier, walking trails, and much more! Please call 606-297-8486 for general information or 606-297-8488 to make camping reservations.

The Bingo Shack is located at 355 KY Rte. 114 and is your standard bingo hall. You can call 606-886-3701 for more details if you are interested in this gaming opportunity.

The Big Sandy Heritage Center is located at 773 Hambley Boulevard in Pikeville. It is home to hundreds of exhibits and relics from the Civil War era to Mayor William Hambleys cut-through project, to Pikevilles entry into the minor leagues and pre-professional sports teams. You can contact the museum for more information by calling 606-218-6050.

Downtown Prestonsburg hosts Adventure Fun Dome and Learning Center! It is full of interesting things for children to do and games to play. Main attractions include inflatables, arcade grams, and glow in the dark basketball. You will want to check-out this family-friendly establishment and take a breather while the children have a great time, too! For more information, please call: 606-889-1999.

Pikeville hosts the East Kentucky Expo Center. This establishment attracts many different types of world-class entertainment ranging from musical groups, to sporting events, to garden and car shows. You will want to call the center to learn of the upcoming events they will be hosting this summer. You can visit the Expo at: 126 Main Street in Pikeville or call 606-444-5500.

Oil Springs Cultural Arts and Recreation Center (OSCAR) is located next to Paintsville and hosts a regional arts educational center. Classes provided include: spinning, weaving, quilting, pottery, woodcarving, painting Heritage art, recycled art, dance, music, and drama. The center also houses a caf and gift shop. Please call 606-789-8108 for more details.

Floyd County also offers Thunder Ridgea racing establishment located at 164 Thunder Road in Prestonsburg. In July, there is live harness racing, while all year long there is off-track racing. You can call 606-886-7223 or 606-8867225 for more details. This is also the venue for the annual East Kentucky Fair that occurs each fall. The fair hosts rides for the kids, booths of homemade crafts, various types of student contests, and good food for everyone!

The Van Lear Historical Museum is located at 78 Millers Creek Road in Van Lear and hosts the areas most prominent coal miners museum. Exhibits include mining tools, company doctors office, local Veterans Hall of Fame, original works of art, and the old Van Lear post office. Please call 606-789-8540 for more details.

Archer Park, also located in Prestonsburg, has swimming pools for the family and also playgrounds and picnic shelters for larger family gatherings. Archer Park also has in-door roller skating and a basketball court as well as outdoor tennis courts, baseball diamonds, and horse show rings. There is also a beautiful military monument that sports more than a dozen American flags that pay tribute to the local men and women who have given their ultimate sacrifice for the survival of our country. For more information, you can visit the Park off of US. Highway 23 in South West Prestonsburg or call 606-886-6390.

Prestonsburg is also home to Jenny Wiley State Park, located at 419 Jenny Wiley Drive; telephone number: 606-889-1790. This park is a beautiful venue for a large number of family activities. There are walking trails to explore, picnic grounds for a relaxing outdoor meal, camping grounds and lodge rooms for overnight accommodations, pontoon boats to rent by the hour or the day, and a small golf course for those golf enthusiasts! There are also bike trails and playgrounds for children to enjoy themselves outside. The Jenny Wiley Summer Theatre is located at 121 Theatre Court on the grounds of Jenny Wiley State Park. It hosts 4 summer plays each summer season. Be sure to call the Park to get the current schedule of plays for this year606 886-9274 or 606-889-9164.

Pikeville is also home to the famous Dils Cemetery. It is the first interracial cemetery in Kentucky for both Caucasian and African Americans since the Civil War. It is also the place where some of the infamous Hatfields and McCoys are buried for those of you who may be interested in these legendary feuding families.

The Mountain Home Place is located in Paintsville and hosts a living museum dating back to the 1850s to 1875. You can find displays of authentic tools, clothing, and wares from the civil war era and the buildings include the McKenzie cabin, double crib barn, school house, and Old Fish Trap United Baptist Church. When touring the grounds, you may spot interpreters in authentic costume performing daily chores on the working farm. Please call 606-297-1850 for more details or to arrange a tour.

Both Pikeville and Paintsville have movie theatres for those rainy or too hot days in the middle of the summer. The Movies 5 Theatre located at 449 North Mayo Trail in Paintsville (606-789-6352) and the Riverfill 10 Cinemas located at 214 North Riverfill Drive in Pikeville (606 432-2957) provide comfortable ways for you to cool-off while watching a variety of adult and family friendly shows. Both The Movies 5 and Riverfill 10 Cinemas have been recently renovated so you will be able to relax and enjoy the shows in luxurious digital surround-sound while munching on your favorite movie treats!

Floyd County also hosts the local Storm Hollow golfing range. It is a perfect place to hit a bucket of balls and play a round or two of miniature golf. You can call this establishment for directions and costs of the games.

Pikeville also hosts the local Gattis Pizza located at 274 Cassidy Boulevard. This is a large play land for children; containing video games, inside jungle-gym, carnival-type games, and lots of play space for children to work-out their occasional excessive energies! Gattiland, as it is more commonly known, also provides a smorgasbord of delicious child and adult-friendly food. You can call them at 606-432-4386 for more details.

Paintsville is also home to the US 23 Country Music Highway Museum. This museum has a lot of exhibits from many of the local Kentucky country music stars. Loretta Lyn, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Ricky Skaggs are among the favorite exhibits. You can call (606)-297-1469 for more details.

The National Middle Creek Battlefield is located just outside Prestonsburg on route 114. It is the venue for most of the area Civil War re-enactments that are periodically displayed throughout the year. But, the battlefield is open year-round for curious visitors who want to walk the famous battlefield where important maneuvers took place. It is literally a walk back in time!

Another way you can experience a summer diversion is to visit a different place of worship once in a while. Floyd, Pike, Johnson, Martin, and Magoffin Counties host a wide variety of places of worship including Methodist, Baptist, Catholic, Moslem, Presbyterian, Episcopal, and Church of Christ worship places. Worshipping in a different faith can be both exhilarating and educational, broadening both your spiritual and intellectual horizons.

So, get out there and experience several of the opportunities we have right at homewhat better way is there than to enjoy some personal or family vacation time in our own fun and exciting area?!!

Suggested Resources:

Kentucky Department of Parks, 800-255-7275, www.parks.ky.gov.

Martin County Tourism and Economic Development, 1755 Main Street, Inez, KY 41224, 606-298-4602, www.inez.ky.gov.

Paintsville Recreation and Tourism Commission, US 23 and RT 460, Paintsville, KY 41240(606-789-6352), 606-297-1469 or 800-542-5790, www.visitpaintsvilleky.com.

Pikeville County Tourism Commission, 781 Hambley Boulevard, Pikeville, KY 41501, 606-432-5063 or 800-844-7453, www.tourpikecounty.com.

Prestonsburg Tourism and Convention Commission, 113 South Central Avenue, Prestonsburg, KY 41653, 606-886-1341 or 800-844-4704, www.prestonsburgky.org.

Salyersville Tourism and Convention Commission, South Church Street, Salyersville, KY 41465, 606-334-76578.

Questions or Comments? Please contact: Sabra Jacobs, Professor of Psychology, Big Sandy Community and Technical College, 1 Bert T. Combs Drive, Prestonsburg, KY 41653; email sabra.jacobs@kctcs.edu; call (606) 889-4778; or stop by my office Pike Building, room 209 f on the Prestonsburg Campus.