Tuesday, June 08, 2021

Take Me Back to Louisville, Take Me 'Neath That Southern Sky

Well, shit. It's been a week now, and I still haven't finished my Louisville posts. So, this one is about our crazy, busy second day in Louisville. We got up around 7, so we could be out of the house by 8. We got breakfast, and headed over to the Heigold house facade. We came upon it by accident the last time we were in town. So, this time we went to see it on purpose. It is great for pictures, after all.


We headed over to Churchill Downs, and went straight to the Kentucky Derby museum. It was pretty cool. They had an exhibit about people of color involved in the derby, and another on women jockeys. The movie they show is definitely the best part. So, if you go, make sure you check it out.

 I figured if I was going to Churchill Downs, I should probably drink a Mint Julep. I know myself well enough to get one to split with someone else. I knew it was going to have whiskey in it, I just didn't know it was going to taste exactly like whiskey and nothing else. At least we got a photo of me making such a "pretty face". Ahem.


Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that it was f*cking FREEZING that day. It was also misting. We definitely did NOT feel like we were in the South (even though we were technically about 10 minutes into the South). It would be nice not to be shivering on Memorial Day weekend.

Anyway,  we had great seats to watch the races. The kids gambled and lost. Surprise, surprise, but they had a lot of fun losing, so I guess it was worth it? Coadster's boyfriend, A. loves animals, so he was super into watching the horses at Churchill Downs.


We also stopped by the family business when we were there. Of course, we had about 5 minutes to say hi to my cousin's kid, and he had to go out and take photos of the winner of the race that just finished, so it was hurried. Most importantly? We got a photo out of it.


The reason we were so pressed for time was because Coadster and A. wanted to get to the Muhammad Ali museum and it closed at 5. We made it in plenty of time. John and I had been to it once before in 2013. It's really cool, though, and we were happy to see it again.


After the museum we headed back to our place to change. I had made dinner reservations for 6:30. We were heading out the door with about 20 minutes before our reservation, when the restaurant called and told us they couldn't take any more tables that night. Really? I've never had that happen to me before. Of course, Louisville just opened up from Covid four days before, so half the restaurants were closed for good, and the ones that were open were severely short staffed and training about half their new employees. 

We were lucky to find a place on Fourth Street Live with only a half  hour wait. It wasn't a super exciting place, but it wasn't horrible, and I understand it was all a HUGE first world problem. It was  just all so weird, and we were talking about how we would always remember this trip as our return from Covid (hopefully it's a return without any back sliding).



 Anyway, we stopped at this place called the Side Car for a nightcap. It was so cute, and the staff were all so friendly and they were playing The Cure's greatest hits and they had cool cocktails, and it was a great way to end the night. Well, that, and taking pictures with the Troll Under the Bridge, that is.


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