We've been in the Midwest for 15 years now and have only managed to visit two areas outside of Ohio; Traverse City, Michigan and Chicago, Illinois. Both were great trips that we all enjoyed immensely. This winter while thinking about places to go during summer break we thought about seeing the sights in Boston, or Seattle or Yellowstone. Why is it that the places close to home are the last ones we think about visiting?
This year that changed with our trip to Kentucky. We started in Louisville which was a quick 3 hour drive down 71.
We found a downtown full of restored buildings and amazing artwork. While on our way to the Louisville Slugger factory,
Steve hung out with a former mayor of Louisville.
Then, CJ and I sat on a beautiful horse. In the couple of block walk to the museum we fell in love with the city.
The Slugger factory and museum were fascinating. We saw a bat being turned on a lathe, just as they were when the factory first made their famous bats. Back then it took 20 minutes to make one bat. Now machines turn one out in just 30 seconds. Our tour guide told us all about the wood, ash & maple, used for making bats and how the best grades are used for professional bats. They have a machine that is dedicated to making bats for MLB players, it was not in use when we were there but was impressive looking. Bats can have many different finishes and players have their favorites. There are even bats coated in carbon fiber.These are used by players who are making the switch from aluminum, which is not allowed in the majors, to wood. It was a great place to visit even for us non baseball fans!
Next we visited the Frazier Museum. It houses assorted weaponry from English history. Steve and CJ listened to a recreation of a battle from the Crimean War, which was what The Charge of the Light Brigade is based on. While they listened to the account of a bloody battle, I wandered through the pistol and rifle room. Don't worry Steve and CJ got to see it too!!! The museum was three stories of English battle history. My favorite parts were the evolution of the Tower of London and the section on pirates.
After checking into the hotel we walked down to the river to have dinner. It was fun to look out on the water while eating. On our way back from dinner, we were surprised to see moose in Kentucky.
For being a state famous for its horses the only ones we have seen so far are like this one.
On our second day in Louisville we headed to the science museum. It was about a six block walk which we did mostly in the shade of the buildings. At 9:30 in the morning it was already quite warm. They are having the same warmer than usual temps as Ohio is. On our way we stopped to explore a riverside park. The park reminded me of Rittehouse Square with it green spaces and benches, it also had 'dancing water' and a fountain and of course the river. At the river we learned about the men from Kentucky who traveled with Lewis and Clark.
The science museum was good, not our favorite, but good. In case you are wondering our favorites are San Francisco and Seattle.
The visit to the glass museum was great. We enjoyed watching a 'martini' glass being created. Martini is in quotes because while it had the shape of a traditional martini glass it was much more elaborate than anything one would see at a store. The factory makes just about every type of glass object that you could think of. The glass walkway we had passed earlier that connected a hotel and the convention center was made at this factory. They are working on another for the city as well. Their work is commissioned from all over the world. Currently they are working on a cathedral in Chicago and a chandelier for a mall in Dubai.
While we hate to leave Louisville we are happy to have see some of what it has to offer and decide that it would be a great place to visit again. It's time to get back in the car and head down to the cave area. Maybe we'll see horses on the way.
