Fast Cars, Racing Horses, and Smooth Whiskey

Days 19 – 26, Nashville TN to Birmingham, MI

Leaving Nashville we took the back roads so we could see the countryside rather than the back of a semi-trailer on the interstate.  Beautiful!  The farms all look pristine with the white fences and rolling hills.  We spotted several fields of tobacco and the hanging sheds. 

 

Somebody's Old Kentucky Home

Hanging Tobacco

While in Nashville we noticed many smokers, but excused it away to the music and whiskey and cigar shops in “The District.”  Now that I’ve seen the tobacco farms, I guess it is just part of the local economy.

We headed to Bowling Green, KY and at the suggestion of my brother who owns a 50^th Anniversary Corvette, we went to the National Corvette Museum.  It was lots of fun!  They had just finished filling in the big crater in the floor that had consumed several of the beautiful vettes.  We loved seeing all the older models and learned quite a bit of history about the car.  It’s hard to walk through that museum without wanting one!

Bowling Green KY

Dreaming!

Since we didn’t order a sports car, we decided to drown Bob’s sorrow in a bottle of whiskey by going to the Jim Beam Distillery.  He lost out again; poor guy can’t have any fun!  We’ve been to distilleries in Scotland when we lived in the UK so he wasn’t very interested in doing a tour.  I think he was just hoping for a tasting room . . . pay $5 for a couple shots.  But that’s not how that distillery works so he walked away with only an appreciation for the very nice countryside and a desire to see more of the famed whiskey trail.  By the way, it’s actually called the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®, a registered trademark name of the Kentucky Distillers Association.

Made in America

Clermont KY

 

Fast cars and whiskey . . . now it was time to head to the horse races!  We went to Churchill Downs and visited the Kentucky Derby Museum.  Very enjoyable!  Our tour guide was very well informed and funny.  The tour was pretty encompassing so we felt we learned quite a bit.  Pity the 1913 horse, Donerail, who raced with the longest odds of 91-1.  His owner did not bet on him . . . and of course he won! 

Twin Towers on National Historic Register

Interesting factoids

After our tour we enjoyed lunch in the Kentucky Derby Café and ordered the local favorite, Kentucky Burgoo.  It is a meaty stew of no less than 8 vegetables and three different meats; served with cornbread it was excellent!  I’ll be looking for a recipe for this local dish.  www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/kentucky_burgoo/ 

The fall races at Churchill Downs began after lunch; we had lots of fun watching and let’s just say that one of us had a couple winning tickets, small but ahead of the game!

Lucky Me!

My winning horse!

Taking country roads again we started for Lexington but got sidetracked at the Wild Turkey Distillery . . . this time Bob did get to indulge.  I find it all interesting because he rarely drinks whiskey, or I guess it is actually bourbon, but . . . when in KY buy bourbon. 

 

Lawrenceburg, KY

Lots of varieties

There’s a lot of history surrounding the making and distribution of bourbon in Kentucky, and this is an area we’d like to explore more on another trip.  For more information, check out  kybourbontrail.com/

All of Kentucky is horse country, but particularly around Lexington.  It is beautiful and totally it’s own world and culture.  The farms were rolling across the hills, magnificent dry stonewalls, deep green grassy pastures, and creosote stained fences.  Located on the Kentucky River, Lexington is the heart of the Bluegrass Region of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.  There are only four in the US (VA, MA, PA & KY, who knew?) Every bit of KY that we saw, but particularly the area around Lexington is very idyllic and picturesque, and worthy of another trip someday. 

 My insight into retirement for today is that we have not allowed enough time to dawdle and enjoy the beautiful places we are seeing.  The purpose of this trip was to visit family and friends and in retrospect we have over-obligated our time.  Hopefully we will get smarter as time goes on and we learn more about our travel temperaments and tolerances.

But as the road trip continues, we have made plans to visit friends who have retired at Lake Waynoka, OH which is just about an hour east of Cincinnati.  We met M&T when we lived in England and have enjoyed visiting with them while they lived in Calgary, AB Canada and again when they came to our home in WA.  This time it is wonderful to see them relaxed and enjoying their dream home on the lake.  It was a very good visit, and we look forward to many more in coming years.  Leaving here, the farms go by one after another in OH and again, we have the sense of “we feed America.”  

Lake Waynoka OH

Ripley OH

OH River

Somewhere in OH

From OH we enter Indiana for about a hundred miles and spot several wind farms and lots of cornfields.  At this point I count the states we have traveled through on this trip.  With entering MI, we are at thirteen (WA, OR, ID, UT, CO, KS, MO, IL, KY, TN, OH, IN, & MI.)  We haven’t decided on a route home from MI so there will be a few more to add to the list!

Corn & windfarms in Indiana

Somewhere in Indiana

 Our destination for the evening is Grand Rapids, MI so we can tour the Gerald R. Ford Museum.  Bob’s cousin is a sculptor specializing in models; one of her early works was a model of the White House for display in the museum.  Sadly, we didn’t find it.  The docent thought perhaps the model had been removed and a technology driven display of the White House has replaced the artwork.  Disappointing!

President & Mrs. Ford's Gravesites

Our next visit is with friends who live in Whitehall, MI a lovely small town near Lake Michigan.  We’ve known A for 35+ years and have gotten to know her husband, J, recently.  They hosted us a couple years ago and were such good hosts we looked forward to visiting again.  It was a very relaxing and we needed the respite.

Lighthouse

Charming Whitehall MI

It’s time to head across MI to the suburbs of Detroit, specifically Birmingham, where Bob grew up.  He will be attending his 50^th high school class reunion; he’s never gone to one before so it should be fun to meet and greet and reminisce.  After several days of travel, he is ready to travel down memory lane and go home.