Tour of Louisville

We decided to do the touristy thing today, but the first thing we did was not on the normal tourist schedule.  We stopped by 502 Auto Club which is a very nice garage, but garage is probably not a proper term.  This is a full service auto repair facility but caters more to vintage, classic and race car care and storage.  They do mechanical work as well as paint, metal work and upholstery on site.  Their facility is so clean you could eat off of the floor.  They also provide climate controlled storage for vehicles.  We were quite impressed with the facility.

502 Auto Club

From there, we went downtown to the Louisville Slugger museum.  We took surface streets everywhere so we could see Louisville, and the sections we passed through were older and very nice.  Large trees and very green everywhere.  You can't complain about parking downtown, there are large parking decks on almost every block, one was right behind Louisville Slugger.  So far, it's been top down and so we didn't worry about the overcast sky since we parked in a deck.  The Louisville Slugger factory was very interesting and the tour guide very entertaining and informative.  Bat manufacture is now computerized, with CNC lathes turning out a bat every 30 seconds where it took a craftsman about 30 minutes to do it by hand.  They make about 1.8 million bats every year!  When we left, it was raining so it was time to put the top up.  It rained on and off the rest of the day.

 We then drove to the Highlands area which is a very eclectic mix of shops and restaurants.  We found a parking place and walked around the area and had lunch at a wonderful Louisville landmark, Jack Fry's.  It rained again while we were eating but stopped before we left.  When we got back to the car, it started raining again!  It was time to go to Churchill Downs.  Again, by surface streets which, for the most part, were very nice, lined with older homes with mature trees and very green.  We got to the Kentucky Derby Museum and took a walking tour of the track and paddock, which was very interesting.  There was racing going on, so we watched one race.  Before the race horses came out, a group of leader ponies came out.  These are the calm horses that are used to lead the racehorses to the gate.  The kids in the group got to pet the horses and they were quite well behaved (the horses, not the kids).  The horses were then led out to the gates and we saw the race from the front row.  Churchill Downs is a very large place and hard to imagine with 167,000 people present - the number at the Derby this year.  After wondering around Churchill Downs, we headed back toward the hotel and stopped to eat at a place recommended to us - The Village Anchor in Anchorage (KY, not Alaska).  It was also very good.  It rained most of the time we were eating, but did stop just before we left.  By this time, we're getting a little tired and headed back to the hotel.   I rinsed the car off and hopefully the rain has passed, although there is still about 50% chance of scattered showers tomorrow.  Don't know what the show site will be like tomorrow as its supposed to be on grass.  With all the rain, it may have to be moved to a parking lot, but we'll see when we get there.  Unfortunately, the questionable weather tomorrow may keep lots of people at home.  But, we'll be there, rain or shine!

Churchill Downs original grandstands

Leader ponies

Next stop - Louisville

After a good night's sleep, we had a nice breakfast with our friends, Bill and Sarah Richey who then gave us a tour of Bowling Green before we left for Louisville.  We took hwy. 31W and passed the Icy Sink Baptist Church and a Wigwam motel where you can sleep in a wigwam.  The most famous of these is on Route 66, but there is also one in Cave City, Kentucky.

We passed through several small towns such as Park City, Cave City and Horse Cave.  Kentucky seems to be very green, with most of the roads lined with pastures and cattle.  With the rolling hills, you can see a patchwork of pastures going towards the horizon.  We continued on Hwy. 31E on into Bardstown where we encountered a massive traffic jam.  There was a funeral today for a state trooper that was killed in the line of duty and there was a huge procession of police vehicles that came from all over the state going through town that had traffic snarled.  We stopped for gas and asked if there was any way to get around the  traffic.  They gave us some directions, which turned out to be very easy and we bypassed the traffic and were soon on our way.  We soon got to Louisville where we were caught in some stop and go traffic for a while before getting to our hotel.  We rested a bit then when to a local Cajun place for some etouffee and gumbo, which were good but a little too spicy.  Then back to the hotel to relax and plan tomorrow.

Our Midget got to spend the night with the Richey's wonderful collection of
pre-war MGs and other British car

Nice trip to Bowling Green

Since we broke up the first leg of the trip, we weren't in a big hurry to leave early today.  After getting gas, we left Cleveland on Hwy. 60 and headed toward Bowling Green.  It was overcast and cool and turned into an interesting day.  Traveling the back roads of Tennessee, through towns like Birchwood and Dayton, we came upon two large, black and white cows out for a romp along the highway being chased by their owner on foot!  Don't know how far they got, but they looked like they had smiles on their faces!  We continued on Hwy. 30 and started on some nice  twisty roads going up the mountains.  The road was narrow, with no shoulder and a steep drop off with trees on both sides.  For a brief few seconds, the trees on the right disappeared and there was a spectacular view of the town of Pikeville in a large valley below.  Unfortunately, there was no way to stop and take a picture.  We wound down the mountain, went through Pikeville, then up the mountain on the other side and on through Sparta and Smithville.  There was interesting art along the way, such as the fence along one farm where there were rusting hulks of various large farm implements and tractors regularly spaced along the fence, like sculptures.  The roads have been very good, not many trucks or billboards, light traffic and in good condition.  We stopped in Lebanon, TN for lunch and gas.  We spotted the Sunrise Cafe, a local diner that was not much from the outside, but there were many cars and pickup trucks in the parking lot.  We decided to give it a try.  It was not much on the inside either, but it was very busy.  And, it was wonderful.  The people couldn't have been nicer.  Very friendly.  It's one of those places where everyone calls you by your name, if your name is honey, sweetie or baby!  We ordered hamburgers, which were the good, old-fashioned, cooked on a griddle, moist and dripping grease, multiple napkin kind.

 From Lebanon, the roads flattened out, the sun came out and it started getting warmer.  We got to Bowling Green and realized that we had gained an hour, so we headed to the Corvette museum, stopping first at the Assembly Plant.  Although the plant is closed for tours because of the model changeover, we saw a new 'Vette in the parking log so stopped to look.  Not sure if I like the new styling, too sharp and angular, but maybe it will grow on me.  Will have to wait to see what the convertible will look like.

We then went across the street to the National Corvette Museum which is filled with some very nice and interesting displays and dioramas with many Corvettes from all the years.  Many are on loan from individuals from across the country.

After the museum, we headed over to visit friends who have several British cars, including a wonderful collection of pre-war MGs.  We had a nice visit and dinner in downtown Bowling Green.  We'll get a good night's sleep before the next leg to Louisville.

On the road to Louisville

May 28, 2013

Midgettravels is on the road again.  We have several trips planned this year, but this one is our most ambitious.  We're heading to the British Bash in Louisville, KY.  We plan on stopping in Bowling Green, KY to see the Corvette museum across the street from the assembly plant.  We wanted to tour the plant, but unfortunately, they are retooling for a new model and it is closed for now.  We'll then go to Louisville to check out Churchill Downs, Louisville Slugger and other places of interest before the show on Saturday.  On the way home, we are going to Paris, KY. for a stop at Claiborne Farm to pay our respects to Secretariat.

Our M.O. has changed for this trip.  We usually leave early in the morning to avoid the traffic leaving Atlanta, and because it is nice and cool.  But, since our first leg to Bowling Green was a long one, we decided to leave the afternoon before and break up the leg.  So, we left around 3:30 pm, made it out of Atlanta after an hour or so and continued on our back road route.  It was warm when we left, but tolerable, but it got cooler, esp. as we traveled tree lined roads.  We stopped at Edna's in Chatsworth for a wonderful homestyle meal, then continued on to Cleveland, TN where we spent the night.  That will give us an easy drive tomorrow to Bowling Green and time to visit some friends and see the Corvette museum.

We'll try to update daily, so stop back and follow our adventure!