Lovin' Louisville

Me with a Slugger at the factory

When most people hear "Louisville" they probably think of the Kentucky Derby but we immediately  think "Slugger" as in Louisville Slugger bats. So naturally our first stop in that city was for a tour at the Louisville Slugger factory. As baseball fans, it was fun for us to see how they make the classic Slugger bats and see the bat vault where they keep master copies of bats for the pros dating back to the late 1800s. From the Babe to Jeter, they have them all. We heard how they grow the maple, ash, and birch they use and saw how they process the wood into blanks before customizing each bat per the players' individual specs. 

At one time the company made all the Louisville Slugger bats at their factory in Louisville but now they only produce bats for major leaguers there. An extra treat at the factory was talking to the woman at the visitors desk whose name tag said "Aunt Sue". She knew the company history inside and out--her grandfather had started working in the factory in its second year, she had worked there for 45 years, her husband and her sister had worked there as well. Aunt Sue told us great stories about some of the players in the past who would come in and spend time with the workers, something players today don't typically do.

Russ looking at an exhibit in  the Ali Center

Louisville has a  lovely downtown with restored buildings and a few oddities just to keep things interesting. One of the few new buildings is the Muhammed Ali Center. Even if you didn't know who Muhammed Ali is the Center would be interesting because of the range of history it covers. I thought its contemporary design and use of multimedia made it a unique museum.  Most people know that Muhammed Ali changed his name from Cassius Clay Jr. but they may not realize that the man his father--Cassius Clay Sr.--was named after was a fiery 19th-century abolitionist who was tougher than nails. The Center covers not only Ali's controversial decisions and politics from the earlier years but also his ongoing involvement in projects to promote peace and social justice.

We happened to be in Louisville on Memorial Day weekend during the Abby Road on the River Beatles Tribute. We were lucky enough to hear the singer Hal Bruce do a long set of Beatles songs. He didn't have any backup musicians or singers, just him with his  guitar. I'm not much on tribute bands but boy, could he sing--song after song without even one false note. After about an hour of music, we realized that we had wandered out of the Ali Center into the concert venue where concert wristbands were required so we snuck by security on our way out.

It wasn't the Derby but we did see a race while we were at Churchill Downs

Jockey's silks at the Kentucky Derby Museum

We couldn't spend time in Louisville without going to Churchill Downs. Although it was quiet on our visit, we were told that the number of people at Churchill Downs during Race Week equals the number of people at five Super Bowls. I can only imagine from the displays in the Derby museum how festive and colorful it is on raceday. Just as amazing, all the betting and wins are done in cash. Yep, every single dollar in cash--and that's a lot of since millions is bet at Churchill Downs on the Derby race alone. After seeing movies like Seabiscuit and Secretariat, I was all set to see picturesque barns and stalls but Churchill is more about racing than movie-perfect looks so it wasn't quite as posh as I had expected. Churchill Downs might not be the most opulent track but It's impossible not to be impressed with it's place in racing history.

The cabin is inside a monument to protect it from the weather

Illinois may claim Abraham Lincoln but Lincoln's birthplace is in Hodgenville, Kentucky, south of Louisville. Although the actual Lincoln family cabin no longer exists, the National Park Service has placed a similar cabin built during that time period on the site where the original cabin was. The Park Ranger told us that contrary to popular legend,  the Lincoln family was not poor but was in the middle class which at that time used log cabins as temporary housing until something more substantial could be built. The Ranger also said that even today local residents doing home remodeling occasionally discover  that part of their house was originally a log cabin. In one of those "what-if?" events that could have changed the course of history, we learned that as a young boy Abraham Lincoln fell into a creek and would have drowned if his best friend hadn't held out a stick for Lincoln to grab and pulled him back to the creek bank.

The Hot Brown--a Louisville specialty

The Eating-Our-Way-Through-The-South Tour got a big boost in Louisville, thanks to not one but two local specialties:  Hot Brown and Derby Pie. I've heard Chicken Alfredo called "heart attack on a plate" but I'm convinced now that title goes to the Hot Brown in Louisville. In case you've never heard of it, the Hot Brown is a layer of French bread in the bottom of a dish, sliced turkey covered with gravy, Mornay sauce, melted cheese AND topped with strips of bacon.  After Russ ate a Hot Brown at the restaurant Aunt Sue recommended, we split a piece of the Derby pie which was like a warm delicious brownie in a pie form.

Oh, about those oddities we saw  in downtown Louisville. . .

Nope, not Florence and gold not marble

A crazy mirror outside the science museum

A limo covered in red marbles on a downtown street

Louisville was so much fun I hated to leave but we're always ready to see what's around the next corner so we lifted the jacks, pulled in the slides and hit the road again.