Blogs from Louisville, Kentucky, United States, North America - page 3

Today dawned cold, rainy, and miserable. I decided to spend the morning somewhere more reasonable, hiding in my room catching up on paperwork. The rain finally stopped during the afternoon, and I had time to see things. I ultimately decided on one of Louisville’s biggest contributions to pop culture and an unmissable tourist trap. Louisville Slugger Factory Johann Fredrich Hillerich was a German immigrant in the late 1800s who was a very good woodworker. He made ice chests. Louisville at the time was home to an early major league baseball team, the Eclipse. One of the players, Pete Browning, asked Hillerich to make a bat for him. Hillerich, after much ... read more

Louisville Marching Band Competition Today’s first event is a slice of Southern culture that I have never seen in person. Southerners, especially African Americans, take marching bands very seriously. They have competitions to show off their skills. Today was the one for the Derby Festival. It began with a traditional African drumming group, followed by the eight competition teams. They ranged from community groups to universities. It became one long afternoon of beats. Teams were judged on rhythm, precision, difficulty, and choreography. Marching in formations was just the start of it. People drummed while lying on their backs. People flipped sticks i... read more

My main purpose of today is to recover from yesterday. I knew when I booked my room that I would need time off after Thunder; I had no idea I would need this much time off. I ended up sleeping ten hours, waking for breakfast, and then napping for four more. The rest of the day was spent doing laundry and other errands. I had dinner at a nice coffee shop near the University of Louisville. Tomorrow the road calls again.... read more

Woke up to a cloudy and overcast day. We all had a great breakfast in the dinning hall of the resort before saying farewell to Pete and we headed off to the Blue Ridge Parkway. On the way to the Blue Ridge we passed through Cherokee. On a whim we saw the Cherokee Indian Museum and headed in to check it out. This was a real eye opener on the history of these American Indians and the horror of forced migration from their traditional lands in mid winter, by the ruling Europeans in the early 1800's. Thousands died on this trek of a proud nation. After leaving Cherokee we entered the Blue Ridge and it soon started to rain. We donned our wet weather gear and headed off. Not only was it raining but we were ... read more

The big day has arrived, and the 75th Anniversary Jubilee Car Event has begun. This is one of the finest collections of cars we have seen, including the Concourse D'Elegance Shows we have visited. And it is in a great venue, the Kentucky State Fairground Expo Center, known as "Freedom Hall". As an indoor arena, no rain, dust, sun, or any other natural element interferes with your show. In fact, the air conditioning is so cold we have to wear sweaters in summertime. As a side note, this is not my first time in this arena. In 1976, I rode my American Saddlebred Horse to a National Championship win in Freedom Hall! I believe this was the proudest day in my, and especially my mother's life. Mom (Sue Lynagh Grim) was a horseback rider from childhood, ... read more