Once a month we try to have a date weekend, whether it is going away on a short trip, or staying home and catching a movie. For the month of May, we decided to go to Louisville, Kentucky for the weekend. It was such a nice, short getaway and there is a lot to do in Louisville without spending a ton of money. We drove up on Friday night, arriving in Louisville after midnight and returned home on Sunday night. We stayed at the Hampton Inn Downtown Louisville and I booked the room through www.Hotels.com . I would suggest staying downtown, because most things are within walking distance. There were only a few things that we had to drive to.
On our way to Churchill Downs, we passed by this beautiful church that was built in 1815. It is the Walnut Street Baptist Church located on Third Street in the older part of Louisville.As we were walking around outside taking pictures, the wedding coordinator asked if we wanted a tour, of course we did! She was decorating for a wedding that day. The history of the church is the First Baptist Church and the Second Baptist Church joined together in 1848 creating the Walnut Baptist Church and became so large they had to build a bigger location in 1902, which is this location on Third Street.All the hand-crafted woodwork and the stained glass are original to the building. The floor of the church is all original hardwood, but they put carpet over it due to the acoustics of the organ and the band that is broadcasted on television.Churchill Downs is where the famous Kentucky Derby is held every year. The Kentucky Derby Museum is located at Churchill Downs. There are numerous tours you can take, we decided to take the Historic Walking Tour which is included with your museum admission. The tours are daily, half past every hour. The museum is open daily Monday-Saturday 8:30-4:30 and Sunday 11:30-4:30. Admission price is $14/person.Churchill Downs opened in 1875 and held the first Kentucky Derby the same year. The founder is Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr, which is the grandson of Lewis from the famous duo Lewis and Clark. The track is actually named after John and Henry Churchill, the gentlemen who leased the 80 acres of land to their nephew Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr.This is a statue of Pat Day, also known as Patient Pat, who is one of the most famous jockey’s, as well as,the all time leading rider at Churchill Downs. This is a life size statue, standing 4’11” tall. The jockeys’ are usually short and weigh between 106 and 114 pounds. On race day, they must weigh exactly 126 pounds wearing all their equipment while holding their saddle.The Kentucky Derby winners from every year are displayed throughout Churchill Downs. The triple crown winners are in gold and have a crown located on their name plate. To be a triple crown winner, you have to win the Preakness, the Belmont, and the Kentucky Derby all in the same year. The reason the triple crowns are so few and far between is because these three races are all held within a 5 week period and that is very hard on the horses.During the Historic Walking Tour, you get to go out into the grandstands and see the track. The twin spires are part of the original stands and were built in 1895, one represents the track and the other represents the derby. In 2001, Churchill Downs underwent a renovation, and the two spires were refurbished. The green seats of the grandstands can hold about 60,000 people on Derby day.This area is only used for the winner of the Kentucky Derby. Each thoroughbred has to be exactly 3 years old and the owner of the horse has to write a non-refundable $50,000 check just to enter the horse into the race. At the end of the 2 minute race, the horse, the jockey, and the owner are taken to this winner circle suite.The Kentucky Derby race is a mile and a quarter long. There are 15 races held the day of The Kentucky Derby and the 11th race of the day, which is at about 5:30pm, is the actual Kentucky Derby race.There are two horses that you get to see on the Historic Walking Tour. This is Winston, a miniature horse that is 34 inches tall. He was born May 4, 1993 and has lived at Churchill Downs for over 20 years.This is Au Moon the Thoroughbred that lives at Churchill Downs. He was born in 2006 and is a decedent of Secretariat.Inside the museum, there is a 15 minute panoramic video that explains Derby Day from 5:00 in the morning until 9:00 that night and what all goes into the race. It was very educational, and I would recommend watching it. Also, there are two floors of memorabilia from the races, so expect 2-3 hours to be spent here and that is including the 30 minute walking tour.There are many traditions that go along with the Kentucky Derby, one of those is the famous large hats that the women wear. Some other traditions include drinking Mint Julips, which is bourbon, mint, and sugar syrup. Another tradition is eating burgoo, which is a thick stew of mixed meats and vegetables of whatever is available at that time, the playing of the song “My Old Kentucky Home,” and of course having roses everywhere.This is West End Baptist Church located on 4th Street in the older part of Louisville, located adjacent to Central Park. The Church was founded in 1941.Louisville was named after Louis XVI and was founded in 1778 by George Rogers Clark. Jefferson County was named after Thomas Jefferson who signed the first town charter of Louisville.This sign located in downtown and represents the sister cities of Louisville. It is a non-profit organization that was developed after WWII by President Eisenhower with the idea to involve people with the hope that personal relationships fostered through city affiliations would lessen the chance of future world conflicts. Louisville currently has 9 sister cities, the first one was Montpellier, France in 1954.This is one of the many painted horses that stand in front of businesses in downtown Louisville. This is know as Gallopalooza and each horse is uniquely painted with a story to tell.The famous “World’s Tallest Bat” that stands at the entrance of the Louisville Slugger museum appears to be leaning on the building, but it is actually free standing. It weighs 68,000 pounds and is 120 feet tall.Louisville Slugger was founded in 1864 by J. Frederick Hillerich and it actually started as a woodworking company that made bedposts, banisters, and swinging butter churners. In 1880, his son Bud was learning the family business as an apprentice while playing on an amateur baseball league. Bud decided to make his own bat, as well as, his teammates bats. Bud played a key role in the success of Louisville Slugger.At the Louisville Slugger Museum you get a factory tour, as well as, a self guided tour of the museum. The admission price is $12/person and we were there about 2 hours. The hours are Monday-Saturday 9-5 and Sunday 11-5.The Louisville Slugger logo is imprinted on every bat. The 125 stands for the grade of wood the bad is made from. 125 is the highest level of wood and is reserved for the pro-level bats.This is a Babe Ruth bat that is in a display case inside the museum. Each player customizes their own bats from the color, the length, and the size of the handle. Babe Ruth’s bats were 36 inches long, weighing 42 ounces with a medium barrel and a medium handle size.As soon as you walk into the museum, the dugout is directly on your right. You can walk down into the dugout and on down into a basement area.In the very back corner of the museum, there is as art room with handmade baseball pictures hanging on the wall. In the very center of the room, there are six skeleton arms with old baseball gloves from each era.This is a handcrafted road-ready, functional bike that is made from 10 ash bats. The handlebars are wrapped in Lizard Skin bat wrap and the seat is stitched from a baseball glove.The most sought after baseball card of all time, the 1952 Mickey Mantle card.Walking along downtown Louisville, you see all these red plastic penguins on top of a building, that building is known as Museum 21c, which is also a hotel that you can stay at. The penguins are made from recycled plastic. They stand four-feet tall and they were created to remind people the importance of “sustainability and environmental conservation”The piece is known as “Renaissance” and is hanging inside Museum 21c.This is a two-story art tornado that hangs inside Museum 21c and it is titled Wheel of Fortune. It was created in memory of the 1974 tornado that hit Louisville.Louisville takes pride in their iron front buildings; when buildings are torn down, they leave the facades to keep that flow of main street.The is the walkway to the Belvedere Overlook that is located in front of the Galt House.The is the view of the Falls of the Ohio Bridge from the Belvedere Overlook. The bridge was build in 1868 and was operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad for may years and is currently still in use.The is the view of downtown Louisville from the Belvedere OverlookThe Galt House is the famous 25 story-hotel located in downtown Louisville. It is the only Louisville hotel located on the Ohio River. It was built in 1972 and named after a historic hotel that was demolished in 1921.The conservatory located on the 3rd floor inside The Galt House and it links the hotel’s two towers. It is a glass-domed great room that is modeled after the Crystal Palace in London.Al J’s Lounge is located inside The Galt House conservatory and has a 30-foot tropical fish aquarium bar. The windows right behind the bar provide great views of the waterfront and Fourth Street Live!Saffron’s Persian Restaurant is located on West Market Street in downtown. Open Monday- Saturday 11am-9:30pm and Sunday 1-8pm.The food at Saffron’s is delicious. Chris had the lamb and said it was amazing. I recommend the Vietnamese coffee with ice. The food is a little on the pricey side, but worth it.This is a mural of a “Sand Doll” from a Los Angeles artist that is located on the side of one of the buildings in downtown.This is the lookout of downtown Louisville located at Iroquois Park. To get to the lookout, you drive to the top of the hill of Uppill Road and turn onto Downhill Road. At this time, it is under construction, so you park at the end of the road and walk about an eighth of mile to the lookout.Fourth Street Live! is the heart of downtown Louisville. It is where the dining, entertainment, and shopping is located.Third Street Dive Bar is a definite must stop for a quick drink. It is open daily 6pm-4am.Third Street Dive has a great atmosphere with a live band. The Whiskey Sours are amazing!Inside Third Street Dive the walls are covered in chalk with the names of past visitors. When you buy a drink, ask for chalk to sign your name on the wall!The KFC Yum! Center is located on Main street in downtown. The University of Louisville men’s and women’s basketball teams play here. It is the third largest NCAA basketball arena after Syracuse and Rupp Arena.Cave Hill Cemetery is a 300 acre, Victorian Era cemetery and arboretum. It is a hidden gem of Louisville and well worth the visit.When you first drive through the gates, stop at the security office and get a map, if not, you will get lost. The most expensive mausoleum in the cemetery cost $4 million. There are 3 lakes and a church, where you can get married, located on the grounds.Cave Hill Cemetery was established in 1848. The visiting hours of the cemetery are 8:00am-4:45pm seven days a week.There are many famous people located within the cemetery. This is the grave of Louis Seelbach, who was once a bellboy at the Galt House. He decided to develop his own hotel and it is known today as the Seelbach Hotel located near Fourth Street LIve! in downtown Louisville.The grave of Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC, is located in the very back of the cemetery. His daughter Margaret designed the grave site monument which depicts the the front of the KFC headquarters building.Few of the mausoleums have stained glass inside, this one is located near Colonel Sanders grave in section 33.This is the stained glass depiction of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” located inside the Gheens mausoleum that is pictured above.Also located within Cave Hill Cemetery is a section of over 5,500 soldiers, some date back to the civil war.We found these interesting because the people are buried within the ground instead of under the ground.This grave site is very hard to locate. She was the kindergarten teacher that wrote the “Happy Birthday” song.Cave hill Cemetery was a quick stop for us, we spent about an hour and a half driving around looking at all the mausoleums. It is a stop well worth taking.We decided to add some adventure into our date weekend, so we went zip lining. Mega Zips is the only fully underground zipline in the world. The are six ziplines and two bridges with a max of 12 people to a group. The limestone cave is 17 miles with man-made passageways and at Christmas, they hold a drive thru Christmas light spectacular. Within the cave, there is a vault that holds the original reel of “The Wizard of Oz” and “Gone with the Wind” along with some museum artifacts and Hollywood movie prints.There is also an underground obstacle course that we decided to do as well. In my opinion, it was scarier than the cave zip lining.The zip line and obstacle course worked up an appetite, so we headed to Mark’s Feed Store BBQ. It was established in Louisville in 1988 and they currently have 6 locations.This is the brisket sandwich and they even serve gluten free buns sealed in their own packaging! The BBQ here is really good, a stop we would recommen
