Day 3: Louisville and Nashville

Miles driven to-date: 1,200
States visited to-date: 8

This morning I (Ali) went for a run around our hotel in downtown Louisville. It was fun to peek inside the window of the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum where I saw workers making the famous bats; the building is marked by a 120 foot high replica of a bat sticking up into the sky. I also saw the large Muhammad Ali Center (he was born and raised in Louisville).

We ate at “the” place for breakfast around here: Lynn’s Paradise Café. The owner sponsors an annual “Ugly Lamp” contest and the winning lights rest on each table. Needless to say it was an interesting and yummy experience. Here is a photo of the inside of the restaurant:

Next stop was Churchill Downs, where we visited the Kentucky Derby Museum. We saw lots of memorabilia and artifacts, and took a tour of the beautiful grounds. It was so nice! They had just finished a $95 million renovation of the clubhouse and it was beautiful. We both agree that it put Belmont to shame!

The famous twin spires at Churchill Downs

We then watched a few horse races from our box seats and proceeded to lose some money. I tried a mint julep while Steve enjoyed a few cold beers. Our hats aren’t quite up to Kentucky Derby standards but we gave it our best shot:

Next it was on to Nashville, about a 3 hour drive from Louisville. We stayed at a Sheraton (points again!) downtown so we could walk everywhere. We gained an hour as we switched time zones, which meant more time for enjoying the nightlife.

We walked to the newly-revived 2^nd Avenue area which was great - lined on both sides with bars and restaurants. First we had dinner and beers, and then headed to the Wild Horse Saloon, a three-story country music bar with live music and country line dancing. We watched the great house band (bought their CD to bring home!) and marveled at the skills of the other dancers before we partook in a country line dancing lesson ourselves. After a few repetitions we got the moves down and it was really fun though I’m sure others giggled at the uncoordinated Yankees, especially the guy with the long neck.

We then wandered down Broadway, another great street with lots of bars and country music clubs. We had some beers at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, a famous Nashville haunt that has hosted countless performers. After realizing that just about everyone had signed the walls with their names, we added “SoSA ‘06” to the collection for posterity!

All in all it was a great day and we were excited to explore more of Nashville in the morning.