In September we began winding down our summer travel adventures that started off in New England (read part 1 and part 2 here). Making this big trip with our friends Steve and Joan made it even more fun. After our time in Pennsylvania, everyone was ready to continue south towards Kentucky and horse country.
Columbus:
First we made a brief rest stop in Columbus, Ohio, for a few days. While there we tried our luck at Top Golf. I had never been to one of these huge, muli-level golf driving ranges and it was definitely an entertaining experience. All the equipment is provided and you don’t have to be an experienced golfer to give it a go. The atmosphere is relaxed and you can enjoy their food or drink service while your group plays games of accuracy and shot making.
We also discovered the American Whistle Factory here. The locally owned company is the only major manufacturer of metal whistles in the US. They produce 1 million whistles a year for stores, businesses, schools, police, and even commemorative gold-plated whistles for the referees at the Superbowl.
You know I love to see how things are made and can’t pass up a factory tour! The American Whistle Factory offers personal tours of the small facility where you can see the whole production process. A total of 11 employees run the show.
It was an interesting tour and we even learned the secret of how they get that little ball inside the whistle. A nice surprise was getting to make our own whistles at the end!
Kentucky:
We were excited about moving on to Kentucky to finally see horse country. Our first stop was The Kentucky Derby Museum at historic Churchill Downs.
This 2-story museum has interesting exhibits on racing including the stages of a thoroughbred’s life, the history of the Kentucky Derby, race champions, jockeys, traditions and much more. We also played some fun interactive games on betting and Kentucky Derby knowledge. I never knew that this famous race is restricted to 3 year old racehorses, so a thoroughbred is eligible only once in its life.
Our guided tour of Churchill Downs was also very interesting and included watching a qualifying race on the famous track. We learned how to read the race listings and odds, then we all picked our favorite horse out of the lineup just for fun. I picked Love of My Life because I liked her name and she won! Darn…if only we had really bet I would have picked the winner at 12:1 odds.
Little did we know we have a restaurant just down the road from the Kentucky Derby.🤣 We had a very nice and relaxing lunch at Buck’s Restaurant & Bar.
Next, we visited the Kentucky Horse Park. Located among the rolling green hills, this beautiful working farm is dedicated to all things horse related. We walked through time at the International Museum of the Horse, enjoyed the Parade of Breeds show, and even took a trail ride.
I really liked meeting some of the past Derby champions who now call the farm their home. These beautiful animals are the stars here and have a good retired life now that their work is done.
The next day we drove into the capital city to tour the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum. The museum galleries showcase memorabilia from famous players like Babe Ruth, Johnny Bench, and Roberto Clemente. You can even hold a piece of history and get your picture taken with the bats they actually used.
The factory tour shows you the baseball bat making process from the wood harvesting to the production line to the finished product. Louisville Slugger makes almost 2 million bats per year, including the 100 bats each pro uses … per seaon!
Mike and Steve played golf one day while Joan and I visited the nearby Ark Encounter. I had been before but was happy to go back to see this amazing structure that is created to the exact specifications listed in the Bible. Read more about the ark here from our first visit to Kentucky.
Out timing wasn’t good for the tour of the state capital or the candy factory. We will have to catch those on the next trip this way. Next up: the finale of our summer/fall adventure on the east coast…
Kentucky is fabulous and I really enjoyed this post. That Golf place looks really fun! Nothing like Kentucky Horse Country and I would love to attend the Kentucky Derby one day. My heart melted over those glorious retired horses. That Ark is such a remarkable sight to see! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hey Sandi! Top Golf is all over the country so there might be one near you. You should give it a try — so much fun, like mini-golf on steroids. lol We thought Kentucky was very pretty and yes, the horses are amazing.