Wrapping up in Kentucky

Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and indeed we must wrap up our tour in Kentucky.

Keeneland Race Course is a staple in the Lexington area. Indeed, Keeneland even has its own magazine.

It's quiet now...

Can you imagine the crowds, the excitement?



This must be the place to be and to be seen.



Nearby we find the famed Calumet Farm. As with nearly all the horse farms here, locked gates guard the entrance.




Another view of Calumet Farm.






Remember that I am without the Internet for the duration of this visit? Luckily I had brought some reading material with me. Hm, notice a theme here?

Why look, the hotel has some culinary herbs growing in pots near the outdoor pool.

One of those research thingies I had done prior to our arrival was for a place to eat before we toured The Woodford Reserve Bourbon Distillery. I settled on a little out of the way place that nobody has ever heard of in Wallace, Kentucky.

Hm, did I say that nobody had heard of this place? Guess that's not quite right. And Wallace Station is just a sandwich place, folks.

Well, at least we can peruse the menu while we stand outside in the sweltering 90-something degree heat.

Whew, we finally get to wait in line - inside. This place is packed.

Let's see, what was it we wanted again?

This is better. We got a peanut butter cookie to share and sandwiches and chips for each.

I ordered the Wild Turkey Triple Crown sandwich.

My husband ordered the Tuna Salad sandwich on grilled bread.

This was a lot of food and we didn't even get to the chips.

Don't you like these tree-lined roads?

I think these fields look as nice as most people's yards.

See what I mean?

We had our formal banquet on Saturday evening.

It was so nice to be back in the air-conditioning after being outside all afternoon.

First up - the ubiquitous salad.

The main course, except for vegetarians or those of us who are allergic to chicken, consisted of beef tenderloin with gravy, fried boneless chicken with white gravy, mashed potatoes and sauteed vegetables.

My plate had two beef tenderloins along with the mashed potatoes and sauteed vegetables. This was very good and the beef was moist and tender - not an easy feat for a banquet for 400 people.

Dessert was cheesecake with chocolate sauce. Rich and filling.

Let's move on to Sunday morning, shall we?

My husband and I had breakfast at the hotel's restaurant before heading home. Scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast along with orange juice and coffee are enough to get me going for the day.

We drove around Lexington a bit before heading out of town. Did you know that Lexington is home to the University of Kentucky? Well, neither did I, as they really don't advertise that fact too much.

Rupp Arena is actually a few blocks from campus.

A castle with a storied past.

All right, what I want to know is who is gonna drive out and get this newspaper laying by the side of the road?

On our way home we stopped in Frankfort, Kentucky. As some of you may know, neither Lexington nor Louisville is the capital of Kentucky. It seems that way back when, no one could come to an agreement as to where the state capital should be, so finally in desperation, tiny Frankfort was instead chosen. There, that will teach you to argue.

Let's see, what time is it?

Whereas Ohio's and Indiana's state buildings are both downtown, in commercial areas, Kentucky's government complex is hidden away in a quiet residential area.

The Kentucky governor's mansion.

Interesting, but I'm ready to head back home to Indiana now.

But not to worry, we'll be back here next year.