Life on the Highway: Horses, Hillbillies, and Haunted Forests

Continuing our trek East we arrived in Louisville, Kentucky. We stopped along the Ohio River and enjoyed the view of the riverboats there.

Then we went to Churchill Downs. I didn't know that it was the grandson of Clark (of Lewis and Clark fame) who dubbed it the Derby.

We toured the Louisville Slugger factory and learned about the company and its famous baseball bats. We saw how they were first made and how they are made now. We watched as they were making bats specifically for Derek Jeter. We even received a small free one at the end of the tour!

world's largest bat

Of course we had to have some of the local favorites, so we headed to Lynn's Paradise Cafe, a very eclectic place, and had some delicious eats! A Hot Brown is a turkey sandwich smothered in Mornay sauce and topped with tomato, cheese, and bacon.

hot brown

Country Ham, Mac N Cheese, Fried Apples

Derby Pie A La Mode

We drove on through the Horse farms of Kentucky. There were plank fences and horses scattered throughout the rolling hills. We saw the farm where the thoroughbreds rest out their lives after racing, and many more farms. We stopped to see Thoroughbred Park in Lexington. What a nice tribute to the race horse.

We crossed into West Virginia, where we stopped at Hillbilly Hot Dogs for some tasty lunch. It was an Appalachian stand complete with all the eclectic things you would expect to see, and some you wouldn't. Two of the rooms to sit and eat in were converted old buses added on to the building. They even had markers to write on the walls, so we left our marks after eating.