KENTUCKY DERBY TIME

We pulled into a Tennessee campground for an overnight stop. Next to us was a pickup and fifth wheel trailer. The large sign on the pickup door read “Sons of Confederate Veterans”. It reminded us that we had just been in Little Rock, site of the first integration of blacks into public schools and Memphis where Martin Luther King was assassinated.

We moved on quickly to the campground in Bardstown, Kentucky for the RVing Women’s Kentucky Derby Rally. We were several days early so that gave us a chance to investigate the town. The town is a piece of Americana. Established in 1790, huge old trees line the streets with green lushness where there are majestic old houses with rocking chairs on their front porches. Children play on the front lawns while grandma (great-grandma?) watches with a loving eye. We enjoyed a stop at an old-fashioned drugstore soda fountain.

We celebrated our 25th anniversary here with dinner and a movie. The restaurant is a historic stagecoach stop that has been serving food for over 200 years. The movie was a selection from our Netflix movies shown in the comfort of our own ‘home’.

Other early arrivals gathered together to drive to the Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest for lunch. Started by Bernheim, a German immigrant in the early 1900s who made his money in whiskey, there is an energy-efficient nature center and 14,000 acres of forest preserve with picnic areas, hiking trails and lakes.

Of course, the highlight was the Kentucky Derby. Churchill Downs is a lovely setting with lots of different places for viewing the race. We bet on most races and came out pretty well. I had to try a mint julep and we actually came out a little ahead betting on the horses.

This is the center of whiskey making. The Jim Beam distillery is right by Bardstown but we chose to tour Maker’s Mark with its beautiful grounds and historic buildings. All of the steps of the whiskey are made by hand. Some bought souvenir bottles and hand dipped the red wax on the lid that is Maker’s trademark.