Tuesday, May 27

Shepherdsville, Kentucky

This morning after breakfast we drove over to Clermont to visit the Jim Beam distillery. What a great way to start your day off, sampling Bourbon. The Jim Beam Distillery has been owned and operated by the same family since the late 1700's. We both enjoyed the tour and the country side. The 2 bourbons I sampled were a higher quality than Jim Beam Black. The smoothest was Knob Creek. The bourbon chocolates were a special treat.
After Jim Beam's we went back to Louisville to tour Churchill Downs and visit the Kentucky Derby museum. We went on a behind the scenes tour and there was only 4 of us so we saw and visited many places the general public never see. Jockey's locker room and shower room with custom installed shower heads (about 5 feet tall). The silk room, where the owners' silk colored outfits are hung. The announcers room, what a view from here. Press room where the press from around the world congregate. Millionaires row, The Turf Club plus much, much more. We were out on the track , in the stables. The tour was very special, I'm glad I let Carol talk me into going back. Our guide, a nice young lady, was very knowledgeable. We were both tired after exploring Churchill Downs.
After we returned to the RV park we had dinner and I had a nice visit with a another camper that owns a Cedar Creek. He was very enthused when I told him about our club. After dinner I started to pack up a few things. We leave for Nashville tomorrow. We plan on a quick stop in Bowling Green, I have an appointment at Campers World for an awning center support to be installed on the 5th wheel.
We really have enjoyed our stay in the Louisville, Kentucky area, wish we could have planned more time here.

Gate #1 at Churchill Downs

Jockeys dressing/locker room

Carol holding up the silks worn by Kent Desormeaux, the jockey that rode "Big Brown" to victory at this years Kentucky Derby

The stalls (horse locker room)where the horse's are saddled and readied for the big race.
Well Carol found her a hat for next years derby..........right!

The little statue of a jockey will have this years winning jockey's silk colors and the horses name on the base until next years Derby winner.
Here's what the finish line looks like at track level
This is the spot where all the horses are photographed with the jockey mounted and owners and trainer at hand. The entire area the horse walks from the stable down the long walk way and this photo area is padded with cushioned tile.

The courtyard behind the main gate
The Turf Club
At Jim Beam's distillery
These large buildings with a system for storing the oak barrels with bourbon for the aging process.

The Jim Beam home

Front yard of the home with the distillery in theback ground.