After spending the night just shy of Louisville proper, we kicked around ideas. Tour a distillery to compare Tennessee whiskey making to that of Kentucky bourbon? Hmm. Perhaps, although another distillery? Meh. Not really feeling it.

Take in the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs? Now that is a winner of a plan for the frustrated never-had-her-own-horse-but-still-loves-them, Triple Crown-celebrating gal among us! That’s most likely just a half-day deal though (little did we know), so, what else?

Susie eventually realized that one of the ideas she’d tucked away back in March for potential time in Kentucky was only 15 minutes away. Forget the bourbon! We’re going to see the FOREST GIANTS!

Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest

Oh, an arboretum. Giant trees. Yes, but so much more. The 16,000-acre forest was endowed to the people of Kentucky in 1929 by Isaac W. Bernheim, a German immigrant who arrived in the U.S. in 1867 at the age of 18 with only $4 in his pocket. It’s a fascinating history and even has ties to Frederick Law Olmstead (think Central Park).

For the arboretum’s 90th anniversary in 2019, Danish artist, Thomas Dambo, constructed “Forest Giants in a Giant Forest,” three sculptures made from recycled wood and natural materials. The giant mama and her children can be seen on a two-mile loop trail through the arboretum. So, no, not giant trees. This is about Giant GIANTS!

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Cruising through the forest, what do we find lounging on our second stop?

Leaving the quietly resting Mama Loumari in the forest, we came into a clearing to find her other giant child posed at play.

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With more than 40-miles of trails and so many other things to explore, we could have easily spent days enjoying the full nature of Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, but in order to make it to the Derby Museum for the afternoon, we opted to finish with a quick drive to the far side of the park.

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Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs

Finally, it was time to take the horse-lovin’ lady who’s never been to Churchill Downs (say it isn’t so) to the Kentucky Derby Museum. When the greeter at the front desk enthusiastically told us about the Secretariat exhibit, Susie got goosebumps and then didn’t stop smiling for hours.

After the pulse-pounding 360-degree introductory film about the track and the famous race, we spent the remainder of the afternoon in the exhibits covering the 150-year history of the Kentucky Derby – quickly, there’s A LOT to see there.

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After the race, we found ourselves leaving downtown Louisville at 1730, smack in the height of rush hour. Perfectly full day! But, no, we were NOT going to stop at a hotel. It may not be the Triple Crown, but this particular Thursday was already the “third leg” of our eight ‘ish hour drive back to Indiana. So, mount up Pearl (silly name for our car) and head on “home,” where you-know-who will sleep with visions of thoroughbreds galloping through her head…

After the hugs and farewells, the first order of business before leaving Blount County, Alabama, for our return to the Hoosier State was to find the other two covered bridges in/near Oneonta. That’s Susie, always looking for something to experience.

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Okay, so, Blount County Covered Bridges covered? Check. Ha!

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Hey. It’s Tennessee. What’s the first thing you think of? Woods and stills, right? It is so history. 🙂 In the spirit of learning, we secured tickets for the last “Angel’s Share Tour” of the afternoon.

Interesting tidbit: The so called “Angel’s Share” refers to the volume of liquid that evaporates during production and heck even during the aging process, right through the pores of the barrel! Ah, as the legend states, that’s where the angels drink their share, straight from the air. Unfortunately, other things also enjoy those vapors, namely whiskey fungus. It thrives on the ethanol vapors, and while the fungus isn’t harmful to any one or thing, it attaches itself to many of the surfaces near the distillery, resulting in the blackness on the buildings, trees, rocks, heck everything! (photos below).

You know the rule, “Don’t drink and drive” – whether it’s boats or cars. So, we went straight to an overnight stop. Actually, number one on the eight ‘ish-hour drive back to Indiana.

The next morning, now educated in whiskey-making, rested and refreshed, we continued north, planning to visit Louisville, Kentucky along the way. Scenic route? Of course.

Unfortunately, said route became very much less than “scenic” in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The driver griped and questioned the navigator regarding the snarky traffic heightened by slight showers. We’ll quote, “An hour for what? 10 miles?” Or, “This is scenic? I like the other states!” One too many of those quips, and the navigator thinks, “Time for a ‘natural’ attitude adjustment all around.” Less than 30-minutes north of Murfreesboro we pass the Cedars of Lebanon State Park, as luck would have it, ON the current scenic route. Whew.

After stretching our legs on the Cedar Glade Trail, we headed over to check out the Nature Center and Butterfly/Native Plant Garden. Score!

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Had the rain, that seemed to follow us, not chased us away, we could have stayed all afternoon, happily listening to the cicadas and chasing butterflies and such.

This one’s for you, Brenda! 😉

As all good things must come to an end, we reluctantly left the park to grab really late lunch before either party could get hangry and undo our mutual newly restored good humor.

We spent so much time in the Cedars of Lebanon State Park though that we’d now arrive in Louisville too late to do anything there, hence overnight stop number two on the eight’ ish hour drive back to Indiana. Geez… we must be retired and old!

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Next up? Louisville! Horses? Bourbon? Stay tuned…

*Oh, and Hoosier? Do you know what it means or where it came from? Good luck. Anyone who finds out and sends reasonable evidence, wins the prize! Not to worry; we’ll figure it out and get back to you (perhaps…)

Realizing we hadn’t seen our Alabama friends Louis and Lisa since June 2022, and that we’d not yet seen the lake house they purchased last year, we decided to jump from lake to lake by heading straight south, through Kentucky and Tennessee, to Pell City, Alabama. Good reason for a road trip (we even took the interstate!), but you know we had to find stuff along the way.

During the two-hour tour of the cave, guess what we discovered? Mammoth Cave is, well, HUGE. As a cave, it’s also really, well, dark. It’s difficult to quickly get good pictures in the dark while trying to keep up with the group of “strangers, underground, in the middle of nowhere Kentucky,” as our guide so eloquently put it. Our little two-mile tour showed only a smidgen of the more than 420 miles of passages, in which we did not want to be left behind.

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The next day, after having successfully taken a cold walk in an absolutely dark cave, then sleeping in Cave City, we continued on “down the highway.” We zipped along through Kentucky and Tennessee, until Susie decided she had no desire to go through Birmingham proper – apparently seven years of commuting there was enough – so she mapped another route to Pell City, getting us off the interstate and returning to our M.O. of taking the backroads.

Along the way we passed through Blount County, the “Covered Bridge Capital of Alabama,” where three of the state’s thirteen covered bridges are located. One was very near our route. EEERRRRR! Short detour! Gee, does anyone believe Susie didn’t know it was there? Ha!

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We finally arrived to join Louis and Lisa at their fantastic lake house.

Hugs all around. Tour of the house and grounds. And then the catch-up time was on!

When he learned how close we were, our eldest son, Tate, drove over from Atlanta, making a pleasant weekend even better!

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Louis and Lisa, thanks again for the friendship, hospitality, good food, and all-around great time! Oh, and for whooping us at the new card game you taught us, Kings in the Corner. We’ll have to practice up for next time!

Per Google, today is World Donkey Day. Okay. Seems kind of random, but let’s see what we can do with that.

We’ve truly been enjoying the myriads of birds at the lake (even some hummers!) and have been getting some good shots of the wildlife literally right outside our windows.

The red chairs make for a great backdrop. You have to clean them before you can sit in them – [Yuck] – but they provide good contrast for the photos. For some reason, we haven’t taken pictures of the cardinals, the catbirds, at least five(?) different finches, and so many others. Just these silly squirrels and, oh the lovely bluebird boys!

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Not to be outdone, Prince still makes his daily appearances, stopping by to pose. And nibble weeds, of course.

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A few mornings back, we awoke to find a red fox and her three kits in our side yard and the driveway next door.

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Whilst sitting on our dead-end road, she was rejoined by one of the smaller ones. Success! Albeit temporary.

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After that morning, Jasper’s cat food started disappearing really fast.

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Aww. Right?

All’s well and good, and then this morning, a Red-Shouldered Hawk showed up right outside the kitchen window. Umm, OVER the driveway.

We are pleased to report that no small foxes were harmed in the making of this post. Whew.

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To circle around and wrap up today’s nonsense, we take you to Indianapolis, where one day last week, we enjoyed lunch at the Aristocrat Pub & Restaurant, established in 1933. There’s a sign near the bar that reads:

So, tongue in cheek, today, we would remind everyone that no matter how you choose to celebrate World Donkey Day, don’t be an… well, you know. 🙂

I scream. You scream. We all scream for ice cream. Right?

It was clearly time for a short road trip to nearby Columbus, Indiana for lunch and an old-fashioned treat.

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With our bellies full of fountain soda, GOM (see the menu for details), and freshly made ice cream, we contentedly strolled along the downtown street returning to the car. As in most small towns, there’s a row of quaint shoppes and… WAIT… is that…

What? Cummins has a s-t-o-r-e? Right next to a lady’s frills boutique?

No, one cannot purchase a diesel engine, but how about a new outfit? This place is chock full of Cummins-branded apparel and accessories (think water bottles, trinkets, hats, etc.). Huh? Still, kinda weird. In Columbus!?

Now, here’s the part where our fellow boaters must try to contain themselves. We were told by the friendly clerk – between snickers – that of course there’s a store here in Columbus (the one and only brick-and-mortar presence). Why? One might, and did, ask! In 1919 Clessie Cummins founded Cummins Engine Company in… you guessed it… Columbus, Indiana. In fact, the headquarters and museum are right around the corner. Say what!?!

Columbus, Indiana. Who knew?? Apparently, most of the approximate 3,000 employees who are working from home these days. Still, the museum was interesting and educational. It was cool to read about how they raced in the Indy 500 in 1931 with a diesel Duesenberg that never needed a pitstop. Placed 13th but only burned 31 gallons!

Now, our cruising friends, you may commence with the laughing! Because, again, who knew? Not us.