Louisville is a large city of about 700,000, more if outlying areas are included, and is the most populous city in Kentucky and the 28th largest city in the United States. Just across the Ohio river from our rv park, we jumped on I65 and drove across the river, turned right, and dropped into downtown. A short distance from the freeway is the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory.
With the World's Largest Bat in front. The bat is 120 feet tall and weighs 68,000 pounds. It is an exact replica of the bat used by Babe Ruth.
Speaking of the Babe, the museum has one of the bats used by Babe Ruth on display. Babe notched the bat each time he hit a home run with it!
Shoeless Joe Jackson (so nicknamed because he took off a pair of poorly fitting shoes and played a game in his socks), Honis Wagner, Joe DiMaggio, and Ted Williams all have exhibits with artifacts from their playing days.
A factory tour was part of the attraction, and the factory was in full swing on a Saturday due to the Baseball Playoffs starting and the demand for playing bats as well as souvenir bats. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed within the factory, but take my word that it was awesome. Jim was positioned at a wood lathe with a billet of Ash, turning a bat to demonstrate how it was done in the "olden days", while just down the line, exotic CNC automatic lathes were humming, turning out a bat in 30 seconds, while it took Jim about 4 hours to get one done. The tour took us through the entire manufacturing process, from tree to hand. The smell of Ash and Maple filled the air. At the end of the line, the logo and the signature are burned in and the bat is sanded and finished. A remarkable process for something that we almost take for granted.
In the lobby, a huge glove carved out of 450 million year old Kentucky Limestone provides a great photo op!
The stone glove weighs 34,000 pounds and required that the doors to the factory be removed for it to be brought in!
Near the gift shop, our factory lathe friend Jim was walking by with a Breast Cancer commemorative bat, so we talked him into a photo!
Great tour!
We left downtown for the south of Louisville, and a visit to one of our Bucket List places.
The life-size bronze of Barbaro, the 2006 Kentucky Derby Winner that suffered an untimely death due to an infection. This statue is the only one in the world where all four of the horses hooves are off the ground, and is a fitting tribute to Barbaro, who is buried under the statue.
The Derby is all about ritual and tradition, from the stable colors,
To the Mint Julep glasses,
To the required ladies hats!
The entire race track is devoted to honoring the men, women and horsed who have given their best on this 1.25 mile track. Every Derby winner is honored, as well as the reigning winner.
From down near the track, we were able to look up at the Millionaires Box and The Mansion above that. The Mansion deck is by invitation only…..
Donna just had to stick a toe out onto the track1
What a magnificent facility!
Organized in 1875 by the grandson of William Clark of the famous expedition, the track is the oldest continuously operating sporting event in the country.
After a stop for a hot cup of tea at Starbucks because the wind was still blowing and the temp never was comfortable today, we took the "long" way home and stopped by the Farmington Plantation. This is a well maintained farm from the 1830's that was big in the hemp for rope business. The owners were good friends of Abraham Lincoln, and even though supporting slavery, supported President Lincoln in his presidential campaigns.
A short ten mile drive got us home to Clarksburg. We spent the afternoon prepping for departure tomorrow and celebrating that departure by grilling some steaks. Yum!
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