From Pennsylvania to Colorado, a Road Trip Pt. 1

We just returned home from a road trip to Colorado. We've done this drive before but I have to admit the older I get the harder it gets!  Do I have regrets, no. Did my tailbone feel like someone kicked it by the time we arrived in Colorado, yes. Ah, the joys of getting older. We managed to drive 7-8 hours each day. I remember when I was able to drive 12-13 hours in a day and just felt like I was swaying when I arrived at my destination. The upside to driving, we were able to stop where we wanted, take as many breaks as needed and enjoy the scenery along the way. 

We spent 2 nights in Louisville, Kentucky on our way down. Louisville was our first stop. We had one day in Louisville to enjoy and I have to admit, we weren't able to fit in everything we anticipated. We still put in a full day and had a lot of fun. The weather was in the upper 70's with low humidity on the way down, perfect weather for the 'princess.' Yes, I admit it... I can't take the heat or humidity.  

We planned on hitting 4 distilleries but it wasn't possible because some of the big distilleries were over an hour from where we were staying and we also had plans to hit downtown where all the action is. We opted for downtown, parked the car for the day and walked over 5 miles. I should have lost weight on this trip considering all the walking we did but I guess that wasn't on the agenda. I'm sure eating out for 4 nights straight didn't help and believe me, I can eat!! 

Our first stop in Louisville was Evan Williams Distillery. I've never sucked down shots of bourbon before, so this was a new experience for me. We were given 3 different types of Bourbon at Evan Williams as the tour came to an end. I swallowed a dribble of bourbon from my first two shots and downed the last shot. I enjoyed the last shot of bourbon, it was smooth and had a slight aroma of vanilla. I believe if we had purchased a bottle of that particular bourbon it would have cost us 145.00. My husband was OK with that, me... not so much. Ok, if he really would have wanted it, I would not have stopped him but he knew he had a bottle of Makers Mark to come home too! 

A cool sight to see when we entered Evan Williams Distillery

When we finished our tour of the distillery, we went to the 4th street district where you find more distilleries, shops and tons of unique Restaurants. I talked my husband into eating at Guy Fieri's new Restaurant. The Restaurant was a bit of a disappointment. My smoked shredded pork was a bit chewy and my husbands smoked meatloaf was coated with a very spicy sauce, no flavor on the inside (it was as if the sauce was to hide how bland the meatloaf was) and it didn't taste smoked. From what I understood, the Restaurant was fairly new so maybe it will improve with time.

A few more photos of the 4th St district. If you ever take a trip there, just make sure you get to Main or Market St., which will put you in the hub of the district.  Below, a photo of the area along with Jim Beam Brew pub. I wish we would have eaten there, the menu looked much better!

A few more photos from Evan Williams Distillery- we had a great tour guide who didn't leave a thing out. We even received a history lesson about the prohibition, people would go to their Doctor for scripts during the prohibition and they were able to get a script for Alcohol. The Ohio River was used as a main hub for transporting goods after the prohibition and according to our guide the soil along with the water made for good Bourbon.  Below is our tour guide explaining the different bourbons before we chugged them down. Yes, it counts that I chugged one!

                                                 

                        When the day came to an end, we ended up at the Ohio River. The bridge you will see is used for cars and pedestrians. You can walk across the bridge from Kentucky into Indiana. We were told there were some great pubs and restaurants along with ice cream on the Indiana side. We decided not to walk the bridge because it was a long day and we were ready to head back to our hotel and chill for the night. 

On day 2 we were road bound again, heading for Columbia Missouri for the night. We drove through St. Louis Mo. but didn't have time to stop. We were able to capture a photo of the Arch. I will write another buzz documenting more of our journey, for now I will leave you with the Gateway Arch. Exciting site to see when you've only seen it in photos.

I wish we would have had time to stop for a night in St. Louis, there seems to be quite a few interesting places to visit while there. I apologize in advance if I didn't use the proper terminology when it comes to bourbon tasting?


 

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