Louisville, Kentucky

My hubs and I stole a couple of days away last week. My mom and her friend Joyce (A BIG, FAT, THANK-YOU!!) drove up from Atlanta to spoil watch the kiddos. Tim and I took off for a couple of nights of uninterrupted time together with NO RESPONSIBILITY and lots of sleep. Some of you think I am the crappiest mom in America for leaving my 2-month old Kayla to be left without mommy. Do not worry she was held and cuddled the whole time. (LITERALLY! I have to de-program her because of all the spoiling she got).

We stayed right in downtown Louisville at this ginormous hotel called the Galt House. I got the room off priceline.com for $50. Of course we had an interior room because it was so cheap. But I said sweetly "Do you have a darling redhead upgrade available?"

NO YOU DIDN'T!?!?!

OH YES I DID! Here is the view from our new and improved room ;-)

These are the faces of no responsibility...

SIDE NOTE: Doesn't my hubs have gorgeous eyes? I think Kayla is going to get her daddy's eyes!

Ok I told you about my secret obsession here. So with that in mind here are a few highlights from our trip:

Louisville Slugger Factory Tour

(They would not let us take pictures inside the factory itself but here are a few to whet your appetite)

While we were there they made bats for Ken Griffey Jr. They put all the specifications about the type of bat he wanted (length, weight, shape) and a machine spit it out in 30 seconds! Unbelievable!

Here is our factory tour guide. I asked him to show us how a bat was made in the olden days.

Jim Beam Factory

Then we drove to Bardstown, KY to see the Jim Beam factory. This sign was the highlight of the tour. Seriously...do not waste your time.


LAME!!! I mean it was cool to see the history behind the Beam family but I want to see how the bourbon whiskey is made. So we decided to drive another 35 minutes to the Maker's Mark Distillery. AMAZING TOUR!!

Maker's Mark Distillery

Ok let me start off by saying I am not a drinker. At all. So I did not know that bourbon was whiskey. I thought bourbon was the same as rum or vodka or something. Clueless!

So here is where it starts out. They mix wheat, corn, barley, yeast and water (the mix is called mash) in a big 12' x 12' vat and let it ferment for 3 days.

Ummm...yes that is Tim's finger in the vat o' beer. She actually told us to stick our finger in and taste it and try and guess which day of the fermenting process it was. NASTY! But it was all part of the experience so Tim tasted it. Day 1 tasted like Cream of Wheat, Day 2 was like flat beer, and Day 3 was sour.

Then they drain it and put it through the distilling process. Then they put it in white ash barrels to sit for 6 years! Can you believe that it takes 6 years to make bourbon whiskey??? Crazy!

Then after 6 years it goes through the bottling area.

and then each bottle is hand-dipped in the signature red wax.

and for your viewing pleasure...here are the ladies dippin'

That was just a sneak peek. The tour itself is really cool and you get to learn about the whole bourbon whiskey process and history. Fascinating, for a dork like me. If you ever get a chance to go to Louisville it is a great city to visit.

And now I am all rested and ready to get back to life. Stay tuned tomorrow for another project from Isaac's little reading nook area.