On Saturday we had a jam-packed day full of all that Louisville has to offer. After eating breakfast at a local hole in the wall restaurant, we started off on our trek to find the Thomas Edison house. We followed the visitor's guide map - but apparently they haven't updated the map to reflect that Washington Street has been replaced in sections with the KFC Yum Center and the Louisville Bats ballpark. It was a long, hot walk - but finally we made it to 729 E. Washington Street. Thomas Edison was born in Ohio but he lived in Louisville for awhile. And we visited the home where he rented a bedroom while he worked for Western Union. Our tour guide was a little odd - but he shared lots of interesting facts about Thomas Edison. He told us how his father and 1st grade teacher both thought he might be mentally retarded because he didn't act or think like the other kids. So his mother ended up homeschooling him and that he credited much of his success to his mom. He also told the story about how Thomas took his chemical work into work with him at Western Union and how he ended up getting fired because he spilled battery acid - which leaked through the floors onto his boss' new desk and office carpet. We also got to see and listen to an old phonograph and learned how volume control was done by adjusting a lever that moved a stopped in/out of the speaker. Some folks didn't want to pay extra for volume control - so they would just buy a phonograph and
We took the trolley back down Main Street to the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory. We learned all about how bats used to be made by hand and how they are made today by machine. It was interesting to learn that MLB players go through approximately 100 bats a season. We walked back down Main Street to 3rd Street and stopped in the Bluegrass Brewing Company (BBC) bar to sample some of their beers and have some appetizers for lunch. From there we got a cab to Churchill Downs and enjoyed a nice tour of the grounds. We learned how it used to be called the Jockey Club and how the Kentucky Derby has the record for longest consecutive horse races. I think I will appreciate the Kentucky Derby next year a little more.
That night we went to the Derby Dinner Playhouse - which is across the river from downtown Louisville in Indiana. After my hubby booked our hotel - I was looking around for things to do in the area. The hotel had a link to this playhouse - so I checked to see what show would be going on. You have no idea how excited I was to find out that it was "The Sound of Music" - one of my all-time favorite movie musicals! Our seats were right down front and we enjoyed the buffet dinner and some drinks before the show. They had a pre-show performance put on by their "Footnotes" - think of an adult show choir (glee club) type of thing. And they were doing a medley of classic Disney songs.... seriously the show could not have been geared more towards me! ;) The show was great - loved seeing the little kids playing the roles of the Von Trapp children. We thought about maybe hitting up a bar after the show - but ended up just heading back to the Seelbach.
Thought of the Day:
Climb every mountain, ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow, 'til you find your dream!"
- The Sound of Music