A Mini Bourbon Trail – Getting Acclimated

Continued from:  A Mini Bourbon Trail – Getting Started

On Saturday, we did not have any tasting reservations as there had been no convenient times available. So, I suggested to my wife that we explore the downtown area to get a feel for this city that we had never been to.  She agreed and just outside the hotel, there was a statue of the hotel’s founder, J. Graham Brown, where my wife struck a pose.

A few blocks up Fourth avenue (at the corner of 4^th and Muhammad Ali Boulevard to be exact), we stopped at an historical marker of which our daughter wanted some photos.

Here was a plaque recognizing Thomas Merton on one side…

…and on the other side, recognition of the sudden insight Merton had on that very spot in 1958.

Once we made our way up to the Ohio River, we walked along a nice long dock.

Tied up there was the Belle of Louisville which according to the plaque next to it, is the oldest continuously operating steamboat.

Our ultimate goal that morning was another location my wife had researched, the Big Four Walking Bridge.

Originally it was a railroad bridge built in 1895 spanning the Ohio River and named the Big Four for the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad.   After it was abandoned in 1969, the approach railroad spans were torn down and gradually sloping circular concrete walkways were added.  A concrete walkway was also laid to replace the track.

It offered great views of downtown and the river 90 feet below us.

We knew if we walked halfway across, we would enter Indiana.  However, as on most bridges that cross state lines, there was no sign stating we were in Indiana.  But interestingly, all of a sudden, we began to hear music.  Looking up, we could see speakers attached to the bridge structure.  Apparently, Indiana chose a more subtle auditory way to let you know you had arrived in the Hoosier state.

After our 10,000-step excursion that morning, we stopped at a craft brewery that my brother had recommended to us for lunch and a refreshing cold beverage.

After lunch, we continued our walking through downtown.

As we walked down Main Street, I did in fact feel welcomed each time I saw one of these signs.

As we neared the far western end of our walk, we came across the Old Forester distillery, the oldest in Louisville and the first to bottle bourbon.

All along Main Street, we would run across these “walk of fame” plaques.  It helps to understand that something else Louisville is known for is its famous baseball bats, the Louisville Slugger.  Each of these highlighted a famous professional baseball player and often included the bat model number they had used to great success.  There is also a Louisville Slugger Museum on Main complete with a 30-foot-tall replica of the iconic bat, but we chose to skip that museum as we are not baseball fans.

That night, we had an early dinner reservation at a rotating restaurant atop the Galt House Hotel.  As soon as we sat down, we were treated to complimentary champagne as our server came up saying he knew we must be celebrating something (we told him yes, a well needed vacation).  As we sipped our bubbly drink, we enjoyed the views of the river and downtown as we slowly rotated around.

This we followed by you guessed it, an Old-Fashioned cocktail.

For dinner, we both selected a wonderful Sea Bass which was absolutely delicious before returning to our hotel for another evening of reading while watching the sunset through the big expansive windows of our 11^th floor hotel room.

Sunday morning, we drove to one of the three main Olmsted parks, Cherokee, and once we parked our car, set off on a hike.  We encountered deer along the way…

… and a nicely shaded trail.

After hiking for about 30 minutes, we found we had simply circled back to where we started.  Wanting a lengthier hike, my wife did some quick research on her phone and found that the main trailhead was right behind a large fountain.  We had driven right past it without stopping.

Returning to the fountain, we found a map that showed the nine different trails through the park.  Seeing that many of them crisscrossed each other, my wife downloaded a very useful trail app that would make sure we didn’t stray from our selected route.  We chose the Cherokee Park Loop, a 4.6-mile circuit with an estimated 1 hour and 42 minute duration.

This app proved most helpful as several times we came to trail intersections and with the aid of gps, I could quickly see if we had taken the correct route.  At one point we came across a stream with a small bridge.  As I took out my phone to snap a shot, off in the distance we saw a deer and her fawn crossing the stream (although they blend in in my photo).

Once we had reached the halfway point, I could see we were walking more slowly than the estimated time and I figured it might take us two hours to finish.  Knowing that we had a 3:00 pm appointment at our first distillery, I began to worry we might be late for our previously paid tour time.  Then we got to a section of the trail that would run under the interstate where I realized we could take a shortcut over to where it returned and eliminate that loop.  We took it and finished our walk in 1 hour and 40 minutes.  Just about the suggested time, but for just a 3.7-mile hike.

We hoped we had just enough time for a quick picnic lunch in another close by Olmsted Park before driving to our distillery—but would we make it on time?

     To be continued…