Louisville Part II - Churchill Downs

Since 1875, the Kentucky Derby has been held every year the first Saturday in May and deemed the "most exciting two minutes in sports."  And I always thought the most exciting minutes in sports was the Super Bowl commericals.  Who knew.  Anyway, the Derby is the first leg of the U.S. Triple Crown followed by the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.  So grab your mint julep and your racing form and sit back and enjoy Churchill Downs!

Barbaro won the Derby in 2006, but later

shattered his leg at the Preakness.   Due to complications,

Barbaro was euthanized in January 2007.

Part of Barbaro's remains were placed below this statue. 

Inside Churchill Downs, but outside of the track.

One of two of the spires atop the grandstand.

Typically during the Derby there is up to 50,000 people

in these stands.  Obviously, not when we were there!

 

I like jockey's cause they're little, like me.  Pat Day is the
all-time leading rider at Churchill Downs.


A showcase of horse shoes.  Cause it is all about the shoes!

The chandeler inside the main gate of the Downs.




I love this guy!

Part of the back half of the track.

The middle of the track.

Louisville, Kentucky

In Loui-ville, (the "s" is silent due to the name's French orgin) is the 17th largest city in the nation and voted amoung the top 10 safest largest city to live. This mini-metropolis is situated along the Ohio River and Indiana, Home of the Kentucky Derby, the Loui-ville Slugger, and Mohammad Ali. Did you know that one-third of all bourbon-whiskey comes from Louisville?

With only 3 full days in Louisville, I did what I could to capture the essence of this city. It's only right to give Churchill Downs its own blog.

The historic production of the Louisville bat. 

The world's largest bat is approximatley
6 stories high and weighs in at
68,000 pounds!

These Louisville Slugger plaques were
all along "Museum Row" in downtown
Louisville.  I picked probably the
most famous baseball player
of all time...."The Babe."



I love this building, but also captured in the middle
of the photo is a ring-like structure which is a memorial
to the destructive 1890 tornado.  Prior to the May 2011 tornado
 in Joplin, Missouri, the 1890 tornado was one of the top 25
most deadliest tornados in history.    

 

Home of the Louisville Bats - the AAA farm team for the Cincinnati Reds. 

Football player outside of a baseball stadium?
Actually, Paul Hornung was a native of Louisville,
a Heisman Trophy winner, first selection overall
in the 1957 NFL draft, Pro Football Hall of Famer,
College Football Hall of Famer, and a "Cheese Head."

Outside of Louisville Slugger Stadium
was a beautiful display of flowers. 

That's Indiana....across the Ohio river. 

 

This beautifual fascade is called the Charles Heigold House.
Built in 1857 by a German Immigrant named Charles Heigold
and during a time of intense anti-immigrant sentiment, Charles paid tribute
to his adopted home and covered it with patriotic inscriptions such as
"Hail to the Union, Never Dissolve It" and "Hail to Buchanan Now and Forever." 
Only the front wall of the house remains, as the rest was demolished.   

The Charles Heigold Fascade 2012! 

Run-Amuck 2012

Running races alone can be boring, but dragging your friends into it with you - is priceless.  I think its the FREE BEER that ropes them in. That's right.  FREE BEER!  The Run Amuck was the perfect event to run through grueling obstacles, wade in deep mud pits, get slapped in the ass by the guy behind you in the tunnel, and not worry about your time.  It about finishing, team work, and just plain ol' fun.  Although the steep hills today were brutal, we all came out muddy, wet, and smiling at our accomplishment! 

Pictures are courtesy of Maryann.  Thank you Tony, Shawn, Mason, Anais and Maryann!

Before...



Before the obstacles

The stair climb. 

Shawn and Tony at the top of one of MANY hills. 

All four of us at the top.

A friend always lends a helping hand. 

The end.  Now where's that FREE BEER? 

Hidden Pond Nature Center - Fairfax, Virginia

A few weeks ago, I made a "bucket list" of places I wanted to visit in the D.C. area.  Thanks to Google, my list includes just about everything...parks, museums, gardens, landmarks etc.  The list is endless!  Go figure.  So, while the boys were lounging at the pool one Sunday afternoon, my friend and I embarked on a local park.  Hidden Pond Nature Center was close to where we live and not very crowded, so this was the first park I crossed off the list.  The name says it all - it was very 'hidden' and quaint.  The pictures are our footprints as we walked through the park.