212 miles via I-264, US 31W, KY 841, I-65, I-24 and I-40. Cumulative route miles: 1,581. Auto miles on this hop: 22. Cumulative auto miles: 1,656. There were no extra auto miles. However, the route was rather tortuous: first to Churchill Downs where we tried (and failed) to get a souvenir, then to a gas station to fill up (cheaply, at $2.74) and to search for souvenirs in nearby shops (we failed but did find some CDs to play), then to Marlene’s cousin’s house to catch up on old time (they hadn’t seen each other in over 30 years), then to a Pilot to try again for a souvenir (success!), then, finally, on the road to Nashville.
We spent 3.5 hours with Marlene’s cousin Jeanette and her family. It was a pleasure. Nice people, including the grandchildren. I don’t say that often.
We were guests of my cousin for the two nights we spent in Louisville, so it was a cousin-oriented couple of days. They were very gracious hosts, providing us with a comfortable bed and two very fine breakfasts (my cousin Keith is a fine cook). He also treated us to a tour of some of the highlights of Louisville – the University of Louisville, the parks, Churchill Downs and the graves of Colonel Sanders and Muhammed Ali. He also treated us to a sunset dinner at Captain’s Quarters Riverside Grille on the banks of the Ohio River. It was a lovely evening and there was live music. We danced.
An unexpected highlight of the stay was frequent visits from Phil, their resident groundhog. Neither Marlene nor I had ever seen a groundhog in the wild. He was very amusing. And had an insatiable appetite for carrots.
Two very enjoyable nights in Louisville. Thank you, Keith and Debbie!
