Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Kentucky Derby Museum, Louisville, KY

OK, so we're not big race fans and we don't wear fancy hats, but when in Louisville, we have to go see the Kentucky Derby Horse Museum.


Mother and son got a bit competitive on the virtual horse race game!  Son thinks he can sit down and ride his superior video game skills to victory, while Mum gets up on her high horse.

Who do you think wins?  Check out the screen below for the answer.

No hard feelings, they rode together later in the tour!
Son dons his silks for the next race....


Next stop, the Kentucky Horse Park, the heart of Kentucky horse country...





Pilgrimage to the tombs of Man O' War and Secretariat complete...more to come tomorrow!

Buckhead Mountain Grill on the banks of the Ohio River in Louisville, Kentucky

What a view!  Fantastic selection of draft beers, and great chicken pot pie!



St. Louis - the Gateway Arch!

We arrived in Kansas City after an 11 hour drive and one stop for fried chicken.  It was Cinco de Mayo.  KC was a raging party when we arrived, with lots of people who can't dance dancing in the streets.  I'm not a big fan of Kansas City at this point.  It was pretty embarrassing.

After sleeping off the long drive, we piled back into the truck for another four hour road trip, and headed straight to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.  Check out the toe nails on this horse!


After being stripped of numerous weapons while entering the Gateway Arch National Monument, we slipped into the coffin for the ferris-wheel ride up to the top.


After we climbed out of the coffin and into the mausoleum at the top of the Arch, here are the views:

Looking straight down like Percy Jackson in Rick Riordan's book...


...and looking towards the baseball stadium....



The most important thing about the Arch - it is a memorial to our hero, Thomas Jefferson, who had the foresight to purchase all of the land west of the Mississippi in the Louisiana Purchase.  



In 1789, he said "no generation can contract debts greater than may be paid during the course of its own existence."  Remember that line, it is going to become more important in the next few years (or next few months if you are Greek, Spanish, or Portuguese)!

JD's Chicken - Hays, Kansas

We're in Kansas!  Who'dve thunk that we would find off-the-charts fried chicken in the state that whisked Dorothy off to Oz?  Look at this!


Wow, that is one amazing three-piece fried chicken dinner, with mashed potatoes and baked beans.  Look below, and you will see the Fried Chicken Livers, with the same peppery mashed potatoes and cole slaw.


So much for healthy eating, but since we drove hundreds of miles, I figure that counts as exercise?

Recent food reviews

For those of you who follow my food reviews, I've been too busy having fun to post to the blog...but if you're curious as to our food escapades, check out my nom-de-plume on Yelp, Hugh Akston:

http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=rRtXWCjgqC8v3E5znzZMkQ

Wildflowers of Utah

As we race across the "fly-over" states and avoid spending any money in Illinois, home of the nation's most idiotic gun laws (how's that working for you Chicago?) and most corrupt politicians (funny how those two go together), here are some pictures of the wildflowers of Utah to keep you entertained.



















OK, the last two are impostors from Colorado...the lack of red dirt gives it away, I know!