So, there's this fun thing I like to do where I scroll around the globe on Google Earth while I'm working to look at all of the places I want to visit and feel like I'm crawling out of my skin while answering calls to book business people on four day trips to Seoul or Tel Aviv where they'll do nothing but shuttle from their posh hotel they're not paying for to the office and then fly right back home. Like I said, fun. I was in one of these moods at the end of last year when I started zooming around Ohio to figure out a decent way to use up my last two days off in 2018.
Well, I'd never been to Kentucky, and Louisville was only a 5 hour drive from Cleveland. Not only that, you take 71 South the entire way which would bring me straight through both Columbus and Cincinnati, good stop off points for me to visit friends and my brother to break up the trip.
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone (aka I figured that nobody would want to take time off work to join me on this road trip), so I planned to go solo. I think it's good every once in awhile to take a trip on your own anyway, just to remind yourself you're capable of spending time by yourself and reclaim that feeling of independence.
Playing games alone at a museum and photographing myself doing it... like a grown independent woman
I found an adorable Air BnB in the NuLu district which I also felt more comfortable booking knowing that the girl who ran it lived downstairs with two others. As a solo female in an unfamiliar city, it's good to have reassurances. Her place was also fantastic! It was so adorable and clean, I loved the decor and there was a private wooden balcony out back with an electric fire pit. I had my own entrance with a key pad I could reach by the stairs on the side of the house, and she left snacks, water, beers, and coffee pods all free to use. Also, the bed and the futon were the comfiest.
It happened to be a gorgeously warm December day in the 60s with the sun shining, so I dropped my things and drove down to the Waterfront Park to start. Blue water, blue skies, and a whole bunch of bridges. I ended up taking over 60 photos of bridges. Slightly excessive but I do love a good bridge.
One of them, the Big Four Bridge, is a pedestrian walkway over to Jeffersonville, Indiana. I made my way across the state line, turned around, and walked right back. Not that I hated Indiana, it's just that it was nearing sundown and I didn't want to get caught alone in the dark far from my car.
I drove back across another bridge to Indiana after that (see, definitely nothing against Indiana) and made a quick visit to the Ohio Falls State Park. It was nothing too impressive, some fossil beds and trees sunken into the water, so after a little walk around I drove back into Kentucky.
I was done sightseeing and ready to start drinking, so I went to the Garage Bar, which is exactly what it sounds like- a bar inside of an old auto garage. I grabbed a lemonade cocktail and sat outside on the topiary couches, but it was chilly and getting dark, so I finished my drink at the bar inside. The woman next to me was also on her own, so I ordered a second drink and we got to chatting. She was a local and had a bunch of really helpful recommendations for me, so I followed one of her suggestions for dinner afterwards.
The place was called Ramsi's Cafe on the World, and their menu was so eclectic and interesting. It was a big restaurant with cultural decorations, and I had a great bloody mary along with my Egyptian Kitchen meal. Toasted angel hair, lentils, chickpeas, rice, fried onions, and a giant bowl of harissa sauce on the side. This may sound like an abomination, but hear me out- it was delicious. My favorite meal of the trip by far.
I was actually a little tipsy from my cocktails and it was too late to do any more sightseeing, so I just went back to the B&B and had an early night. And by had an early night, I mean I fell asleep at 8:30, woke up at 11 with my body clock furious at me, and was wide awake until about 3 AM. This would have been a lot more torturous if my bed wasn't apparently made from the fibers of a cloud.
I had lunch at the Against the Grain brewery the next morning while I tried to decide where to take a bourbon distillery tour. The bigger distilleries like Woodford and Jim Beam are at least an hour's drive away, so I was going to do one in the city. I asked the bartender for her recommendation, and she said Angel's Envy was her personal favorite. Since it also happened to be right across the street, I decided to go for it.
Having done a couple whiskey tours in Scotland, I will say that once you've done one distillery tour, the informational content is all pretty much the same. The bourbon tour didn't differ too much from the scotch tours, but the guide was very friendly and the rest of the staff I met were super personable as well.
We got to taste test different stages of the process, do a proper sit-down tasting upstairs afterwards paired with peanut butter cups, and then visit their private cocktail bar exclusive to tour groups. They had some interesting cocktails on the list all named after video games, and I ordered the Wind Waker and bonded with the bartender (and creator of said cocktail) over Zelda. I then spent a small fortune on a bottle of their rye, but it's aged in Caribbean rum casks and easily the best bourbon I've ever tasted so I've made peace with that impulse buy.
From there, I drove to the Kentucky Derby museum and Churchill Downs which includes a walk down to the racetrack, tons of history on the derby and participants, videos of all recorded races, a 360 degree movie, and memorabilia.
I used to ride for years and teared up multiple times over stupid things like watching the horses cross the finish line or over the statue marking the grave of Barbaro, the 2006 winner, whose owners had him buried out front because they loved him so much that they wanted anyone to be able to visit him free of charge. They are just beautiful creatures! Why I'm usually detached and dead inside but will get emotional because I found out a filly won the Derby on my birth year, I don't know.
I had dinner at the Mayan Restaurant which was a little expensive but very good. Their Mayan coffee and the free lima bean starter they gave me (it's their specialty so it's complimentary to first time visitors) were excellent. The entree I got was mediocre but I'll shoulder the blame on that for ordering the wrong thing.
There's a nightlife area in town called Fourth Street Live, so I parked down the road and walked over there afterwards. There were a lot of bars and whiskey spots, but being on my own at night in the city and crossing streets to avoid men on street corners, I felt really sketched out and quickly walked back to my car along the side streets I deemed safest.
The lady I'd met the day before had recommended one more spot to me- the 21C Museum Hotel- so I hit that as my last stop of the night. It was a hotel, art museum, and restaurant/bar all in one. It was a bit upscale and mod with a nice cocktail list at the bar and artsy nude photos of the bartenders on the bright wallpaper. I ordered a drink and walked through the attached art museum, which was a strange experience because I was the only person in these big empty rooms. The whole thing was a bit surreal, but that might just be because I always feel like grungy street trash walking into establishments of this sort.
Cheers, empty room!
The following morning, after veggie hash and a golden elixir latte for brunch at the Gralehaus, I drove over to the sprawling Cave Hill Cemetery to track down the graves of some notable figures in history. The place was so huge that I had to download a map to navigate the criss-crossing roads and hills throughout. The two main highlights were the graves of Colonel Sanders...
...and Muhammad Ali. I had figured I'd be in and out of the cemetery in 20 minutes, but I ended up there for over an hour. Seriously, it was huge, put aside some time for it.
My final stop was the Mega Caverns, a bit out of the city. They offer underground ziplining and ropes courses, but after buying a $90 bottle of bourbon, I really couldn't justify another big spend, even one that is right up my alley.
Instead, I took a ride on their annual Christmas tram through the caverns which was really cute and festive. All of the underground passages are illuminated with themed displays and music to match- sections themed after the Grinch, Peanuts, superheroes, world travel, Kentucky, Frozen, Christianity, White Christmas, etc. The ride took around a half hour (and being there midday on a Tuesday meant I was one of only three people on it), then they gave us free cookies and milk in another room full of light displays and decorations. Super cute.
I jam packed all of that into a two night trip on my own, but you could easily spread it out a bit and take it easy in the city! One day maybe I'll head back and hit the bourbon trail. I might even have a friend along. Dream big.
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