Kentucky Day 3 (cont'd): Downtown Louisville

Quick re-cap of Day 3 so far:
-Whitehall House
-Conrad-Cladwell House

Next up I will continue....

Kristen and Kyle's

Unofficial Guide

to Not Spending a Dime in Louisville, KY!

-Downtown Louisville-
#1 Get excited to get prime parking in downtown Louisville, right next to museum row!

#2 Find out the reason it is free after 5pm is because everything is closed, but don't let that ruin your fun.

#3 Run around the corner and find that sweets shop you have a coupon for. Make a pathetic face so that even though the store is closed the sweet lady with the thickest Kentucky accent you've ever heard opens the door for you.

#4 Redeem your free cookie coupon but have pity that she opened the doors just to give you a free cookie so buy some amazing truffles ( so you'll be spending more than a dime, but I promise you won't regret it).

#5 Continue the fun by taking pictures by random things downtown.

#6 See this larger than life, gold leafed David-esque statue and hear a couple middle aged women enthusiastically taking pictures and commenting, "I think it's GREAT! They should have one in every city!"

#7 Get the most perfect selfie with the world's largest Louisville Slugger because, remember? the museum is closed and everyone went home.

#8 Take a picture of the cute horse, baseball, or bat souvenir you would have bought had the gift shop been open. But hey, you save some money and room in your suitcase/ future trashcan.

Kentucky Day 3 (cont'd): More Haunted Mansions

After The Whitehall Home, getting a little turned around, and my first meal ever at Qdoba, we decided to continue our creepy old house kick.

This time we snuck in on the last tour of the day for the Conrad-Caldwell House.

This home is in Old Downtown Louisville in a beautiful old antique neighborhood. 

There isn't adequate AC in the home so they give you these little fans. At first I was laughing, about two minutes later, I was fanning vivaciously. 

I love tours. Not because I love being a tourist but because I am a top notch people watcher and there are few people who are more entitled than those on vacation, spending $10 for a college student to give you a tour of an old (of course haunted) house.

Fancy staircase with fleur-de-lis, which were a common motif in the home, reoccurring hundreds of times!

You get all kinds of people on these tours. We got:

-(1) A man obsessed with descriptions of the different types of wood in each room (see Kyle pretending to be interested when the docent explained the wood on the door). 

-(2) A woman who had to know who every single person in every single painting/ portrait was (don't remember who this guy was, because I wasn't listening).

-(3) A couple of woman who already knew everything about the home including what the parquet floor pattern was inspired from Amish quilt blocks.

-(4) Pretty much every one obsessed with death and haunting spirits ("someone died on these stairs, in this bed, in this nightgown")

-Of course everyone wanting to take pictures/ video of everything

Let me think of some highlights of the tour. It was all pretty epic due to my short attention span and smart-alec-y attitude. I'm pretty sure if I was a docent I would just make stuff up. Not to be mean or misleading, but just to keep things interesting. 

For example, I would tell everyone that this was a fancy toilet. It was very top-of-the-line for it's time. It was imported from France. The maids would throw the waste out the window into central park and that was the main reason why the park was so lush and green.

Highlight #1

--We are touring the home, when the docent stops in a hallway. She explains the small staircase and how it was used for businessmen who would come to the home for meetings. She mentions there is nothing in the back except for a bathroom that has fixtures that are all original to the home, so we can go back there to check it out if we would like. *no one moves* And just as we are about to move on, she mentions that back there is also the staircase to the basement where Mr. Conrad had a heart attack and died. *everyone becomes interested and pulls out their cameras as they rush over* 

Whata bunch of sickos! You never cared about it until you found out someone died over there? ...

That prompted a conversation with the docent about what ghost experiences she has had in the house. 

But speaking of ghosts, am I the only one who thinks the mannequin wearing a freakishly small wedding dress is creepy?

Please note that doll in the background has real, human hair. Gross.

Highlight #2

--The docent was very informational about the objects in the house. Whether they were original to the Conrads or the Caldwells, or just period pieces that were donated. She mentioned that this tablescape was original to the home but the table itself was donated. Kyle leans over to me and whispers that it's probably just a crummy IKEA table and that's why we can't touch it. Haha. 

Highlight #3

--The aforementioned professionals who already knew everything about the house took it into their own hands to semi-argue about the current viability of this antique sewing machine. "What year is that machine?" "Well MY grandma has one that is only a year older and THAT one still works!" "What broke?" "Could it be fixed?" "Let me see, a lot of the times these old machines still work!" 

And one of the 4 (yes FOUR) people who felt the need to take part in the Old Louisville Sewing Professionals Club conversation, pushes past the rope and proceeds to shove her face mere inches from the artifact. 

*smh* some people and their boundaries... just calm down.

But in all sincerity, it was a really interesting tour. Lots of history and fun stories. One of my favorites was this Pillsbury Cookbook. Being the dork I am, I had to wonder what kind of recipes it had (but you don't see me pushing my way past the rope to leaf through it).

The children lived upstairs and the daughter had a beautiful view of what was then a very large Central Park. Now it pretty much just smells like sewage and has homeless people sitting on the benches. C'est la vie!

At the end of the tour Kyle and I were just checking out some woodwork, making ghost jokes when the docent startled me and gave us a lesson about the woodwork. Not knowing what else to say, I asked if she could take a picture of Kyle and I by the beautiful mirror in the hall. 

Ghost jokes aside, and moving on the vampire jokes... where is her reflection?! What is that glowing orb in the top right corner of the mirror?!?!?!

Ahhh!! Everything in the South is so freaky.

Kentucky Day 3: The Haunted Mansion (KY Style)

Today Kyle and I headed out to the other big city in Kentucky and home of rival of University of Louisville. Even before I landed in Kentucky I was a little nervous about the pronunciation of the city. Kyle is such an amazing brother. I don't know how he is so patient and calm but it works out perfectly complimentary to my personality (see text convo below).

I saw this shirt in a gift shop, which I think sums it up perfectly.

Kyle advised me to just pronounce it like I had a mouthful of marbles. Nailed it.

We drove through Louisville and straight through to Indiana. So here are some pictures in Indiana, looking across to Kentucky, on the the banks of the Ohio River. Needless to say this California is so confused.

In California you can drive 3 hours in any direction and still be in the same state. Honestly, I didn't even know other states existed. 

I'm taking a million selfies over here, Kyle just thinks it's so passe. 

Next we looked up some supposedly fun things to do, an armed with google maps embarked. Kyle and I had a pretty good ol' timey laugh at the situation. Nowadays you can just use the internet to find something fun to do, then your smart phone will tell you how to get there.

Back in our day google maps was ask mom and dad for the road atlas. They'd probably give you a cool laminated map of Los Angeles and use an expo marker to map out your route for your beach day with your buddies. Then when you ended up in some sketchy neighborhood of LA you could use the loaned cell phone to them call for directions home. Kids these days have it soo good!

The lushness of Kentucky is still not getting old.

We set out to Whitehall Historic Home to check things out and see if it was worth the $ for the tour, which prompts:

Kristen and Kyle's

Unofficial Guide

to Not Spending a Dime in Louisville, KY!

-Whitehall Historic Home-

#1. Take advantage of the beautiful gardens and small neature walk on the grounds. 

#2. Then, when you notice no docent is waiting on the front steps to take your money....



#3. Feel free to creep around the perimeter of the building, peering into the windows, taking pictures if you wish.

Three easy steps and you can experience the Whitehall Home for free! It helps to have a background as a California so you have the natural ability/ creativity to relate all things to museums or Disneyland. I peered into the house and commented on the furniture and general decor:

"All this stuff I already saw in the Getty [J. Paul Getty Museum]!"

To which Kyle pointed to the below statue and said:

"And that stuff I already saw at the Haunted Mansion [Haunted Mansion, Disneyland attraction]."

Haha. Needless to say, we are pros who do NOT need to spend $5 a pop for a tour of some old house. 

Kentucky Day 2: Lexington and Lots of Horses

My first full day in Kentucky Kyle and I decided to go to Lexington to see some sights and run some errands.

I've barely been here and this is one thing I know for sure, Kentucky is beautiful. I keep getting thrown off by these beautiful green rolling hills. I keep asking it it's a park or something. Nope, that's just someone's house. I get why horses are such a big deal here. If I was a horse, I think Kentucky would be a mighty fine place to live.

First we enjoyed a picnic in a small city park. It is called triangle park and has a cool water feature wall.

Another funny thing I am learning about this side of the U.S. is that history is everywhere. In California, if something has been standing for over 100 years we have to rope it off, erect a monument, slap a plaque on it, and charge admission. But here, it's not really a big deal. My brother's new place is across from the birthplace of Mary Todd Lincoln. This California girl is expecting a National Park, maybe at least a State Park. Maybe a $5 tour followed by kitschy key chains in a gift shop.

Nope.

Just a plaque. And now the building is some office for who knows what church group (this still counts as the Bible Belt people).

I loved walking around and seeing the old architecture.

They have this cool pedway that connects several buildings downtown. Kyle and I took some time to stroll around and take some selfies.



Trins FOREVER!!



On one particular stretch of the pedway we thought it would be cool to take a picture. But as soon as we opened the door to the walkway (see above collage bottom left) the whole area was burning with the power of a thousand suns and the humidity from a dozen Grenadas. Who ever the master engineer was of this particular stretch of pedway should be fired, or worse, have to sit in it for 3 minutes. There was no ventilation so the sun just ruthlessly magnified through the ceiling, sat there, and multiplied. You can see Kyle doing a mad-Flash-dash to get to air conditioned building at the end.

Maybe the best part of the day was getting my hot little mits on some Blue Bell ice cream. I've never seen an ice cream so vehemently defended and revered as the fabled Blue Bell Ice Cream. As soon as I found a place that sold it, I knew I had to get some.



It was amazing! I definitely understand the craze now. And as amazing as the ice cream was, nothing could have prepared me for my first official encounter with a Southern accent in it's natural habitat. Before coming to Kentucky I knew the accent would be different but I never fully understood that Kentucky considers itself to be part of The South. I probably looked pretty wide-eyed as I heard the manager's "Y'all come back soon ya hear?" goodbye salutation but I was pretty excited.

Also, I got a cake bite the size of my palm.



No visit to Lexington would be complete without a little horse history lesson, so Kyle took me to Thoroughbred Park to learn a little about the famous race horse Lexington.

Such a cute lil guy!

After some time in the city, and painfully SMASHING my finger in the door, Kyle showed me around the University of Kentucky campus. Lucky for me, he is on break from school and work so he was able to show me around where he spends much of his days here in Kentucky. 

The view from Kyle's work. So much green!

The drive back was beautiful. From what I can tell, Kentucky weather is hot and humid with summer storms in the late afternoon or evening. And when I say summer storms, I mean magnificent summer storms!

Kentucky Day 1: Rainstorms and Rainbow

I left the apartment at "O'dark thirty" this morning. Catching an early flight to the other side of the U.S. This is a crazy experience for me because I have never been east of... West Yellowstone.

I had some pretty long delays getting here. Re-affirming that American Airlines totally sucks and that I actually didn't even mind. Airports are my second home, gate changes are my new exercise, and people watching is an art.



This is me saying, "Gate change on the other side of the airport after delays? No prob."

My favorite view of Utah -leaving it. Just kidding, who can resist a gorgeous picture like this?

People who are so cool they just write in the answers in the American Way magazine. Way to go, and you didn't even finish.

In my limited flying, I have decided that the Dallas airport is my favorite. I don't know how, but I always score a super comfy leather seat in the airport travel lounge, where I can comfortably fall asleep to CNN and charge my devices at the same time. Score. Flash is my travel buddy. He helps me find the right gate and deal with grabby passengers.

From Dallas I flew into Louisville, Kentucky. I looked out the window as we were preparing to land and holy GREEN what is that color?! I'll give you this Grenada, you taught me what green is. Don't mind that I have since forgotten because as soon as I laid my eyes on that beautiful Indiana landscape, I remembered. 

When I stepped off the plane I could barely contain myself. I was grinning from ear to ear at the very thought of seeing my brother. MY trin. It was so amazing to wrap my arms around him give him a big little-sister hug. 

After we got home and situated we went to check out this bargain store called Ollie's. Creepy uncle Ollie that looks like a little too much like Albert Einstein. 

It was a pretty fun experience. Lots of Paula Dean and Duck Dynasty. And I mean LOTS of Duck Dynasty. The best part was finding a pillow pet unicorn. I happen to have wanted one for many years now. Never finding the right price or size. But when I saw her, the only pillow pet in the whole store, misplaced among the home goods. I knew the time was right. Right NOW.

There was a downpour that late evening and it was pretty magnificent, with thunder and lightning and heightened greenery. I have a good feeling about this place!

Look how happy we are, soaking wet and everything. :)