The Whiskey Trail

After leaving home, we went to tour the Jack Daniel's "Tennessee Sipping Whiskey" Distillery (http://www.jackdaniels.com). Our guide was knowledgeable, the weather was great, and the beverages they give you at the end of the tour were refreshing.

Our next stop was Cincinnati , Ohio . We stayed in Cinci with friends, John and LeAnn. Their hospitality was much appreciated. While in Cincinnati , we visited the fabulous Newport Aquarium (http://www.newportaquarium.com), the Cincinnati Museum Center (http://www.cincymuseum.org), and the Ohio River waterfront area. We enjoyed it all.

The next day was a little cool and rainy as we traveled to Louisville , Kentucky . Our first stop in Kentucky was the Louisville Slugger museum (http://www.sluggermuseum.org) to watch the baseball bats being made. The weather improved and we spent a pleasant afternoon at the Louisville Zoo (http://www.louisvillezoo.org). After a quick tour of a scenic historical drive over the river in Indiana , we retired to the Inn .

Next was Fort Knox , Ky to visit the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor (http://knox-www.army.mil/museum) and see the famous Gold depository. Our car, and our bodies were given a thorough inspection by the M.P.s at the fort's gate for security purposes. The Patton Museum was very interesting and we spent all morning there. By the way, when I wrote “see” the Fort Knox Bullion Depository http://www.ustreas.gov/opc/opc0079.html), I mean drive by and look. No tour. No free samples.

After lunch, we traveled a beautiful section of Kentucky countryside to visit the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site (http://www.nps.gov/abli), historic Hodgenville , KY , and one of Abraham Lincoln's boyhood homes a few miles away at Knob Creek.

We also traveled to Maker's Mark Kentucky Bourbon distillery (http://www.makersmark.com). The tour was interesting and informative. The spiked chocolate candy at the end of the visit was delightful.

The next day we went to Cave country to visit Mammoth Cave (http://www.nps.gov/maca/). The cave has been designated a National Park, a World Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve. The whole park was great fun. After a picnic lunch and a look at visitors center, we took a 3-hour lantern tour of the cave system. This meant we only saw a small portion of the longest cave system in the world with more than 335 miles mapped to date.
 
On our way, back home we visited the Shaker Museum At South Union, Kentucky (http://www.logantele.com/~shakmus/index.htm). This historical museum was fascinating. We spent most of the morning there. We also toured historic Franklin , Tennessee before returning to Alabama . The Franklin area has a number of historic homes and is the site of a Civil war battle. Note: the state of Tennessee needs to make additional road signs for the area. The wife thought we were lost, but in I knew where we were the whole time. They just didn't have any signs indicating the entrance to the interstate, so I had to search a half an hour to find it..

Our vacation also included sampling local foods and restaurant chains we do not have in our hometown. The restaurants we visited included: White Castle Hamburgers (http://www.whitecastle.com), Fazoli’s (http://www.fazolis.com), Frisch’s Big Boy (http://www.frischs.com/), Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream (http://www.benjerry.com/) and others. I think I liked Fazoli’s Italian style fast food the best. We need one in Birmingham . We also found that many fast food chains serve different fare up north. For instance, all McDonald’s in Cincinnati , Ohio have brats on the menu.

That sums up our fun vacation up to Kentucky and Yankee country.