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<\/a><\/a>That day came.\u00a0 Time to leave our cabin hanging on the mountain.\u00a0 We had a great week in the Smoky Mountains, but we have to return home to make money to pay for it all.\u00a0 Why does everything cost money?<\/p>\n
We wake up early and start moving around the place.\u00a0 We packed the night before, so it\u2019s a matter of getting things into the car.\u00a0 Then we clean up after ourselves.\u00a0 One last time, we look out at the mountains from our porch.\u00a0 I know I\u2019ll miss this.<\/p>\n
We lock up the cabin and drive down the mountain.\u00a0 We head toward Pigeon Forge for breakfast.\u00a0 The Log Cabin Pancake House is highly recommended for its country ham and gravy breakfast.\u00a0 Rich gets that and I just get the standard bacon and eggs.\u00a0 Oh yeah, I get the grits too.\u00a0 I am in the south, you know.<\/p>\n
With both our tanks and the car\u2019s tank full, it is time to make our way out of town and up the road to Louisville.\u00a0 We get to Dollywood Blvd and turn right.\u00a0 We get out to Veteran\u2019s Blvd.\u00a0 This is a new road that gets you out of town without having to go down the main drag.\u00a0 Now why didn\u2019t we hear about this last Saturday when we came into town!\u00a0 At least it didn\u2019t take us an hour to get out this time.<\/p>\n
We drive to I-75 and head north.\u00a0 The drive is pretty and the traffic isn\u2019t too bad.\u00a0 We get to Rt 150 in Livingston, KY and head over to Bardstown.\u00a0 Oh yeah, it\u2019s time to do another distillery on the Bourbon Trail.\u00a0 The drive is beautiful through a very rural part of Kentucky.\u00a0 We go through Perryville and so want to stop and see the Civil War battlefield.\u00a0 But time is short.\u00a0 We move on to our destination.<\/p>\n
Just outside of Bardstown, we go to the Heaven Hill Distillery.\u00a0 We arrive just in time for one of the Deluxe Tour.\u00a0 This is a walking tour.\u00a0 That\u2019s great.\u00a0 After hours in the car, walking is a nice change of pace.\u00a0 We walk out of the Bourbon Heritage Center and across the road to the Y barrel house.\u00a0 We hear the spiel about barrels, bourbon, and bottling.\u00a0 The barrel house smells so good.\u00a0 All the wood, time, and bourbon just create the right aroma.<\/p>\n
We wonder through the ricks of barrels.\u00a0 We get to smell the bourbon still in an actual barrel while it sits in the rick.\u00a0 The line of the tour snakes past and everyone walks away with a smile on their faces.\u00a0 At the end of the tour in the barrel house, we see a line of trophy barrel that represent high points in production.\u00a0 The latest addition is the one millionth barrel.\u00a0 It joins others in the front rick and will continue to be joined by others while production continues.<\/p>\n
Outside the barrel, Alan (our tour guide) points out the collection of large and small barrels that make up a comical figure.\u00a0 He calls the figure Bucky the bucking barrel bull.\u00a0 The sign beside him says, \u201cNo bull, just bourbon.\u201d\u00a0 Bucky doesn\u2019t look like a character, but he is supposed to be one.<\/p>\n
We head back to the Heritage Center and conclude the tour.\u00a0 No, wait, we have to do the tasting!\u00a0 We go into Parker Beam Tasting Barrel.\u00a0 Parker is the current distiller and his son, Craig, is the assistant distiller.\u00a0 That is Beam you see on the end of their name.\u00a0 Beam as in Jim Beam.\u00a0 When you are one of five sons, you sometimes have to go out and find a real job somewhere else.\u00a0 Fortunately, it was just right down the road from home.<\/p>\n
The bar in the Tasting Barrel is a full circle and we sit in pub chairs at the bar.\u00a0 Each place is set with two snifters.\u00a0 Yeah, they only let us taste two of the several brands they produce.\u00a0 However, they are the top end of the products.\u00a0 Evan Williams Single Barrel is in one snifter while the other holds Elijah Craig 12 Year.<\/p>\n
Alan takes us through a short class on drinking and enjoying bourbon.\u00a0 I take a small sip on the Evan Williams Single Barrel.\u00a0 It\u2019s not bad.\u00a0 I\u2019m the DD so I don\u2019t really drink anything.\u00a0 I pass my snifters over to Rich to finish up.\u00a0 The guy sitting next to me leans out to see me push the snifters to Rich.\u00a0 I think he was a little bit jealous that Rich was getting extra.<\/p>\n
We complete our tour and purchases at the store.\u00a0 We drive through Bardstown to get back to I-65.\u00a0 I look around to see where we should stay when we come back to complete Rich\u2019s Bourbon Trail passport.\u00a0 He has three more distilleries to visit to say he did them all.\u00a0 We already did Jim Beam some years back, but that was before Rich had his passport.<\/p>\n
We stop for gas before getting on the highway.\u00a0 Rich comes out from getting coffee shaking his head.\u00a0 The clerk tried to rip him off for $2. \u00a0That is crazy.\u00a0 We head down the road and back to the Marriot in downtown Louisville.\u00a0 I pull into the garage and we get out to gather our stuff.\u00a0 Rich almost screams that he lost his phone.\u00a0 I think maybe he just drops it and it fell into the back.\u00a0 We tear the car apart with no luck.<\/p>\n
We check in and go up to our room.\u00a0 I get the number for the gas station and call to see if he left it there.\u00a0 No phone was turned in.\u00a0 Stealing a phone doesn\u2019t work these days.\u00a0 There are locked up and the cards are impossible to get service on for a programmed phone.\u00a0 Rich worries about it and goes down to check the car again.\u00a0 No luck though.<\/p>\n
I take a shower and hear Rich says he\u2019s going down to check the car one more time.\u00a0 Poor guy.\u00a0 I hear him return in triumph.\u00a0 He had forgotten to look under the car next to ours.\u00a0 There it was.\u00a0 Now he could relax.\u00a0 Time for dinner.<\/p>\n
We walk down to Main Street to check out the restaurants in the buildings that held the bars where I used to hang out.\u00a0 Patrick O\u2019Shea\u2019s is an Irish bar right next to where my favorite bar was.\u00a0 We sit near the door and have beers and food.\u00a0 It\u2019s pretty good.\u00a0 I get to have a Bourbon Barrel Stout from Bluegrass Brewing Company.\u00a0 It is wonderful and very easy to drink.<\/p>\n
After dinner, I was to look around the building.\u00a0 We talk to the hostess who explains about the renovations.\u00a0 It took about 4 years and a lot of money.\u00a0 This building used to house one of the first bars I snuck into at an early age.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t sneak in to drink, but to dance.\u00a0 That\u2019s all we really wanted to do.\u00a0 I have some good memories along Main Street.\u00a0 The building is beautiful.\u00a0 Lots of open space, wood, and brick.\u00a0 These buildings were built in the 1800s and have seen their share of hard times.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s time to wander down to Fourth Street.\u00a0 The street is picked up for the season.\u00a0 The stage is gone and the outdoor bars are gone.\u00a0 The restaurants still have their sidewalk tables and their doors open.\u00a0 It\u2019s nice out here.<\/p>\n
Rich wants to go down to the Seelbach Hotel and check out the bar again.\u00a0 This is one of the locations we hit back on our Urban Bourbon Trail days.\u00a0 The bar is nice, but not what Rich expected.\u00a0 He wants to check it out and see if it really wasn\u2019t that fancy.\u00a0 It\u2019s not.\u00a0 There are a few people there sitting along the wide bar.<\/p>\n
Back out on the street, we turn toward the hotel. \u00a0We walk by the Visitor\u2019s Bureau with their sign showing the 5 acceptable pronunciations for Louisville.\u00a0 Rich takes my picture with it.\u00a0 Now it\u2019s time to hit Blu.\u00a0 Blu is the bar at the Marriott.\u00a0 This is one of the big reasons to stay here again.\u00a0 We take a seat at the bar.\u00a0 Looking at the menu, I quickly spot a possible drink for me, Kentucky Peach Tea.\u00a0 It is sweet tea, peach schnaps, and bourbon.\u00a0 Rich orders a bourbon neat with a side of ice.<\/p>\n
We sit back and watch the football game that is on the TV overhead.\u00a0 It\u2019s quiet and we sip our drinks in pure contentment.\u00a0 If you have to end vacation, this is one way to do it.\u00a0 We talk to the bartender about the toppers on the Blanton\u2019s bottle.\u00a0 Apparently, there are 7 different toppers showing a jockey in different poses in the act of winning a race.\u00a0 Each one represents a different letter that spells out Blanton.\u00a0 The last N is the victory sign overhead.\u00a0 Cool, but to collect them all requires a lot of money.<\/p>\n
We continue our wandering and go upstairs.\u00a0 It\u2019s time for bed and I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll sleep well tonight.<\/p>\n
The next morning, we check out and head to breakfast.\u00a0 We drive up the highway to my hometown and find a booth at the Waffle House.\u00a0 It\u2019s busy.\u00a0 The staff at the grill are talking loud, laughing and shouting orders.\u00a0 It\u2019s fun to listen and watch everyone.\u00a0 I know I look around at the faces and wonder if I know anyone.\u00a0 It\u2019s been so long since I\u2019ve seen anyone here.<\/p>\n
On the road again, we hit rain when we get close to Chicago.\u00a0 It\u2019s on to home and into the arms (or paws) of the one\u2019s we love.\u00a0 Rich goes in the door and Sascha comes into the kitchen.\u00a0 She looks at Rich and then does a double take.\u00a0 She can\u2019t believe it\u2019s her daddy.\u00a0 She dances and is very excited.\u00a0 It\u2019s good to be home again.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>