Horsing Around...Along the Bourbon Trail...

 Thurs Aug. 5-8 (3 nights) Ky Horse Park, Lexington, KY

We took off from Cincinnati on Mom’s birthday, so dad told me he was taking her out to dinner once they got cleaned up. Fortunately, they found a place where I could be included. They were so nice to me there!!! The Old Vine waitress gave me water and a BIG dog biscuit! WOW! As usual mom shared a few bites of her delicious meal. At the end of our meal, our waitress brought mom one piece of honey, sea salt pie with a candle in it. Mom had to make a wish and blow out her candle. (I hadn’t seen that tradition before.) Our entire meal was excellent; and as usual, mom and dad have another meal out of it.

Our campsite is so fabulous!!! We are going to have to remember if we return to book, C140 or C141. It had so much space, shade and our own road leading to both sites. The only downside is no sewage, but they do have sanitation services for a price. We came back to our camp and enjoyed the quiet until our Texas neighbor came over for a chat. It’s always interesting to meet new people; especially if they like me! They were traveling in a monster RV and had come up to watch their ten year old granddaughter & daughter at the Equine Show this weekend. Her mom had driven up nine horses in a massive horse trailer. Their two grooms came in another truck/travel trailer. Definitely, an expensive lifestyle. Once here, they rented another travel trailer to stay in. Her mom had traded her law practice for horse raising, boarding and training. Obviously, it paid well in Texas.

By ten or so the next morning, Jo, Lori and Ed had shown up. I was so excited to see them all, but then, they took off for the Bourbon Trail leaving me behind. Shucks! Mom said they ended up at the Midway Cafe & Bakery in Midway, KY. It was a really cute town. The cafe was located in a former three story Elementary School cafeteria with the school turned into apartments. Very Hip!

They started at Woodford Reserve for their first tasting. Mom said the grounds and place were very elegant. They all loved Woodford, so it was a good stop for them. However, after checking prices, they discovered that Total Wine or the Party Source prices were less for the same items, so they bought souvenirs, but not much liquor there. 

Ed had done his Bourbon Trail Homework, their next stop was Buffalo Trace. It wasn’t as fancy and they had stringent Covid-19 rules in place. Temperature check, and checking our vaccination card; if we had it with us, then we could go without a mask. Mom and Dad didn’t have their card with them, so they wore masks. However, with the Delta variant rampaging the country again; the entire party felt better wearing masks inside anyway. They were going to have to wait too long for a tasting; they opted to purchase bourbon there, since it’s so hard to find.

Our last stop was Castle and Key. Since there was a detour, our GPS took us down some seriously winding, narrow back country roads to get there. As soon as we saw this place,  we all decided we had to come back here for a tour, so we could go in the castle and sunken gardens. However, we were warned to book the tour at least two months ahead. 

The distillery itself had been abandoned for approximately 44 years. A female distiller decided to take on this place and bring it back to life… She has since moved on and is a consultant now.

The buildings were castle like and they added a new building to serve as a bar and bathroom facility. There was an old key shaped stone Springhouse; where they still get the water for their liqueurs today. There was a sluice gate on the creek behind the place, with gorgeous gardens on both side of the castle, along with plenty of Adirondack chairs, picnic tables and benches. Each day they had a different food truck or you could get a cheese plate or a Caprese salad to snack on… Mom, Lori and Jo thought it would be such a cool place for a wedding…

I was so happy to see everyone when they returned. Lori and Ed left to check into their downtown hotel and bring us back pizzas from Pies and Pints. While they were gone, mom served snacks and made a salad to go with the pizzas. When they returned, mom had the picnic table ready for us to eat outside. It was such a great night to be outside enjoying the outdoors. 

Bek arrived before it got dark. She had her tent set up in no time. For mom’s birthday Bek treated us to Kir Royales and some scrumptious desserts from an Indianapolis bakery, Leviathan Bakehouse. What an ending to the evening!!! Sadly, we never got a photo of the hysterical llamas Birthday Banner she put up…nor the funny gifts from Bek and Milena. She had even thought to bring mom new champagne glasses. I enjoyed licking the dessert plates...

The next morning much to my dismay, they took off again. This time for breakfast at Doodles in downtown Lexington. They told me that they drove through some lovely neighborhoods to get there. They had a wonderful brunch there before saying goodbye to Lori and Ed, they had to return home. Mom, dad, Jo and Bek took off for Bardstown, KY and more bourbon distilleries. It was a bit longer trip than expected. We stopped at the Basilica of Saint Joseph Proto-Cathedral,  It was the first (proto) basilica west of the Alleghenies. Dad told them about the valuable paintings that had been stolen from it. Eventually those paintings were found in Europe and returned. They couldn’t stay long there since there was a wedding that afternoon.

They checked out this cute town before heading to the Barton Distillery there, where 1792 is produced, one of their favorites. At their tasting there was our very enthusiastic tasting guide, Doris. They discovered they liked their Very Old Barton’s and Barton’s Chocolate Bourbon Creme. They bought as many bottles, as they could... Mom wanted them for gifts since they aren't selling it outside the distillery yet. So very good!!! With all the bourbon and wine they have acquired along the way, their trailer, Sleeping Around is getting heavy!!! LOL 

Since Castle and Key was on their way home they decided to take Bek back there. That distillery sells a wonderful gin and, an elderberry flavor that made the most delightful summer cocktail. Their special cocktail that day was a vodka, peach ice tea which was also delicious and refreshing. They spent a relaxing hour there before heading back. We had more cheese, crackers and snacks before eating the rest of our pizzas and finishing Bek’s champagne. I was in doggie heaven playing with everyone. The night went by too fast!!!

When they got up the next morning, dad took me for a walk while Bek dressed and packed her tent and supplies. Mom made egg, cheese breakfast sandwiches for those interested. Jo took off for home, so she could take here sister Beth for brunch. Bek stayed and helped us clean/pack and entertain ME. It’s always hard to say goodbye to my Big Sister. I don’t see her nearly enough! With Bek’s help were shoving off for Chattanooga around 9:30.