As we drove into Kentucky we completely forgot about crossing from Central to Eastern time and had to reschedule our planned visit to Churchill Downs. So with a free afternoon suddenly upon us, we set off to pay homage to Colonel Sanders. We headed for the Claudia Sanders Dinner House in Shelbyville which serves homestyle Southern fare including the essential fried chicken. The building initially served as part of the Kentucky Fried Chicken Headquarters in 1959 and after selling the company in 1964, Colonel Sanders and his wife Claudia continued to serve chicken and other homestyle cooking in the restaurant. Great ambience, great service and great food. And we absolutely do not need to eat any more carbs for a month following this meal.
We were up early for the first part of our Churchill Downs experience. Very much like standing on the quiet Indy 500 track, seeing the horses training on the world-famous track in the still of the early morning was at complete odds with the racing frenzy that is seen on TV on the first Saturday of May when the Kentucky Derby is run. With the Twin Spires rising over us, we saw the track, watched the horses, and learned about the history of the “Run For The Roses”, including its past winners, most notably Sercretariat, a triple crown winner in 1973. Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes that year by a record breaking 31 lengths and his time for the Kentucky Derby remains unbeaten today.
We took a tour of the barns and stables and saw where the horses, trainers and jockeys live and work when not on the racetrack. Later in the evening we returned to Churchill Downs for the second part of our experience here as we attended the Twilight Races and had fun picking horses, placing wagers, and drinking mint juleps.
A short jaunt from Louisville to Woodford County took us into Bluegrass country and the Woodford Reserve Distillery. While the Woodford Reserve brand has only been on the market since 1996, the distillery itself has existed since 1812 and is one of the oldest in Kentucky. A designated National Historic Landmark, the distillery is home to beautiful old buildings and grounds that house its colossal fermenters, copperpot stills and 500ft barrel run.
An unplanned bonus stop in Kentucky was at DeLima Stables in Harrodsburg, owned and operated by our friend Margaret’s sister Mary. We spent time throwing questions at Mary and her friend Donna about the horses, the stables and winters in Kentucky, watching the horses feed and breathing in the fresh air. Thank you Mary for your time and willingness to see us on short notice ☺️ – it was amazing!
From DeLima Stables we went to Shakertown, a few minutes down the road where we discovered the world of the Shakers. This community set up home in Pleasant Hill, Kentucky from 1805 to 1910 with the intention of creating a heaven on earth. With a leaning towards plentiful singing and dancing in their worship the Shakers earned a reputation as industrious and progressive. Despite becoming a thriving community however, by the turn of the century numbers had dramatically dwindled for various reasons, not least because of their belief in celibacy, and there are only two living Shakers today. Shakertown is now a National Historic Landmark District.
As we headed out of Kentucky, over the river and through the Daniel Boone National Park, we were surrounded by trees beginning to take on their fall colours and at times it felt like we were driving through a watercolour painting. I promise I did not use any filters on the following two photos – this is exactly how it looked as we crossed the Kentucky River.
Into West Virginia we go!
S&P
