Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Kentucky 2015: Lexington Part 2

(This is an extremely late post....we traveled to Kentucky in June.  I am still trying to catch up.)

Wednesday we spent the morning playing at Jacobson Park.  I lived less than a mile from Jacobson my first year out of graduate school, so I have ran/walked many miles around that park.  Plus, it has one of the coolest wooden play structures I have ever seen.  One of my college friends Cheylin and her son, Carter were able to meet us.  It was wonderful to catch up with her.  



It was a low key day for us.  We ate lunch at Ramsey's, a local favorite, did a little shopping for UK gear, swam, enjoyed Orange Leaf froyo, and ate a simple dinner at the hotel.  


Thursday morning we drove to Frankfort to tour Buffalo Trace Distillery.  Wow!  The grounds were beautiful.  I do not enjoy bourbon, so I was a little skeptical about taking the tour particularly with our 2 children in tow :)  However, it was something Sam had been looking forward to for some time. I admit I thoroughly enjoyed the scenery and the tour was filled with historical and interesting information.




The store houses were fun to explore.  Our guide was excellent and really helped me appreciate the whole process.




I know NOTHING about bourbon, but if I am remembering correctly Blanton's is one of the best.




The tour ended with a bourbon tasting.  They served delicious root beer and chocolates to the kids.  Bennett loved it.  Zoe not so much.  Bennett also requested a souvenir.  He found a small stuffed Buffalo.  I am not a huge souvenir person (minus a coffee mug or Christmas ornament from special places we've been), but we bought it for him.  Surprisingly, Fuzzy the Buffalo has been loved well.  Bennett sleeps with him every night.





After the tour, we took our own tour of the grounds.  The kids played on the playground for a short time.  Sam and I took in all of the beauty that is KENTUCKY:  rolling hills, lots of green space, gorgeous trees, and the smell of the great outdoors.










We left Buffalo Trace and stopped by the Candleberry Factory hoping to purchase a few of my favorite candles before heading to Asbury College.  It was a quick drive through Wilmore, so we could take a walk down memory lane and show the kids where Sam went to college, where we got married, and to indulge in some ice cream at Sim's Drugstore.



Our adventures continued once we arrived at my cousin's farm in Lancaster Thursday afternoon.  I will share about our time there sometime within the next few months :\  Maybe, I'll have our 2015 vacation documented before our 2016 vacation time :)

4 comments:

Sandy said...

Ahhh...Kentucky :-) Thanks for letting us travel along with you...I really enjoy seeing the sights through your photos and commentary.

Dorothy said...

What a wonderful journey. The pictures were beautiful, Amber. Thanks for sharing your family's memories.

Kindra said...

As always, your pictures are breathtaking! Kentucky really is so beautiful. And I love the picture of B holding the glass of bourbon. I'm so glad you all took this trip.

Amanda said...

Wonderful trip! I remember Jacobsen park well. Don't think I've been there since I packed my bags and headed to Louisville to marry my man! I enjoyed the bourbon tour photos. I can't believe that I've never taken a bourbon distillery tour! Crazy! We will have to remedy this on one of our next trips to KY.