Maker's Mark Bourbon- Bardstown

Maker's Mark is another great distillery in the area that offers free tours!

The entire place is pretty. Outside just looks perfect, and they keep the inside factory and gift shop in order.

Maker's Mark is known for dipping their bottles in red wax and you can dip your own inside of the gift shop.

Downtown Bardstown

Natural Bridge at Natural Bridge State Park, Kentucky

The Old Mill in the Heart of the Mountains

I think this old postcard is stunning, and will likely go in a frame. postmarked 1940 from Gatlinburg.

I thought this would be a good one to post right now, as bourbon is a bit of a topic on this blog right now.

Rebecca Ruth- Frankfort, KY

Rebecca Ruth Candies in Frankfort!

Bourbon Balls were first made by them!

http://www.rebeccaruth.com/

Buffalo Trace Ghost Tour

Buffalo Trace was featured on the TV show Ghost Hunters! They are now giving ghost tours some nights. You do need to call for reservations, but they are free!

I really love Buffalo Trace, it is easy to get to in Frankfort, they offer several different tours, they have a great light show at Christmas, and they are excited about what they are doing!

The grounds are very attractive, and it is just a fun place to hang out.

The areas where the bourbon is stored can be a bit spooky at night (there are lots of corners cavernous areas). This is a good tour for a scare and its a good tour because Buffalo Trace gives good tours in general. Again, we had a great couple of guides.

Hidden City with Marcus Sakey

I am not watching a lot of TV these days, but I did stumble across a new show that I love. It is called, "Hidden City with Marcus Sakey." The show is really well done.

As you can tell from my blog, I like the weird places and moments in history (a friend recently suggested that I change the name of this blog to "The Weirder the Better"). I am fascinated with the good moments in history, but the dark ones are sometimes more interesting.

Marcus Sakey goes to some areas (so far mostly the big, notable cities) and he examines crime and mysteries that have happened in the areas. He has interviewed former politicians, convicts and other Riffraff.

Sakey is a great host. He gets to the point quick and keeps things fact based. There are some other shows out there that try to document strange places and historical events that are WAY too pseudo scientific. Forget the haunted sites and conspiracy theories, sometimes the simple facts are strange enough.

I really like the source material on this show. Marcus talks to witnesses of crimes and events (on a recent show he talked to friends and neighbors of Sid & Nancy about the events surrounding their deaths). Unlike some other shows, I feel like Marcus goes to the source, and finds people that were there. Interviews with generically credentialed "experts" that might appear on some other shows do not appear here.

Hidden City starts out fast and it keeps it up. I watched a show the other night and felt upset when it ended. So, I guess my only complaint is that I wish this were a two hour show.

http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/hidden-city

Random Thoughts On Friday

Happy Friday the 13th!

In general, the weather here in Kentucky has been great for this time of year! Christmas sort of went by barely noticed. I would have been OK with a little more snow. The season is off.

I left work the other day without a jacket. I wanted to go see a baseball game. It was that kind of weather.

I have made some road trips lately, more on those later. I really love getting in the car and just going. I recently bought a great collection of old postcards from Owensboro. I will try to get scans up, but I might wait until I can take some photos of the places now, and try to do a "Then and Now" kind of thing. It is really hard to find old postcards of Owensboro. Some are about 100 years old.

Natural Bridge, KY.

Sent in 1942.

Creation Cafe & WTTS FM Indianapolis IN

Each year for the holiday season, one of the few truly cool radio stations anywhere (WTTS FM) puts out a compilation CD with live tracks recorded in the Indianapolis area.

I find myself in Indy at some point each November or December, and I always make a point to pick the CD up. Each year, they pick a fun line up of songs from up and coming talent and established acts. Over the last few years, I was very excited to see personal favorites Cowboy Mouth, Cracker, and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. This year, there is a great l

ive version of Foster the People doing their hit song.

Go here for more info on the CD, and for more info on my favorite radio station in Indiana:

http://wttsfm.com/

I picked up the CD at Borders in previous years. Obviously, that was not an option this year, so I stopped by Creation Cafe to get it in 2011.

The place is in a gorgeous old church near downtown Indianapolis. I won't go over the menu, but we liked the selection. I had a great sandwich and some perfect chili for a cold day.

We had a great waitress with real personality. The place is colorful and fun. I would say the creation cafe is just a nice place to set and relax.

I love restaurants with character, value, and a nice soup and sandwich combo. We could tell that the Creation Cafe cares about the atmosphere and product. We will be back on future visits to Indy.

http://www.creationcafeandeuphoria.com/creationcafe/

Horse Farms in Kentucky

The top postcard shows "Trotting Mares and Colts at Walnut Hall Farm, Near Lexington, KY." It was sent in 1936.

The postcard under it went though the mail 22 years later!

Random Thoughts On Friday

I read a magazine recently about notable restaurants in Kentucky. I can think of hundreds that I like all over the state. Lynn's Paradise Cafe, and Ramsi's in Louisville come to mind. Lexington has Sawyer's, Joe Bologna's, and several others I like. Owensboro has a couple of very nice barbecue places and one of my all time favorite pizza shops (Pizzaroma).

I can think of a number of other places around that I love- Patti's near LBL, old Talbott Tavern in Elizabethtown, Papalino's and Boone Tavern in Berea, and others.

I would love to hear from others about their favorite independent Kentucky restaurants!

Indiana World War memorial, Indianapolis

"Indiana's World War Memorial covers five Indianapolis blocks and is an open plaza, set with imposing Architectural Works. The main Shrine is of Indiana Limestone, whose sculptured walls depict World War scenes. A 100-ft. granite obelisk symbolizes the Nation's power. The American Legion's National Headquarters also stands on memorial Plaza."

This particular postcard was sent in 1945! WOW! The last time I visited here, many of the artifacts on display were from WWII and later conflicts. If you have not visited this great area in Indianapolis, please do. This is an extremely under appreciated site that will impress you.

Oh, and this card has a great message from one girl to another. She tells her friend back home that she should have been on the train with her. There were many soldiers... and she could have had her pick!

Indiana World War Memorial and Obelisk, Indianapolis

One of my favorite spots in Indiana is here! This older postcard says on the back-

Indiana World War Memorial and Obelisk looking south from Plaza. The Obelisk, built of black granite, is 100 feet high, surrounded by fountains. The Shrine building is 230 feet wide and 400 feet long. It houses an auditorium seating 550, museums and Memorial Hall

Random Thoughts On Friday

I do hope that everyone had a good Christmas out there!

Mine was very nice.

It was odd too, in that the weather has been great here in Kentucky. On Saturday, I did some driving and wore only a light flannel shirt. I took a jacket but did not need it. I like the good weather, but it is too sunny for the season!

You may be able to tell from the blog that I have an appreciation for postal history. Complain about it if you want, but our postal service does some amazing stuff.

I made a point this Christmas season to drive to some of the little post offices that have special postmarks for the holiday. I drove to Nazareth and Bethlehem in Kentucky, and I drove to the Indiana cities of Bethlehem and Santa Claus.

I will get some photos up from those trips soon, as driving to small out of the way towns is just a fun thing to do.

Each town was very cool, we talked to some great postmasters and I must make it back to Santa Claus and Bethlehem Kentucky. We passed through Hanover (Woody's home town on Cheers!) and Madison in Indiana. We have to make it back to these two towns. Madison looked like a good place to find a B & B and just walk around the downtown streets some weekend.

I talked to some friends the other day, and we decided that this was a Christmas of coincidences. One friend got a purse from one friend, and a matching pocket book from another friend, who did not know about the first friends gift. I had a similar coincidence on Christmas.

We went to my sister's house in Owensboro. It was good seeing family and all. We exchanged presents and I opened a small box from my sister. In the box I found a Billy Bob doll from Showbiz Pizza.

Showbiz Pizza is one of my retro indulgences. I loved the franchise and remember the very first time I went to one when I was very young. The place was so over the top. Showbiz had a cheesy mouse competitor that eventually won out, but Chuck was never as cool as a keyboard playing gorilla and a banjo playing bear. By the way, if you have any photos of the old Showbiz Pizza in Owensboro or Evansville PLEASE send me scans so I can put them up on this blog!

So- back to my Christmas coincidence. I almost purchased a Billy Bob doll the week before but decided to wait a little while. I am glad I did because of my sister's gift!

Buffalo Trace- Frankfort, KY

I guess I should mention up front that I don't drink. It is one of those things that I have personally never done.

I have had a few sips here and there. We once toured a historic home, and a wine tasting was part of the tour. I took a sip of whatever it was in my glass and it hurt! I was done at that moment.

I know it is very un-Kentuckian of me to say this, but I have had similar problems when trying bourbon.

Still, I think the whole Kentucky Bourbon experience is something to be proud of. The time, effort, and really the artistry that goes in to it is something very unique.

I am not one to have a small glass (or pint, or shot...... I have no idea how these things are measured) of the beverage but I do like Rebecca Ruth Bourbon Balls. Oh, and Keeneland serves a desert using Bourbon that I have to get each time I am there!

Still, even someone like me who does not consume alcohol can enjoy a tour of Buffalo Trace.

We have done several different tours of the facility in Frankfort, and we have enjoyed each one. There is a standard tour where you actually get to see bottles getting filled, capped, and packaged which is very cool.

Another tour they offer is the "Hard Hat" Tour. I know reservations are needed for this one, as they like to keep the groups small (about 6 were in our group when we took this one). This tour takes you through the production areas. We were also taken out on a balcony area over looking the main buildings!

Buffalo Trace offers a "Ghost Tour" too. I had no interest in taking that tour. JUST KIDDING! I will have a separate entry on that tour soon.

And, like the other bourbon tours in the area, all of the tours are free! They do have a gift shop, and I think it is always appropriate to patronize the gift shop after a free tour. There is no pressure too, but you will want at least a shirt or cap or something.

Buffalo Trace has some cool items in their gift shop. We bought some root beer that they offer non-drinkers at the tasting. Bourbon items exclusive to the gift shop can be found here. We picked up a bottle made with an uncirculated buffalo nickle for a friend in Michigan. It is signed, and can only be purchased at Buffalo Trace!

I have to mention each of our VERY memorable tour guides we have had at Buffalo Trace. Freddy, DW, and Shelley all seemed excited about Buffalo Trace, and gave all sorts of fun pieces of info. Their excitement about Buffalo Trace was infectious.

I really love how the product is made and aged. I learned about how early on, they would experiment with aging and barrels. Placement in the warehouses affects the product. The entire process is fascinating.

The fact that Buffalo Trace offers several different tours, AND has a Christmas light driving tour going on there this season, gives it a real edge.