Louisville…….. and bourbon

My best friend Melissa and I took a long weekend to Louisville Kentucky this past weekend.  If you follow me on twitter or instagram you’ve already seen many of these photo’s but of course I have to add some commentary now and let you know what a fabulous little get away it was.

We left early Friday morning and took a very short detour to Frankfort, KY to the Buffalo Trace Distillery so that I could load up on their Bourbon Cream… It’s pretty much to die for… you should try it… seriously…

We hit up a local, well reviewed cafe called Adelia’s which I have to say didn’t disappoint.  I had a baja panini and it was fantastic to say the least.  The cafe is locally sourced and without a doubt had that fresh flair.  Melissa opted for a wrap which she described as stir fry in a wrap.

Then it was onto to Louisville.  We checked into the hotel and after a quick recharge headed downtown to begin the Urban Bourbon Trail which is a great way to not only see downtown Louisville but to challenge yourself to try new bourbon drinks.  You check into designated bars after a purchase and after 9 bars over the course of time you get a t-shirt. Now, I am not a bourbon drinker…. at all…. like I catch a whiff and I’m like ok eyes burning and coughing… Melissa is a bad ass and drinks it straight…

But the bartenders were pretty amazing and when I’d say I’m kind of scared of bourbon they’d make me something that would mask the flavor a bit and boom before a knew it I had a new love for bourbon.  And who knew the drinks could be so pretty.

Don’t worry those weren’t all mine!

Stopped at Bluegrass Brewing Company for dinner… Nachos were consumed so fast that we couldn’t even snap a picture and the pizza wasn’t too bad either.  I picked up a 4pack of bourbon barrel stout to bring home too.

Saturday we were up early enough to hit up the anniversary tour of the Evan Williams Bourbon Distillery downtown (Heaven Hill) which was really neat because it was a commercialized and modern way to present the history of bourbon.

And then we ventured onto the City Taste Tour of Louisville.  If you go to Louisville you need to do this tour.  You see a little bit of everything in 3 1/2 hours and it is affordable, the guides are fantastic and just DO IT.

Just some of the sites we got to stop at…

A candy shop across the river in Indiana open for over 120 years that had great chocolate covered honeycombs

Old Louisville with Victorian Mansions just to die for and walking paths that mad you feel like you went back in time, gas lamps and all.

 

Churchill Downs – we even caught a race!

The Falls of the Ohio River

That night we stopped at Havana Rumba in St. Matthews right outside of Louisville for some Cuban food and yes – can we please get something like this in Pittsburgh… or can someone tell me where a cuban restaurant like this is hiding?

We grabbed breakfast on the way home Sunday and called the trip a success.  All in all it was quite a fabulous trip.  Affordable – great history and you can easily fill up a weekend there.  Go – you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Here’s to you Louisville – thanks for your hospitality.

Land of the Free

And home of the brave…

I’m so proud to say I come from a family where both my grandfathers served in WWII and my father served 5 years in the Army including a peace time mission to Korea.  This is a day where there is not much that I can say in words that will really do justice to the honor that every one of our veterans deserves.

It’s honor they deserve every day of the year too, not just today.  Hold your heads high and proud and know that at least for a moment we are all saying thank you in our own ways today.

My dad upon graduation from West Point circa 1972. Last clean shaven photo he ever took probably.

Pap Stanley during his Army MP days WWII Pacific

And when he did his tour in the calvary

He was certainly a handsome one

And still came home to work in the Pittsburgh Steel Mills

Not to mention the cousin in the family that radioed as his sub was sinking and came home a hero

And finally – my other grandfather… the man the myth the legend… who, when he would give you a glimpse into the things he saw would reveal a war surgeons life that you weren’t sure was real… who landed on the late waves in Normandy and eventually found himself all the way across Europe… who instilled beliefs in his children who passed them on to their children and who in many ways in the reason I am who I am today.

So just stop for a minute.  Realize what today really stands for.  Pay it forward.  And say thank you.

Family History

I’ve always loved family history… The photos, the stories, the lives of my ancestors that I’ve never known… well my mom has really gotten involved in gathering information and pictures that have been scattered throughout the family in the last few years… I even joined ancestry.com for a while because I was so enthralled with the census reports etc…

This weekend my mom dropped off a CD of pictures from my grandfather’s family dating back to the 1920s… with help from Steve’s mom I’ll be making my first scrapbook to hold the memories… but here is a little taste of what was dug up…

great-grandfather who immigrated from Ukraine

Pap loading up on the bus

coulda been a movie star!

Working in one of the Pittsburgh steel mills while home on furlough

Possibly why I love these pictures is because my Pap died before I was born and this is the only way I will ever know him… and I couldn’t be prouder of him, fighting in WWII, working in the steel mill until it shut down and loving my grandmother and making her happier than I can even imagine…