Birthday in Bardstown

Isaac's birthday fell over this past weekend, giving us the perfect excuse to check out the Bourbon Festival in Bardstown. Bardstown is a cute city just under an hour's drive south of us, along scenic stretches of farmland. The area has a rich history in bourbon production, and so calls itself the bourbon capital of the world. Every year they host the Kentucky Bourbon Festival.

The drive is quite nice - the four lane road narrows down to two, and towards the west you can see the dark blue ridges of mountains on the horizon. "This is the reason people here like muscle cars," Isaac said. It reminded me of a Grant Wood painting.

Our first impression of Bardstown was charming. The downtown area doesn't have money mongering meters, and it has a stable-themed covered free parking area, complete with well-maintained public restrooms. We were quickly greeted by the town's welcome wagon, wearing neon vests and offering brochures and information.

Above is a shot of the main drag, with the information center straight head. Below, our parking spot just off of that main road.

Onto the festival. A small car show and a bunch of vendors mostly selling bourbon-related goods. Bourbon barrels transformed into furniture, wall art, even toothpicks! Bourbon infused jams, sauces and desserts.

The big bourbon distilleries had impressive pop-up stores that looked like mini houses. Inside you could buy typical things like t-shirts and candles with their logos on it.

The store fronts were really adorable, and I can't help but think about how cute a neighborhood of tiny houses would be if everyone put as much effort into their facades as these distilleries did.

We ducked into the Whiskey Museum where it stood overlooking the festival's tents and tiny houses. We didn't pause to read details, but it was an air-conditioned building filled with an impressive collection of old whiskey-related memorabilia which was very fun to look at.

Having just a few of something can be tacky. But I'm convinced that whenever you have a huge amount of any one thing, it starts to look cool again. For example, this mini bottle collection below.

One of the funnest rooms featured items teasing about prohibition. Sadly, because we didn't read much, I don't know any details like when these bottles were actually made. I imagine they are popular collector's items.

In case it is difficult to read, some of the bottles' captions above and below: 

"Here's the poison that I've taken for years. So you too may drink it without any fears."

"Giggle soup"

It seems like political activists used to be rather witty with their banners. "Large streams from little fountains flow, great sots from moderate drinkers grow."

There was food and live music calling out to our senses, but we made the excellent decision to take the leisurely five minute's stroll back to Bardstown's main street to find a restaurant.

There with the orange awnings, Maya's Mexican. Even if you don't care much for Mexican food, you have to admire the portion sizes.

Isaac got some dish with carne in the title, go figure.

Trying to be healthy, I chose an option under the "salads" heading that had fajita in the title. My good intentions were rewarded and the waitress set this muy grande taco before me.

Everything was delicious. Amazingly so. And twenty minutes later, we were still eating, even Isaac struggling to finish off the generous amount of meat given. 

We walked around digesting, checking out local shops selling handmade crafts (some not bourbon related) and of course Kentucky-made bourbon goods. Another comfortable 45 minute drive through the country and we were back home. It was a relaxing and fun trip that the birthday boy seemed to enjoy quite a bit. More than the festival, discovering relaxing and friendly Bardstown was the highlight for us both. It looks like Frankfort might have just gotten knocked off its pedestal. We have found another lovely and quiet place to escape to on the weekends.

Cherokee Park and Cookies

In case you can't tell by the title, this past week was pretty laidback and uneventful. That can be nice sometimes.

If you look at a map of Louisville, which the cartophile in me loves to do, it is speckled with green. Shortly after moving here, I read somewhere that the same park planner who made NYC's Central Park also created the park system of Louisville. Although we haven't visited many of them yet, just the quantity is admirable, and the quality we have seen are top notch.

And so a cool morning prompted us to visit one of these, the nearby Cherokee Park. It's a pretty large park, a little over 400 acres, surrounded by huge houses with rolling lawns that look more like country clubs. We've driven through it before, along the appropriately titled "Scenic Loop" which zig-zags through the park. But we had yet to get out on foot and enjoy its non-paved parts.

Here's a shot out the window as we drove along the Scenic Loop. It's a hilly chunk of land, parts cleared with juicy grassy slopes, others still forested.

The Scenic Loop is like the main artery, a wide one-way paved path curving through the hills, with an equally wide pedestrian lane too. Cyclists and families with baby carriages love this route.

Below is the dog fountain. I don't know if it has any special meaning, but whenever we visit, at least half the time we pass by it, there are dogs laying in it, wading around or drinking its water.

Ah, this is more like it. Trails that at times, feel like they are barely there. The one-note chirping chorus of crickets. No cicadas though, it seems like South Korea's cicadas are way tougher than the ones around here.

Its forested hills and gentle creeks made for a nice relaxing walk. And the trails twist and intersect so often that you don't have to commit to much of a trek.

One thing I've been itching to do but just haven't done is make cookies. Inspired by a free sample we tried at a grocery store, I wanted to make oatmeal coconut cookies. Instead of just finding a recipe for oatmeal coconut cookies, I fell into my typical habit of half-following, half-improvising a recipe.

But I knew if I wanted to make yummy oatmeal cookies, a good starting point would be the recipe which to me is the true form of an oatmeal cookie - Mimi's recipe. Nothing like a mother's or grandmother's recipe.

So I started with Mimi's recipe, mixing the butter, eggs and sugar together first just like she always did. Boy do those three ingredients smell like heaven. But I also did what some might consider sacrilege - cutting down the sugar, using only brown sugar, wheat flour, old fashioned oats and adding unsweetened coconut flakes. My attempt to make a *slightly* healthier, more chewy oatmeal cookie.

They turned out pretty darn tasty, although I guess I was too excited to bother taking anymore pictures. I still want to tweak the recipe some more, find a way to make them thicker and more crunchy. If I ever manage to make them and be happy with them, I'll be sure to share the recipe. Next time I might cross Mimi's recipe with an Anzac biscuit - an Australian cookie with oats, syrup and coconut.

So that was our laidback week in review. The weather is quickly changing, bringing winds and pressure-changing headaches along with it. The next few weeks are shaping up to be a bit busy for us, which hopefully means more fun things to share here!

Junk/Food Festivals

We headed back to a slightly less crowded riverside this Saturday. The biannual Fleur de Flea Market had set up shop in the same area as the Flugtag last weekend, with vendors selling handmade goods as well as repurposed junk and thrift store treasures. And further west into the downtown area, World Fest was throbbing with music, food and costumes from all over.

First thing we had to do was grab (non-breakfast eater) Isaac an appetizer, a yummy smelling pork taco.

Next up was browsing the stalls of furniture, clothes and knick-knacks, stopping for the occasional free sample.

Many cities have at least one interstate running through it, or flanking its perimeter. Oftentimes this seems to result in a litter-filled concrete mess close by the busy freeway. In Louisville, highway 64 runs east to west just beside the Ohio River. Yet instead of being an eyesore, it is incorporated into the waterside parks. Highway 64 provides a glorious shady shelter for the parked cars and pedestrians beneath, and it's here that many vendors set up for events like this week's Fleur de Flea.

Here's the view from underneath 64, picnic tables and food trucks set up in the cool shade. Relaxing under an interstate bridge and eating tacos may not sound like a nice thing at first, but it doesn't look too bad, does it?

Here's a quick shot of some flea market vendors. It's much more enjoyable to browse through junk when you're not hot.

After a little while, we walked west towards the city along the river. It was just over half a mile between the two events. The riverside was so empty along the way, less grass and more concrete.

Some striking hotels along the way.

World fest was thumping music, spicy grilled air and tents of goods and foods.

We did a quick round just to scout out all of the food options, since that's the reason we came - lunch. We ended up going Greek, always a good choice.

Lamb gyro, and there's chicken under all of that tzaziki. Greek food seems perfect for outdoor events - very filling yet somehow doesn't seem to weigh you down.

There was also an event for the hard of hearing just beside the World Fest, called the DeaFestival. The inflatable rainbow below marks the entrance to the convention center that held it. I have never been around so many non-speaking people before. Passing through this section, the volume seemed turned down, and many people stood around talking - only with their hands rather than their mouths.

With full bellies, we weren't keen to hang around much longer. We enjoyed our walk back through the city, rather than by the river, passed through the flea market once more and then returned to our car.

Some picturesque buildings and the Yum! Center where the UofL basketball team plays.

Other than this outing, we spent most of the long Labor Day weekend relaxing. Except for a bout of SUV shopping at dealerships. Not so relaxing. We learned a lot, but I think I've still got a lot more to learn before being well-informed enough to choose a family vehicle for us. I somehow failed to take pictures of the two of us again, but I will try to be better next week.

Red Bull Flugtag

Eccentric flying machines built by novices hurled off of a platform over the water. From the moment we first heard of Red Bull Flugtag, we knew it was an event worth checking out.

This is the same Red Bull that makes silver and blue canned energy drinks, famous for sponsoring impressive dare-devlish stunts like the Stratos space jump - where a sky-diver jumped from the edge of space and broke the sound barrier during his record-breaking free fall.

The Flugtag ("flight day" in German) may not be quite as epic, but it is a lot of fun. It was first held in Austria in 1991, and since then Flugtags have been held around the world. It's a free event and the contest is open to everyone who dreams of building their own man-powered flying machine (size and weight restrictions apply).

This year, Flugtag came to Boston and Louisville. It look place here on the edge of the Ohio River, the same Waterfront Park which hosts many of the city's outdoor events.

The contestants and their creations were lined up near the ramp's base - posing for pictures, answering questions from the curious crowd, and making last minute adjustments to their crafts. The entries varied - from quirky ones destined-to-fail to more serious gliding apparatuses.

As you can see, each team chooses a theme for their craft and costumes. Many chose Kentucky-related ideas showing off some hometown pride. Two of the cutest: the Colonel and his chickens and a bourbon barrel glider.

Bonus points if you can find Isaac in the panorama above.

In the end, the Mad Max themed craft on the right side of the picture below took home first place.

Mentioning who won doesn't seem like a huge deal, since this competition is more about the process - the fun along the way - than the results. There is no cash prize - first through third place winners receive the opportunity to do other Red Bull-ish feats like skydiving.

We made our way to the water to get the best view of the crafts crash landing. Blaring speakers and large screens showed the emcees as they interviewed contestants and the judges about today's event. Then the fun began.

The judges are paying special attention to three categories: distance, creativity and showmanship. After pushing their craft onto the platform, there's about 30-60 seconds time in which the contestants dance or perform a skit to a song of their own selection. It can be hard to see from so far away, but the big screens provided a closer look. In the end, everyone's fate was the same. Pushing as fast as possible, off the edge, into the water.

And since the event takes place on the Ohio River, some of the crowd was able to watch from the comfort of their own boats.

Which was fine until the wind picked up, causing the boats to shift and squish together, and then drift well past the boundary line into the stretch of water marked as the "landing strip".

It delayed the event for around half an hour, the big boats especially unable to easily move out of the way. Some people on the shoreline became irritated and started "booing", one of the boaters responded by mooning us all. It was a bit of a mess and we were eager to watch more ridiculous crafts take the plunge. Eventually, police boats towed the larger boats well out of the way, towards the center of the river, and event staff pushed the boundary buoys back further just to be safe.

These guys below got third place in the end.

Flugtag was entertaining, but we decided not to stay the entire time We were getting hungry and wanted to avoid the mass exodus and traffic at the even'ts end.

The forecast also called for 20% rain on Saturday. Which in these parts, we've learned does not mean that there is a 20% chance that it will rain. Rather it means that 20% of the day, it will be raining.

I snapped this picture on our way out, some gloomy clouds moving in from the west. Sure enough, that 20% got us as we walked back to our cars.

It's such a quirky event - watching strange craft fall to their demise and laughing along with strangers in the crowd. Red Bull Flugtag was well worth the walk, the wait (and the wet).