Day 83-August 16, 2016-Frankfort, KY-Bourbon, Cemetery, State Capitol and baseball
Hot in am-up to 90, rain cooled down the afternoon to 75.
Drove to Frankfort, the capital today. Drove through the countryside and saw some nice horse farms, corn fields and a lot of tobacco fields and drying sheds. Stopped at the Ford Dealer to get the “Check Coolant Additive” light checked and reset, then the tire store to refill the truck tires with nitrogen. Went to Buffalo Trace Bourbon Distillery, a huge place that smells of “angel’s share”, the part of the bourbon that evaporates. The distillery is on the registry of National Historical Landmarks and has been in operation since 1787. We had been on the tour before so we just went into the store and looked through the buildings again. Harry likes this bourbon but finds it hard to find. We then went to Frankfort Cemetery where Daniel Boone and his wife, Rebecca are buried. A very peaceful cemetery up on a bluff overlooking the Kentucky River with the state Capitol in the distance. Very old cemetery, some of the graves are dated in the late 1700s. It’s the home of the Kentucky Military Monument and there are at least 18 past governors of Kentucky buried here. A big section for DAR also. Then drove to the state Capitol and ate lunch in the parking lot. There’s a floral clock on the grounds that has thousands of plants, has an illuminated reflection pool at night, is 34’ in diameter and the minute hand is 20’ long and weighs 530 pounds. Came back to Lexington via the Kentucky Scenic Byway, Route 1618. The bluegrass area is the “Horse Capital of the World” where over 50,000 horses are bred each year and they say there are more horses in this area than people. We passed beautiful horse farms with pretty brown or white fences. Not many horses out though, maybe they knew about the downpour with thunder and lightning that we ran into on the narrow winding road with low branches. Gave up trying to see anything around Midway, KY and got back on the main road. Stopped in Georgetown for gas then back to the campsite where it stopped raining for a while. Went to a baseball game at Whitaker Bank Stadium, the Lexington Legends, affilitate of the Kansas City Royals vs. The West Virginia Power. The Legends have two mascots, Big L with a handlebar mustache and Pee Wee, a baseball. I have no idea why. We had been here before a few years ago and the stadium was empty. There were definitely more fans here tonight. We ate at the Kentucky Ale House which is right in the park and opens up to right behind home plate. Just bar food, but it was OK. We didn’t know it was 25 cent hot dog, $1 beer night tonight or we probably would have eaten at the concessions. It was also “Bark in the Park” night, when you can bring your dog to the game. The total paid admissions for the game was 3,515 humans, 31 dogs and 1 cat. Nice night, great seats but the home team lost a whopping 13-2.