Rest Stop: Louisville, Kentucky

I’m not calling this post a “rest stop” in the typical sense of pulling over the car, going to a terrible public restroom, and buying something you don’t really want from a vending machine. I’m calling it a “rest stop” because that’s actually what it was for us. A stop. To rest.

After 15,000 miles (24,000 km) on our “Fabric of America” road trip, we needed a place to recharge. At the end of our route and on the way back to the Chicago area, we decided to stop in Louisville, Kentucky, to hole up in a hotel, get some work done, relax quite a bit, and maybe see a few sites while we were in town.

Sure, Louisville is a great place to visit and we’d highly recommend it. It just wasn’t the time and place for us to be crazy tourists.

Thanks to our supporters at Red Roof Inn, we had a place to crash for nearly a week while we got our brains and bodies back in working order.

And while we did do a whole lot of nothing while we were in Louisville, we did manage to get out and enjoy the city just a bit. That meant a bit of walking around, plenty of eating, and some delicious libations.

One of our first and most important stops was Against the Grain Brewery. These guys make some of the best beer around, and we were delighted to stop by their brew house at Louisville Slugger Field.

Food and drink and food and drink…

…and a few souvenirs to take back to some lucky friends and family.

Walking to our car after getting our fill, we noticed we’d parked by the Louisville Beer Store. Oh, gee, what a coincidence! In we went for a googly-eyed drool session over even more delicious beer from near and far.

We stocked up on some rarities and new treats we found, and barely made it out with our wallets intact.

We noticed there was a huge park downtown at the riverfront, so we made our way over there and parked the car, prepped for some walking and taking-in of the glorious sun that was out.

It turns out that the city, along with its counterpart on the Indiana side of the river, had decided to turn a disused bridge into a sort of park.

The apparent goal was to take this old structure and bridge the two sides of the river by foot, all while providing some spectacular views of the city.

Louisville kept up its end of the bargain, and we were able to see quite a bit of the city, the river, and the Indiana side all while standing hundreds of feet up above the water. There was just one problem:

The other side of the partnership hadn’t exactly kept up with the time frame. The bridge was cut short just before reaching the Indiana shoreline, making for a sort of dead end that kept us from entering Indiana.

I have no idea if it’s still in an incomplete state, or if things have gotten wrapped up since our departure. Maybe one of you can enlighten us.

Either way, we both found the idea of re-purposing this bridge to be brilliant, and quite enjoyed our time up there and along the riverwalk park.

More eating was in the cards, and we were told that Bluegrass Burgers offered the best of that fare in the city. So, you know we had to check it out, paired with some local brew.

While the gourmet burger options were quite divine – and we appreciated the ability to drown our guilt in the accompaniment of a great salad – the execution left us a bit perturbed.

Everything was overcooked, and therefore dry, and had us scratching our heads at what went wrong.

Not ones to get too bitchy about things, we figured it was just a bad day and forgave a hopefully one-off error in grilling judgment.

Driving around all the hip and not-so-hip areas of town, we randomly ran into this huge cemetery and decided to take a spin around its neatly groomed lots.

We’re always amazed at the stories that these people and their memories in stone could tell, not to mention the artistry put into some of the headstones.

Other than that, we hung out most of the time while in Louisville, not forgetting to indulge in some delicious Indian food…

…lovely Vietnamese cuisine…

…and a hearty breakfast.

After several days of that, we barely knew the town, but it was time to head off into our next chapter.

Maybe we’ll meet again someday, Louisville. And if so, we have a lot more to see and learn in your fair city.

Want more? Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, and Flickr.

Have you ever been to Louisville? If so, what’d you think? If not, what say ye? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!